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Category: Faculty Advisor

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Lillian Herring

LILLIAN HERRING

Faculty Advisor

Lillian Herring (she/her) works as a Wildlife Field Technician gathering research data for
conservation management projects. She is currently working on a grassland research in  Southern Illinois tracking Bobwhites and Black Racer snakes as well as conducting vegetation surveys and bird counts. Her past projects include trapping and tagging Bobwhites to study habitat use also located in Southern Illinois, and a small mammal mark and recapture project to study population distribution on GrandFather Mountain in North Carolina. Lillian graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors of Science in Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental Biology. Lillian is a 2016 WYSE alumna and a former JFA. When not working Lillian enjoys cooking, hiking with her dog and cat, and hanging out at the rock climbing gym.

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Brian Schwenk

Faculty Advisor

Brian Schwenk is currently a science teacher at Falls Church High School in Falls Church, VA. He has been teaching there for 3 years. He currently teaches Biology for English Learners and STEM Essentials for English Learners. He obtained his BS in Biology from James Madison University in 2013, and he obtained his MAT from James Madison University in 2015. He is excited for his first summer with WYSE!

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Donna Downing

DONNA DOWNING

Faculty Advisor

Donna Downing is the Senior Legal Policy Advisor at the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM).  Prior to coming to ASWM in December 2020, Donna was a policy analyst and attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and served as Jurisdiction Team Leader in EPA’s Office of Water for fifteen years. Donna works on a variety of issues, with a focus in recent years on which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Donna previously worked for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, and in private law practice. She has a BA from Harvard University magna cum laude, a MPP from the University of California at Berkeley, a JD from Georgetown University cum laude, and a LLM in Environmental Law summa cum laude from George Washington University. Donna teaches environmental law as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School, and was awarded the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award in 2012. In what’s left of her time, Donna moonlights as a professional potter and an unprofessional horse trainer.

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Jim Poyser

Faculty Advisor

Jim Poyser left his 2-decade career in journalism because of his urgency regarding climate change, joining Earth Charter Indiana as its executive director in September, 2013, to engage Indiana young people in climate leadership. Poyser directs Youth Power Indiana, ECI’s youth program responsible for the passage of climate recovery resolutions in three Indiana cities. He was trained by the Climate Reality Project and has created the world’s first climate change game show, The Ain’t Too Late Show. He lives in Indianapolis on the White River.

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Keni Rienks

KENI RIENKS

Faculty Advisor

Keni Rienks teaches AP Environmental Science, Coastal Engineering, and AP Seminar at an independent school in Wilmington, NC. She also leads the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation and is on the board for the Duke University Superfund Research Center’s Community Engagement Core. When Keni is not working, she enjoys time on the boat and at the beach with her husband and two children. Keni holds a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington.

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Faculty Advisor

Caitlin Wall

CAITLIN WALL

Faculty Advisor

Caitlin is currently directing Potomac Conservancy’s Policy program in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C, working to empower a local clean water movement through grassroots engagement and advocacy efforts. She previously worked at Marstel-Day, LLC, leading policy efforts to develop compatible use partnerships between military installations and communities and conducting studies on environmental challenges facing the military. Caitlin earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in public policy and environmental studies and an M.A. from Colorado State University in political science. She is a Senior Fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program, is an RYT 200 certified yoga instructor, and enjoys hiking, camping, and triathlons.

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Faculty Advisor

Gary Swick

GARY SWICK

Faculty Advisor

Gary Swick used his BS in Natural Resource Mgt. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and a MSEd in Outdoor Teacher Education as the foundation for developing a field-based High School Environmental Science suite of eight courses.  The related projects have earned numerous state & national acclaim for their innovative approaches and impressive results.  Individually, Gary has received several recognitions on the national level as an outstanding Environmental Educator. With the motto, “Environmental Action through Education”, his students have been active agents of change in their communities. His primary focus has been getting students into their local streams as “Watershed Watchdogs”, collecting data and becoming stewards. He previously taught at Northern Illinois University and is now retired. In addition to teaching, Gary spent 18 summers as a whitewater raft guide in Wyoming.  Gary serves as the President of the Friends of the Fox River, the Board President of the Elgin Math & Science Academy, and is a board member on several other non-profit conservation groups. He is an avid outdoor recreationist.

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Faculty Advisor

Tom Reid

Faculty Advisor

Last fall Tom left his position as Senior Manager of Business Development at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) in Boston to pursue a Master of Divinity at Boston University School of Theology. Prior to working at MassCEC, Tom was Director of Business Development for The Vertex Companies, Inc. – a Boston-based international environmental consulting firm. Tom also developed the Energy and Sustainability Division at Vertex and started with the company as a project manager in the International division. Before moving to Boston, Tom spent a number of years living in Europe (UK, Italy, Spain) as a Fulbrighter to the European Union (2006-2007) and working in the program administration of the International MBA program at IE Business School in Madrid. He then spent a couple of years working in environmental and green building consulting in Dubai.

Originally from Kansas, Tom holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies and Spanish from the University of Kansas and a master’s in European Politics, Policy and Society granted jointly by the University of Bath (UK) and other members of the Euromaster’s consortium of European universities.

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Faculty Advisor

Corey Payne

COREY PAYNE

Faculty Advisor

Corey earned his PhD in Science Education from the University of Florida studying issues of representation in STEM.  He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at St. Mary’s College of Maryland leading a grant through the American Physics Society that targets professional identity and self-efficacy to increase the recruitment of K12 science teachers. His primary research interests include mentoring, developmental network analysis, and inquiry-based science education. During graduate school, he worked on an NSF-funded project to redesign the chemistry laboratory curriculum for engineering majors to increase the retention and performance of underrepresented students. Outside of his educational research interests he has also worked with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in the forest ecology lab studying canopy structures and their relation to global climate change. He has also volunteered at the Whitney Labs studying climate change and the effect of the northern expansion of mangroves into Florida. In his free time, he enjoys restoring vintage mountain bikes, tubing in the Florida springs, and swimming in the ocean with his dog Maple.

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Faculty Advisor

Dr. Tammy Newcomer-Johnson

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Tammy Newcomer-Johnson loves exploring and understanding how humans can live sustainably with the environment. Tammy has a B.S. in Environmental Science and a Ph.D. in Marine Estuarine Environmental Science from University of Maryland. Tammy has published a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as the environment in cities, nutrient pollution, and stream restoration. Tammy’s research has been funded by National Science Foundation, NOAA Sea Grant, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She currently works as an Ecologist with EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Cincinnati, Ohio. For fun, Tammy enjoys traveling, snorkeling, and hiking with her dog Winston.