Governance - Project Learning Tree

The Education Operating Committee (EOC) is a committee of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Board and reports to the SFI Board. It is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and strategy development in connection with Project Learning Tree (PLT) and other educational programs of SFI. The committee develops opportunities to further understanding about natural resource management and complex environmental issues among youth and their families – working with educators, resource management professionals, youth leaders, citizen conservationists, and others in cooperative projects.

The committee’s responsibilities include:

Recommending goals and policies for PLT and other educational programs
Recommending annual programs, work plans, and budgets for consideration and approval by SFI’s Board of Directors
Advocating for PLT
Participating in or assisting with PLT’s programs and activities as appropriate
Providing guidance related to strategic planning for PLT programs
Assessing effectiveness of PLT activities in addressing strategic priorities and recommending improvements or change
Ensuring that effective, transparent, and credible mechanisms for awarding of grants, fellowships, prizes, and honors are maintained.

PLT’s Education Operating Committee

Ashley Hoffman Committee Co-chair Executive Director Kentucky Association for Environmental Education Kentucky	Heidi McAllister Committee Co-chair Asst. Director, Conservation Education USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.
Janet Ady (retired) Division Chief of Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships Bureau of Land Management Washington, D.C.	Wanda Barrs Tree Farmer Due South Investment Georgia
Daniel Benavidez (retired) Superintendent Central Consolidated School District New Mexico	Heather Berklund Chief State Forester Wisconsin Department of Natural Resouces Wisconsin
Barbara Boler Executive Administrative Assistant The Langdale Company Georgia	Joe Heimlich, Ph.D. Co-Director COSI Center for Research and Evaluation Ohio
Jessica Ireland PLT Coordinator Representative Extension Program Manager University of Florida Florida	Beth Marchand Director, Product Commercialization Curaleaf New Hampshire
Ericka Markman Consultant Turo Park Partners LLC Maryland	Carmen Ortiz Learning Designer & Career Coach Harvard University Graduate School of Education Massachusetts
Karen L. Ostlund, Ph.D. Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin UTeach Science Program, College of Natural Sciences Texas	Robert Raze, Ph.D. Professor, St. Petersburg College College of Education Florida
Michelle Saulnier Program Director Arbor Day Foundation Nebraska	Laura Six, Ph.D. Plant Ecologist Weyerhaeuser Company Washington
Susan Stutts SFI Implementation Committee Representative Senior Director Texas Forestry Association Texas