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 Elizabethtown, KY	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 Superintendent Central Consolidated School District New Mexico	Denise Buck Program Director Pacific Education Institute Washington
Joe Heimlich, Ph. D. Co-Director COSI Center for Research and Evaluation Ohio	Jessica Ireland Extension Program Manager PLT State Coordinator University of Florida Florida
Beth Marchand Director, Product Commercialization Curaleaf New Hampshire	Ericka Markman Consultant Turo Park Partners LLC Maryland
Carmen Ortiz Manager, Professional Learning National Geographic Washington, D.C.	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
Ellen Shultzabarger Pennsylvania State Forester Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Pennsylvania	Rahul Singh CEO Anant Corporation Washington, D.C.
Laura Six, Ph. D. Plant Ecologist Weyerhaeuser Company Washington	Ashley Smith Alabama SIC Representative PLT State Coordinator Alabama Forestry Association Alabama
Julia Washburn Superintendent Rock Creek National Park Washington, D.C.