Environmental Education Association of Indiana
 
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Board Members
Board members are elected officials who guide the Environmental Education Association of Indiana.
Board meetings are open to all membership. If you would like to attend, please contact the board president for details.  If you are interested in becoming a board member, please contact us at eeai@eeai.org.  
       
Stephanie Schuck
Past President
Board member since 2017
 
Stephanie is the Executive Director for the State of Indiana Cooperative Invasive Species Management (SICIM). Prior to that, she was the restoration ecologist and land manager for the 70-acre Nina Mason Pulliam  EcoLab property on Marian University's campus, and led many of the K-12 environmental education programs there as well. She also served in the Peace Corps as an Environmental Action Volunteer, and worked as an animal keeper and environmental educator at the Indianapolis Zoo. She received her Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from Ball State University, where her enthusiasm for native plants and restoring natural areas began. She enjoys spending her free time making her own yard more wildlife friendly and pretends to be a photographer when she can.
 

 


Leslie Lorance

Director-At-Large
Board member since 2019

 

Leslie Lorance is an educator and video producer/editor who has enthusiasm for sharing stories and connecting people with nature. Her favorite accomplishments include developing an ADA accessible app for the blind, getting the Museum Dance Off Most Creative video award and teaching Environmental Education to thousands of school children. She works with various nonprofit organizations helping them share their conservation messages.


An avid naturalist and life long learner, Leslie believes the best way for people to learn about nature is to experience it, whether that’s through being outdoors, watching wildlife or dissecting owl pellets. She enjoys spending time camping, hiking and traveling.


 
Jaime Golba
Director-At-Large
Board member since 2017
 
I grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago where I spent the summers camping with my family and exploring the wetlands. In one of those wetlands, I caught a three legged frog which further sparked my interest about wetlands and the life within them. This three legged frog and spending summers exploring inspired me to study the natural world more. I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in zoology. Soon after graduating, I went to Costa Rica and interned with a sea turtle patrolling project. This is time when I learned  how important it was to educate others about the significance of the environment around them. This led me to a position at Dunes Learning Center where I spent two years as an educator, before accepting my current manager position as Residential Education Coordinator. One of the best parts of working in Northwest Indiana is being able to expose children to the natural world around them as well as beautiful Lake Michigan and seeing their amazement.
 

 
Darci Zolman
Vice President
Board member since 2017
 

Darci has spent the last 32 years as the educator for the Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District, working with both adults and youth. Her job has taken her to classrooms, rivers, lakes, streams, ag fields, woods, and wetlands. (Tough job, right?) She was one of the organizers of award-winning educational raft trips for high school students in northern Indiana and has continued rafting with youth for over 25 years. Her current passions include serving as Indiana Envirothon’s Immediate Past-President, an international environmental competition for high school students and Chairperson of the Arrow Head Country RC&D Education Committee. She coordinates a Master Naturalist program, which recently received the Host of the Year Award. She is a firm believer of progress through partnerships, and has worked with a variety of lake associations, STEM Academies, soil and water conservation districts, municipalities, watershed groups, colleges and universities. She is also a self-proclaimed soil geek, birder and kayaker.


She is a past director, secretary and president of EEAI, and has been the recipient of both the Joe Wright and Howard Michaud awards. EEAI is her favorite organization and she has been a life member for many years.



Megan Gunn

Director-At-Large

Board member since 2020


Megan Gunn earned her B.S. from Purdue University in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Science in 2012. She minored in fisheries and aquatic sciences which is where she got her start with the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR). From 2013 to 2020, Megan served as the manager for Dr. Reuben Goforth’s Aquatic Ecology Research lab which included managing graduate and undergraduate students in the lab.  She spent the summers leading teams of undergraduate technicians, in ideal and sometimes less than ideal conditions, on field sampling expeditions ranging from conducting population assessments of fish and macroinvertebrates in the tributaries of the Wabash River to tracking Asian carp from Logansport to Covington, Indiana and everything in-between. In the winter, she taught undergraduates different processing techniques as well as analyzing the data collected during field season.

As the recruitment and outreach specialist for FNR, Megan is focused on increasing enrollment in FNR's 3 majors (aquatic sciences, forestry, and wildlife) and providing experiences for youth to experience hands-on activities related to natural resources and learn about the vast career opportunities that are available. Using her expertise from the lab, she is also involved in several outreach events in the community demonstrating fish and macroinvertebrate sampling techniques to different age groups as well as explaining to them the importance of biodiversity and stream ecosystem health to ecosystem services. Additionally, Megan works with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant as an Aquatic Education Associate educating youth in NW Indiana and NE Illinois about Lake Michigan and its wonderful resources.

 

Additionally, Megan is the project leader for The Familiar Faces Project (TFFP), a program designed to increase the interest in natural resource science careers by bridging the gap between underrepresented minority youth communities and professionals in the field that look like them. She has also been the advisor for the Purdue Student Chapter of Environmental Education since Fall 2017.

 
 

 
 
Jack Shoaf
Director-At-Large
Board member since 2016
 
I grew up on a farm outside of the small town of Hope, Indiana. We had a woods and creek running through the farm. I often played in the woods swinging on vines and climbing trees. We would wade in the creek and try to catch crayfish by hand. We had quail, pheasant, pigeons, doves, rabbits, and other traditional farm animals. We also had raccoons, red and grey foxes that DNR would use in their education programs. After grow up and moving to the Indianapolis, I began working in urban schools, I soon came understand how many children are limited in their experiences and their understanding of the nature world.

I have worked as an educator for over twenty years, primarily in the middle school grades. I have worked mostly in urban schools as well as rural and suburban schools. I have also worked as Resource Conservationist for the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District and on environmental projects with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. I am current working for Hoosier Academies Charter School and I do some part time work for Marian University’s EcoLab. I have a BS degree from IUPUI and a Master in Educational Leadership from University of Indianapolis. I am married with four children. As a lifelong Hoosier I have always had an interest in making Indiana better for my family and all Hoosiers. I believe one way is to increase students understanding of our state’s natural environment.

 
Sarah Wolf
Secretary
Board member since 2017
 
Park Naturalist - Hendricks County Parks and Recreation
 
With the last name of Wolf, it’s no surprise that Sarah has been inspired by nature from an early age. Sarah Wolf’s most memorable childhood activity was camping with her family to explore the outdoors and she turned her passion into a career. Sarah is Park Naturalist with Hendricks County Parks and Recreation, located just west of Indianapolis.
 
Sarah earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from Purdue University. Through college, she worked at Turkey Run and Shades State Parks as an Interpretive Naturalist.  To complete her Master’s, Sarah managed 1,000 acres of certified wildlife habitat at Eli Lilly Tippecanoe Labs in Lafayette. She studied for two semesters in Europe. Sarah worked for a bit in the soil conservation field.  She brings National Parks experience as she was an Interpretive Park Ranger at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Big Thicket National Preserve, and Padre Island National Seashore (where she got to work with sea turtles!).
 
Her passion is sharing the natural world with park visitors, especially children. She loves helping them discover new natural aspects about our parks with each visit.  In her free time, Sarah enjoys camping, hiking, traveling, and learning.
 

Paul McAfee
Treasurer
 Board member on and off since 1996

 Software Engineer at Logikos, Inc.

Why you are involved with EEAI:
Foster Brown asked me to be on the board several years ago and I've enjoyed it ever since.
 
Interesting hobby or fun fact:

 
 
Alison Zajdel 
President
Board member since 2017
 
Non-profit consultant
 

Alison Zajdel serves as an independent contractor for nonprofits in Indiana including Earth Charter Indiana, Stamm Koechlein Family Foundation, and several others.  She served as the Executive Director and Development Director for Cope Environmental Center for a total of 16 years before deciding to start her own business.  She attended DePauw University majoring in Studio Arts and holds a certificate in Fund Raising Management from The Fund Raising School (IU's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) and a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the O'Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs.  She has completed additional training in planned giving, grant-seeking/writing, major gifts, and annual fund development. Alison contributes to her community by volunteering for a wide variety of organizations and chairs the Richmond Environmental Sustainability Commission. Alison received the prestigious Indiana Governor’s Award for Tomorrow’s Leaders in 2004 and has been an avid jump roper for 30 years!






Mary Cutler

Director-At-Large

Board member since 2019


Mary had a baby sheep growing up, which influenced her to become an environmental educator.  It had very white fur and would always follow her to school.  She eventually became the chief environmental educator of Tippecanoe county.


 



Mindy Murdock

Director-At-Large

Board member since 2019


Mindy is Director of Recreation Services for Zionsville Parks and Recreation Department. Prior to her promotion she was Park Naturalist/Manager for the Zionsville Nature Center since 2014. A transplant from Northeast Ohio, Mindy worked as a Naturalist with Cleveland Metroparks for 13 years as well as several other park districts in Ohio. She became a Certified Environmental Educator through the Environmental Education Council of Ohio. She is also a Certified Heritage Interpreter and Certified Interpretive Guide through National Association for Interpretation. Recently she began studying for her Certified Park and Recreation Professional CPRP.


Mindy received her Master of Science in Biology at University of Akron, and has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Kent State University. In addition to the EEAI board, she is also on the steering committee for Indiana Children and Nature (ICAN). Mindy is passionate about helping and encouraging others to get outside and discover the wonders of nature in their own backyard. In her free time you can usually find her out playing in a park, gardening, and exploring nature with her husband and their four year old daughter.




 


 
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