2019 David R. Keller Environmental Ethics Symposium

 

Environmental Literacy
The Role of Museums, Zoos, and Natural Spaces

Presenters

Maria Blevins

Maria Blevins is an assistant professor of communication at Utah Valley University. Her research focuses on conflict and organizational and environmental communication. She is interested in how organizations are actors in disputes concerning natural resources and how organizational identities impact those conflicts. Through research, she hopes to gain knowledge that will facilitate changes in organizations and institutions to support a more sustainable mode of functioning. She has taught her Environmental Communication class at the Capitol Reef for the last six summers.

Steve Burns

Steve Burns is the President and CEO of Utah’s Hogle Zoo.  He has served in that role since December 2017.  Before that, Steve was the Director of Zoo Boise for twenty years.  Steve’s activity with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the national accrediting body for zoos and aquariums, has included service as the Chair of the Field Conservation Committee, the Trends Committee, a member of the Board of Directors from 2010 to 2017, and a 2016 termas Chairman of the Board. A strong advocate for wildlife conservation, Steve serves on the Board of the Gorongosa Restoration Project in Mozambique and the Jordan River Commission here in Utah.

Joe Ceradini

Joe Ceradini is the Site Manager at UVU’s Capitol Reef Field Station and a Research Associate in the Biology Department. He has an undergraduate degree in environmental science and philosophy from Plattsburgh State University in New York, and a MS in wildlife biology from the University of Wyoming. Prior to working at UVU, Joe worked as a field and research biologist in a variety of ecosystems in New York, Colorado, Wyoming, and Alaska. He has worked with many taxa including small mammals, lynx, songbirds, and raptors. He continues to conduct ecological research in Capitol Reef National Park and conducts science education programs regularly with field station visitors. 

Ellen Eiriksson

Ellen Eiriksson manages Citizen Science programming for the Natural History Museum of Utah. With a background in science interpretation, environmental education, and over 10 years engaging the public with environmental issues, she has extensive experience in science communication and community engagement. 

Kevin Eyraud

Kevin Eyraud is an associate professor of English Language Learning at UVU. He is currently working on a Ph.D. in Education, Culture & Society at the University of Utah with an emphasis in language, culture, and curriculum.  His main interests include reading instruction and working on an evolving macrostrategic framework for language learning and teaching. As the son of a former Idaho state park manager and US Forest Service employee, Kevin enjoys leveraging public lands and his lifelong experience and love of the more-than-human world to engage in a language learning and teaching praxis that encourages others to protect and revitalize the cultural and environmental commons. 

Louise Haven

Louise Haven is the Youth Education Specialist for the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, a non-political nonprofit that works to improve the environments of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons through education and stewardship programs. At CCF, she oversees the implementation and development of K-12 programming. Louise is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation and has degrees in Biology and Anthropology from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She loves spending time in the canyons and introducing children and adults alike to the wonders of the natural world.

Hillary Hungerford

Hilary Hungerford is an associate professor of Geography at UVU. She works broadly on questions about human-environment relationships. She has conducted research in West Africa and locally in Utah Valley on how communities understand water and conservation.  As a social scientist, Hilary investigates what communities think and how they are impacted by environmental issues.  She teaches Geography of Utah and has taken these students to Capitol Reef to learn about geology and land use.   

Sarah Knee

Sarah Knee is the founder of Wildwood Forest School, a play-based, fully outdoor preschool and kindergarten serving Utah County. Sarah is certified in the Cedarsong Way method, a seminal Forest Kindergarten methodology in the United States. Sarah also brought Free Forest School to the state of Utah, training and spreading Free Forest School chapters throughout Utah County. Sarah is passionate about the health, wellness, and developmental benefits of nature for children, particularly extended, unstructured play in wild environments.  She holds a BFA in Art from Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Katy Knight

Katy Knight is the education administrator at the Bean Life Science Museum at BYU. She started working at the Museum as an undergraduate student in one of the biological collections. Katy earned her bachelor’s degree in biology education, her master’s in botany, and her PhD in Instruction Psychology and Technology at BYU. She taught science at American Fork Junior High for three years before returning to the Bean Museum to work full time directing their education department. 

Michelle Mileham

Michelle Mileham is the Director of Education at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. Prior to moving to Utah, Michelle was a graduate student at Oregon State University where she finished her Master’s and Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Education with a specific focus on museum education. She is interested in how museums use storytelling to understand their visitors, staff, and volunteers and studies how to provide the most engaging environmental education learning experiences for all audiences. 

Scott D. Williams

Scott D. Williams is an associate professor of Exercise Science and Outdoor Recreation at Utah Valley University.  He has been on faculty at UVU since 2007, teaching and conducting research in natural resource planning, ecotourism, sustainability, environmental and social ethics, inclusivity and career development.  He also teaches classes in expedition kayaking, backpacking, mountain biking, and Leave No Trace.