: Outdoor Education Center Staff Directory :
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Permanent Staff
Outdoor Education Center Director: Amy Lutmerding-Tressler
Amy joined the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center staff in the winter of 2013. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Amy earned her BS in Wildlife Management from The Ohio State University before moving south to pursue a Master’s of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education degree from the University of South Carolina. Amy has experience in both formal and informal education having worked as a fourth grade teacher at Hilton Head Island Elementary and the Curator of Education at the Coastal Discovery Museum. For the past thirteen years, she has worked on the Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Protection Project monitoring sea turtle nesting activity and educating the public about the biology and behavior of sea turtles. Amy is excited to join the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center team and create learning opportunities that encourage students to explore the outdoors and connect content learned in the classroom to the community and environment in which they live.
Outdoor Education Center Assistant Director: Autumn Foutch
Autumn has a B.S. from Michigan State University in Fisheries and Wildlife. She comes to us from Lorado Taft Field Campus in Illinois where she began as an Education Program Specialist in 2007 and most recently served there as Assistant Outdoor Education Coordinator. She has spent two summers as a camp counselor for Chippewa Nature Center in Michigan where she acquired her Wilderness First Responder certification and led multiple backpacking and canoeing trips with children. Autumn is a life-long primitive camper and living history interpreter. Her ultimate passion lies in creating fun, safe and educational opportunities for all ages by facilitating exploration and discovery in natural environments. She is very excited to mentor and share her experiences with the Naturalist intern staff as well as learn and grow alongside them. Autumn is already putting her skills and expertise to good use creating a stronger Outdoor Education Center.
Outdoor Education Center Business Manager: Karen Moore
Karen has followed many paths in her life including serving in the U.S. Navy and earning two Bachelor's degrees and two Masters degrees. She grew up in Xenia, Ohio and has fond memories of hiking in Glen Helen and Clifton Gorge. Her academic background is in Women's Studies, Political Science, Journalism, English, and Education (Language Arts grades 7--12). Her favorite port visit while in the Navy was Souda Bay, Crete, Greece.
Intern Staff
Administrative Intern (Program Coordinator): Kelly Lecko
Kelly Lecko is the current Program Coordinator at the Outdoor Education Center, returning after a fulfilling year as a Glen Naturalist. Kelly is from Southern California, and has always loved working with children, playing outside and learning in new and dynamic ways. She graduated in 2011 from the University of Redlands with a degree in Environmental Science and looks forward to continuing to explore the Glen with children of all ages.
Administrative Intern (Extension Naturalist): Ellen Biscotti
Ellen Biscotti was a Naturalist for the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center during the 2011-2012 school year, and is excited to be returning this year as Extension Naturalist. Ellen is from the Cleveland area and attributes her love of the outdoors in large part to the time she spent exploring the Cleveland Metroparks with her family as a child. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2011 with a degree in biology.
Administrative Intern (Raptor Center Assistant): Dexter Norris
Dexter has a BS in Biology from Ohio Northern University. During his term as a naturalist, Dexter grew much enamored with the Raptor Center and chose to remain in the Glen aiding in raptor rehabilitation. In the future, Dexter plans to pursue a career in avian or amphibian conservation. One of his lifelong goals is to adopt a dog and name him Gordon.
Trail Mentor: Keegan Williams
Having started life in a farmhouse, and having parents that took every opportunity to get out to the woods and mountains, Keegan Williams has naturally been trying out many outdoor environmental jobs with an eye on land management. With background including reptile husbandry, invasive plant management, and fireland fire, outdoor education has been a practical way to gain an understanding in holistically communicating about ecology and environmental problem solving. Having spent the previous school year focused on small group dynamics, knowledge assessment, and questioning, he hopes to pass what he has learned to other naturalists. This coming year, he will be working on finding ways to better merge academic content standards directly with hands-on activities, to further minimize lecture-based learning.
Naturalist Intern: Anna Fontanetta
Originally from Romeoville, Illinois, Anna has spent the last four years at the University of Minnesota Morris, earning a degree in biology and cultivating her love of natural history. She started college studying English, but as her high school biology teacher predicted, she switched to biology and found herself drawn towards outdoor education. During her time at UMM, Anna also discovered a passion for native plants while working at Morning Sky Greenery and as a research assistant. Anna spent this past summer interning at Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center in Spicer, MN, and is eager to continue learning and teaching at Glen Helen. In her free time, Anna enjoys baking and awful jokes. Additionally, Anna is a newly fledged birder and is thrilled to be getting a chance to work with raptors!
Naturalist Intern: Annie Kravet
Annie is from Larchmont, New York, and graduated from Connecticut College in the spring of 2012 with a degree in American Studies. Annie loves exploring the natural world, painting, knitting, climbing trees, and playing with her dog, Ishy. Some of her previous work experiences include working as a teacher at a summer ecology program, leading trips for an outdoor expedition company, and a working as a counselor at a farm and wilderness camp. Annie is excited to work at Glen Helen this coming year, where she will be able to combine her passions of working with children and spending time in nature.
Naturalist Intern: Bonnie Berg
Bonnie grew up in New Jersey and graduated from the College of Wooster in May 2012 with a B.A in History. While that seems like a distant connection to life at the Glen, she enjoys learning about everything (especially history and nature) and has worked at a farm and petting zoo for the past three years. In her spare time, Bonnie enjoys cooking, reading, quilting, hiking, kayaking, and learning new languages. She is excited to share her passion for the outdoors with students and to learn along with them.
Naturalist Intern: Caley Mackenzie
Caley is from Walpole, MA and a graduate of Westfield State College. She earned a teaching degree in English and for the past two years she has taught 4th and 6th graders on a reservation in New Mexico. Last summer, she biked across the country and built houses along the way for Habitat for Humanity. Caley is excited to move to Ohio and can't wait to share her love of the outdoors with everyone at Glen Helen.
Naturalist Intern: Gerlisa Garrett
Gerlisa, a born and bred Vermonter, attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies in May 2011. Her favorite things include working with children, environmental education and experiential learning, experimental baking, and Irish dance. She decided to come to Glen Helen after internships at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Vermont and Shaver's Creek Environmental Center in Pennsylvania solidified her love for informal environmental education, which she is excited to continue exploring at the Glen.
Naturalist Intern: Jennifer Lang
Jennifer Lang, Naturalist. Jennifer was born and raised in a suburb of Houston, Texas. Despite being surrounded by buildings and asphalt as a child, Jen still found a love of nature whether it was catching frogs that jumped into her parent's pool or searching for turtles in a nearby levee. Since then, she has tried to find ways to encourage kids to explore the world around them no matter where they live. Upon graduating in May with degrees in Biology and Environmental Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Jen came to work at Glen Helen as a 2012 Ecocamp Naturalist. She loved the experience so much that she decided to come back for Outdoor School!
Naturalist Intern: Kyle Wonser
Kyle was born in Toledo, but raised in the woods of the Midwest, a childhood filled with scouting trips, starry nights and firelight. He developed a love for the natural world from a very early age, and with it grew an academic curiosity that has propelled him into the study of many different fields. Kyle graduated from Miami University with degrees in English, Zoology, and Geology, but holds interests in a great many other fields, including psychology, anthropology, computer science and the arts. He enjoys reading, writing, and drawing in those rare idle hours, as well as hiking, biking, climbing and spelunking. He is a looking forward to the relatively new experience of teaching as a naturalist at Glen Helen, a chance to both expand his knowledge and share his passion for the natural world with his students and fellow interns.
Naturalist Intern: Lydia Reese
Lydia is from Knoxville, Tennessee and grew up playing in the Great Smoky Mountains. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in wildlife and fisheries biology and a minor in history. The past few summers she has worked at an environmental education center in the Smokies leading science-based trips for teens and doing field research. She is excited at the opportunity to combine her love of birds, especially birds of prey, with environmental education! In her free time, Lydia enjoys dancing, contra dance calling, cycling, and backpacking. She is extremely excited to be at the Glen and to work with kids!
Naturalist Intern: Molly May Finch
Molly May Finch grew up in and around Glen Helen, and feels extremely lucky to call it a home this year. She was hired at the Glen for Ecocamp 2012, and could not imagine leaving after being a part of something so amazing for ony one summer! While she has always loved being in nature, her true interest in ecology and outdoor education was sparked while attending an arts school near Traverse City, Michigan, where she was given lots of wonderful opportunities to explore field study in a beautiful setting. In college at Wright State University, Molly has focused in fine arts and art education. She can't think of anything better than to get to hang out with kids in nature while helping them expand in their understanding of ecological relationships and in their creativity, curiosity, self-confidence and sense of place. Molly's other favorite things in the world include playing tuba, painting (especially jellyfish), sailing, trying new foods, being with family, and wearing silly hats.
Naturalist Intern: Selene Carey
Selene grew up in Oxford, Ohio and came to the Glen as a child. She graduated from Miami University with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Botany. She loves learning about plants and ecology, and people and their cultures. In her free time Selene loves to be outside; she enjoys hiking, camping, and kayaking. She is excited to share her love of learning with the school groups that come to the Glen, as well as with her fellow staff.
