The Leadership Team advises Natural Start staff in developing the overall mission and strategy for the Alliance, and provides leadership to the field by leading and supporting Alliance projects.
Natural Start's Leadership Team
Amanda McMickle, Cibolo Center for Conservation
Amanda is currently the Vice President of Education at the Cibolo Center for Conservation which has The Nest Nature School on its campus. She has been a leader of nature-based schools ranging from public to private, early childhood to Kinder-6th grade. Amanda is the founder of NEST-Nature-based Education Support in Texas, a regional group that meets monthly to discuss nature-based philosophy and best practices in early childhood settings. She also facilitates an alliance of organizations in San Antonio driven to make outdoor learning more accessible in public K-12 schools. Amanda sits on the board of Families in Nature and the International Play Association. She is working on her Ph.D. in a program at the University of the Incarnate Word entitled Adult Education, Social Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. On the weekends, Amanda enjoys exploring San Antonio's beautiful city parks with her three children.
Amy Butler, North Branch Nature Center
As young child, Amy loved catching snakes and riding her banana seat bike in the woods of Central New York. Her dream job has always been to work outside, all day, in all kinds of weather. She started her work with NBNC in 2010 by founding and developing the ECO program in partnership with area public schools. Amy’s vision is to see that all school children in Vermont have connected the natural world by opening their doors and stepping into the landscape that surrounds their communities. She is also a guest teacher and lecturer for Antioch University and brings NBNC’s story and mission of the importance of nature connection to conferences throughout the US. Amy has lived with her family at the base of Spruce Mountain in Plainfield for 18 years. She fully embraces the benefits of healthy risk taking and can be found trail running or backcountry skiing on Vermont’s most precarious terrain in every season.
Anna Dutke, Independent School District 196
Anna Dutke, Nature Preschool Teacher at Oak Ridge Elementary and Early Childhood TOSA. Licensed in early childhood and early childhood special education, Anna is passionate about making sure nature-based learning is part of every child's education experience. She developed a Nature Preschool option for Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools' Circle of Friends Preschool in 2014 and in the Fall 2022 launched a Nature Preschool option as part of Connections Preschool in ISD 196. When she is not teaching Nature Preschool, she is actively involved in several organizations to help support educators with nature-based learning, including the Jeffers Foundation, Minnesota Early Childhood Outdoors (MnECO), Minnesota Children and Nature Connection (MNCNC), and the Teach Outdoors! Minnesota project. She also teaches as an adjunct instructor for Hamline University. In her free time, you can find her at her family's cabin in Wisconsin perfecting her hammock hanging skills.
Diona Reese Williams, Tribal Community College on the Tohono O'odham Nation and Out Back Learning, LLC
Diona is a full time Early Childhood Education Professor at a Tribal Community College on the Tohono O'odham Nation. She loves teaching college students about Early Childhood Education, but absolutely loves working with young children and families. In September of 2019, she became a Business Owner & Educator of Out Back Learning, LLC, an outdoor (in-home provider) nature preschool. What inspired Diona to open Out Back Learning LLC is her desire to grow her knowledge in the profession in Early Childhood Education and discover new and innovative ways to work with young children. She had an opportunity to attend a conference two years ago at Prescott College, where she was able to learn about Nature-based Place and Play in Early Childhood Education. She was so inspired by the movement that she implemented the ideas and knowledge with her students the following school year, which led to gardening and outdoor lessons. She decided to leave public education to pursue higher education and to start this Nature-based Preschool Program. She has worked with children birth to age 8 for the last 18+ years in many different capacities. Diona’s career has allowed her to work as an Infant/Toddler Mental Health Clinician II (behavioral health), Arizona Early Intervention Program, and CHILD Find Team/Public Educator as an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher.
Megan Gessler, M.Ed., The Morton Arboretum
Megan is the Little Trees Program Supervisor for The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Il. and the Founder of the Northern Illinois Nature Preschool Association (NINPA). She has over a decade of experience directing and teaching in a nature-based preschool. She holds a M.Ed. and Certificate in Nature-based Early Childhood Education from Antioch University New England (AUNE) and is a Certified Master Naturalist. Megan is a co-author of the Children's Environmental Kinship Guide and has contributed to The Sky Above and the Mud Below: Lessons from Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens. Most importantly, Megan loves to inspire children to engage in learning about, in, with, and for the natural world.
Patti Bailie, Ph.D., University of Maine at Farmington
Patti is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Maine at Farmington. She has worked in the field of early childhood environmental education for 30 years, as the Assistant Director of the Nature-based Early Childhood Certificate Program at Antioch University New England, as founding director of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool in Milwaukee, WI and Co-Director of the Early Childhood Outdoors Institute in Omaha, NE. Patti contributed two chapters about nature preschools to David Sobel’s book Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning. She also wrote an outdoor learning curriculum for the PreK for ME public preschool curriculum developed by the Maine Department of Education and was part of the writing team for the Nature-Based Preschool Professional Practice Guidebook. She enjoys kayaking, snowshoeing and skiing in Maine, where she lives with her husband.
Patty Born, Ph.D., Hamline University
Dr. Patty Born is an assistant professor of environmental and STEM education at Hamline University in St Paul MN. In her role, she oversees a Master of Arts program which has a concentration in nature-based early learning. Prior to her work in higher education, Patty worked with young children in traditional classroom settings and also nonformal setting such as nature centers and museums. She has written four books for educators, on topics ranging from STEM in the outdoors to child-animal relations. She is on the board of a local urban nature preschool.
Rachel Larimore, Samara Early Learning
Dr. Rachel A. Larimore is an educator, speaker, consultant, and author. Her work focuses on the intentional integration of nature to support young children’s holistic development by learning with nature to expand their worlds and live rich, full lives. She has written three books including Establishing a Nature-Based Preschool and Preschool Beyond Walls: Blending Early Childhood Education and Nature-Based Learning. Rachel is the founder and Chief Visionary of Samara Early Learning, an organization focused on helping early childhood educators start nature-based schools or add nature-based approaches into their existing program. Prior to founding Samara, she spent more than a decade starting and directing one of the first nature-based preschools in the United States.
Sheila Williams Ridge, Child Development Lab School at the University of Minnesota
Sheila is the Director of the Child Development Lab School at the University of Minnesota. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in education, as well as experience as an early childhood administrator, nonprofit administrator, and preschool teacher/naturalist. She is a facilitator for the NAEYC Young Children and Nature Interest Forum, on the Voices and Choices coalition, a board member for the Minneapolis Nature Preschool, a board member for Monarch Joint Venture, a board member for Dodge Nature Center, and a member of the Natural Start Alliance Leadership Team. She is co-author of the book, Nature-Based Learning for Young Children: Anytime, Anywhere, on Any Budget, published by Redleaf Press and is passionate about encouraging nature-based play and the lasting developmental benefits of a relationship between children and nature. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, snorkeling, camping, cooking, and gardening.
Susie Wirth, Nature Explore
Susie has over thirty years in the environmental education field working with children and families. Her work focused on the collaborative Nature Explore program to help reconnect young children with the natural world. She has authored articles nationally on the subject, including feature articles in NAEYC’s Young Children magazine (Jan. 2012 issue) and Head Start’s Children and Families magazine. Susie still helps conduct national workshops and community forums to help people create effective outdoor learning environments for children. She was part of the NAAEE writing team that wrote the nationally accepted Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence. She is also one of the original members of the Natural Start Advisory Board. Susie recently retired from her full time role but she still helps with strategic projects and occasional presentations. She is honored to continue to support Natural Start and NAAEE.
Sylvia Collazo, Nova Southeastern University
Sylvia is an Adjunct Professor for the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice at Nova Southeastern University. She is currently completing her dissertation to earn a Doctorate of Education in Exceptional Student Education with a focus on early childhood. Her research interests include issues around inclusion and inclusive practices, particularly in early childhood nature-based settings, positive behavior support, universal design for learning, STEM/STEAM, teacher preparation, and professional development. Recently, she defended her dissertation which involved the development and presentation of a professional development training package on nature-based teaching for early childhood educators who support young children with disabilities in their classrooms. Driven by her personal experiences as a sibling of a now-adult with special needs, Sylvia has spent 20 years serving children with disabilities, their families, and fellow educators in a variety of roles. She serves on several boards, including the League for Environmental Educators of Florida (LEEF) and Cocoplum Nature School, and she is an active member of NAAEE Affiliate Working Group. When she is not working, she loves listening to music, reading inspirational books, practicing yoga, and photographing nature as well as spending time with her husband, family, and furry children.
Yashwant Bhagwanji, Florida Atlantic University
Yash is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and teaches in Bachelor of Early Care and Education, Certificate of Early Childhood Environmental Education, and several graduate programs at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. His expertise covers childhood development, early childhood curriculum/teaching methods, early intervention, and family involvement. He is the author of Early Childhood Environmental Education Rating Scale: A Formative Evaluation Tool to Help Programs Improve Nature Education for Young Children, a research-validated program evaluation instrument that has received national attention and assisted many programs in charting new innovations in programming. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Service at National Level Award from the North American Association of Environmental Education, and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education. Prior to becoming a professor, Bhagwanji was an Infant/Toddler Teacher at a pioneering early childhood center that served children with and without special needs in Oklahoma City. He received his Ph.D. in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In his capacity as a professor, he has been the recipient of many state and national grants related to improving early education as well as family services.
Past Leaders
Thank you to the following leaders who have given their time and expertise to the Natural Start Alliance through the Leadership Team.
David Sobel
Ken Finch
Elise Hansen
Stacy McReynolds
Peter Pizzolongo
Mary Rivkin
Bora Simmons
Sarah Heller
Kit Harrington
Monica Wiedel-Lubinski
Joining the Leadership Team
Membership in the Natural Start Alliance Leadership Team is not limited by specific terms or time limits. Many members of the Leadership Team have advised the project for many years, and some have been with the Alliance since its inception, providing valuable long-term perspectives. Spaces do occasionally open within the team, however. When spaces are open, new members are selected based on their ability to bring perspectives, skills, and networks that the Alliance leadership needs most. The Natural Start Alliance actively seeks leaders who help the Alliance, and the broader field, move toward greater justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.