Natural Start

 

Please join us in welcoming Sydney Murray to the Natural Start team as our new Conference and Communications Coordinator! Sydney is moving into the position as Emily Van Laan transitions to a new role with Natural Start. A big thank you to Emily for all that she's done to develop the voice and impact of Natural Start over the past five years, and seeing the conference through its transition to virtual and back again! And so much more!

You'll be seeing Sydney in Natural Start's webinars, you'll hear her voice in our social media and newsletters, and can meet her in person at the conference this summer in Portland! We are so excited to have Sydney on the team, bringing her wealth of experience and her commitment to expanding access to nature-based education to every young child.

 

About Sydney

Sydney spent the bulk of her childhood learning and growing under the canopy of the southeastern deciduous forests that make up her home state of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her undergraduate schooling, she began working as a youth environmental educator, leading her to eventually pursue her M.A. in the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Program to study how nature-based programs can better support nature-connections across diverse groups. While in Utah, she also co-founded Camping in Color, an overnight program designed for black youth and their families in the Salt Lake Valley area to enhance a sense of belonging, appreciation, and engagement in the outdoors. She joins the Natural Start Alliance team excited to further her work in making quality early childhood environmental education more accessible to all.