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 Assistant Director, Conservation Education USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.
Janet Ady (Retired) Bureau of Land Management Washington, D.C.	Daniel Benavidez (Retired) Superintendent Public Schools New Mexico
Heather Berklund Chief State Forester Wisconsin Department of Natural Resouces Wisconsin	Barbara Boler PLT Manager Langdale Woodlands Georgia
Asia Dowtin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Urban Forestry Michigan State University Michigan	Larissa Harris-Juip Ph.D. Candidate in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology Michigan Technological University Michigan
Joe Heimlich, Ph.D. Co-Director COSI Center for Research and Evaluation Ohio	Jessica Ireland Director of Education Programs North Carolina Forestry Association North Carolina
Andrea M. Kane, Ph.D. Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education Former Superintendent in Queen Anne’s County Maryland Pennsylvania	LeeAnn Mikkelson (PLT Coordinator Representative) Director of Oregon Natural Resources Education Program Oregon State University Oregon PLT Co-Coordinator Oregon
Carmen Ortiz Instructional Designer, Training & Certification Amazon Web Services Washington, D.C.	Shauna Potocky Education Strategist National Park Service Alaska
Robert Raze, Ph.D. Professor, College of Education St. Petersburg College 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