My teaching goal is always to co-create interdisciplinary, relevant lesson plans with my students and fellow teachers, tying science to issues of justice, public health, art, and beyond.”
Liz’s Story
Teaching Disciplines
Biology, Environmental Science, and Environmental Justice
Why Biology and Environmental Science
“I’ve been drawn to plants, animals, and ecology since I was a small child. It’s also the discipline that grants me the easiest excuse to get kids (and myself) outside. And everything in biology and ecology relates to us, humans, at a profound, bodily level.”
Professional Experience
Before becoming a high school teacher, Liz worked in several environmental education roles. This included several seasons as an interpretive and backcountry park ranger at sites including Isle Royale National Park, Colorado National Monument, and the Klamath National Forest; leading volunteers for backcountry moose bone collection to support the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose project; and guiding youth trips through the Sierra Club’s “Inspiring Connections Outdoors” program.
From 2014 to 2018, Liz worked as the full-time Connections Coordinator for the Minnesota Zoo, coordinating, developing, and teaching conservation education programs for the public. She won the outstanding staff award and developed several popular new programs for the zoo and the community. Her goals included adding content about large-scale, community-based issues and solutions in the realm of conservation, adding inquiry and experimentation to programs, and increasing representation of female scientists and scientists of color in programming.
From 2018 to 2019, Liz worked full-time for the Dakota County Soil & Water Conservation District as their Education & Outreach Coordinator. In this role, she managed the Landscaping for Clean Water program and K-12 programming, and worked with their staff, board, and community partners to develop a three-year Education & Outreach Plan and to commit to a list of Equity and Inclusion Goals.
While she enjoyed working in informal environmental education, Liz felt that she was missing out on the chance to build meaningful, longer-term relationships with students. Liz decided to make the move to teaching in public schools, where she could teach science, ecology, and discovery, and support young people’s natural curiosity while building relationships in a different environment. She aims to be an anti-racist, abolitionist teacher and to teach biology and environmental science in a context of social justice and environmental racism, while highlighting the victories and work of youth and Black, Indigenous, and people of color activists.
Liz has been teaching at the School of Environmental Studies (SES) since the 2020–2021 school year. She teaches a course she developed called “Environmental Justice & Youth Action” and AP Environmental Science, and co-teaches an interdisciplinary environmental studies course. Liz is a leader of SES’s staff Equity Team and puts on an annual school-wide Earth Day celebration. She has developed new partnerships between the school and non-profits, government agencies, activists, and artists around the Twin Cities.
Liz completed an M.S. in Conservation Ecology at the University of Michigan (2013) and an M.Ed. in Science Education at the University of Minnesota (2021.) During her graduate studies at the University of Michigan, Liz and three others founded the Sustainable Food Program and a new campus farm. Since its inception, the farm has more than doubled in size, acquiring multiple full-time staff members to support the program, and supplies food to dorm dining halls.
Hobbies
Liz practices Irish step dancing and teaches dance. She also enjoys backpacking, hiking, paddling, skiing, and other outside adventures, bringing her two kiddos along for the ride. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Academic Background
- University of Minnesota (Master of Education in Science Education)
- University of Michigan (Master of Science in Conservation Ecology)
- University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies)