Rebecca Houser
​President  

Rebecca Houser (She/Her) has been the Education and Outreach Specialist with the NYS Department Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Program since 2002, working with schools and communities to enhance understanding of the Hudson River. She holds a B.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a Master of Arts in Education from Adams State University, and is STEM certified through Teachers College, Columbia University. She takes pride in her work to connect students to the Hudson through place-based learning. Rebecca joined NYSOEA in 2002, and fell in love with the people and organization who inspire lifelong learning about the outdoors. In her free time she enjoys exploring and hiking with her kids, kayaking, swimming, and gardening.

Ashawna Abbott 
VP Human Resources

Ashawna Abbott (She/They) is the Education Outreach Coordinator for Mohonk Preserve. Her favorite part of her job is facilitating school programs in classrooms and at the preserve and collecting pond creatures for education programs. Ashawna earned their Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation from Ithaca College in 2017. She loves exploring ways to incorporate art, mindfulness, and other therapeutic modalities into environmental education programming. In their free time, Ashawna enjoys birdwatching and hiking in the Hudson Valley.   

Conrad Baker
VP Communications

Conrad Baker (He/Him) is an environmental educator for New York State Parks on and around the Genesee River, Including Lakeside State Park, Hamlin Beach State Park, Genesee Valley Greenway State Park, and Letchworth State Park. A multimedia journalism background lets him educate on social media from time to time. He brings colorful trade perspectives and practices to programs and displays, like insect pinning, fur handling, and taxidermy maintenance.

Sunny Corrao
Secretary 

Sunny Corrao (She/Her) joined as a member in 2010, after learning about NYSOEA through her graduate degree program at NYU. She saw a call to volunteer at an outreach event and was quickly recruited to join committees and serve on the board. Originally from Nevada, she grew up loving the heat and vast mountains of the western deserts. As long as she can remember, her personal goals and daily life have been centered around wildlife, sustainability, and energy conservation. She has worked for NYC Parks since 2006, first as an Urban Park Ranger and currently as the Public Engagement Associate for NYC Parks' Wildlife Unit. ​

Mary Ronan
VP Programs

​Mary Ronan (She/Her) is an Environmental Educator for the NYSDEC at Reinstein Woods Environmental Education Center in Depew, NY. She loves the variability in her work days, splitting time between leading professional development workshops, school programs, in classrooms and at the preserve, and promoting local nature exploration in afterschool Discover Your Neighborhood adventures. She is the coordinator for the “Day in the Life of the Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed” program which allows her to share her passion for the Great Lakes and freshwater ecosystems. Mary spends much of her free time snorkeling in local creeks searching for macroinvertebrates and creating artwork based on her adventures. ​

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Carol Rogers 
Treasurer

Carol Rogers (She/Her) has truly enjoyed and treasures her many years as an Environmental Educator and her love for the outdoors! After graduating with an AAS degree in Natural Resources Conservation from Finger Lakes Community College, she took her first position with Cornell University. She recently retired from NYS Parks, as their Environmental Educator for the Niagara Region Interpretive Programs Office. She enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors hiking, and with her grandkids. 

Anna Harrod
Eastern Region Director

Anna Harrod-McGrew (She/Her) is a Natural Resources & Environment Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Ulster County. Her work focuses on building climate resiliency within local communities through projects associated with the New York State Climate Smart Communities program as well as outreach and education on Microplastics with NY Sea Grant.  She was inspired at a young age to pursue environmental sciences when she attended the NYS DEC camps as a camper and then a volunteer. Earning her BS in Environmental Studies and Geology from St. Lawrence University (with a minor in theater!) she began her outdoor education career as an intern at the San Mateo Outdoor School in La Honda, CA. She returned to New York and worked seasonally at several outdoor schools, including the Ashokan Center and the Taconic Outdoor Education Center. After working as an educator at the Mohonk Preserve for 6 years, she then worked for CCE Columbia and Greene Counties as 4-H educator and CCE Dutchess as an Environmental & Youth Educator where she managed the No Child Left Inside Program before taking her current position with CCE Ulster.  Anna enjoys running, hiking, and biking throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills.

Eastern Region Counties: Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Otsego, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga,  Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington

Elijah Kruger
Western Region Director

Elijah Kruger (He/Him) has always had a passion for sharing the wonders of nature with everyone.  He has a BS in Recreation Management from Ithaca College.  He was introduced to the field of outdoor education while still in school, having served as an intern for the Environmental Education Department of the Finger Lakes Region of NYS Parks.  He has worked for NYS Parks for over 10 years now and has enjoyed facilitating nature experiences for diverse audiences at several parks around New York.  After spending nearly 7 years managing the Humphrey Nature Center at Letchworth State Park he has come back to where it all began, and since late 2022 has been working as an Environmental Educator for the Finger Lakes Region of NYS Parks.  Much of Elijah’s free time is spent birding and, when conditions allow, making maple syrup.​

Western Region Counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Erie, Livingston, Monroe,   Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming

Josh Teeter
Central Region Director

Josh Teeter (He/Him) works for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as the Environmental Educator for the Finger Lakes Region. He received his undergraduate degree from Binghamton University, and earned his master's degree in recreation management at SUNY Cortland in 2009. In 2003, during a year-long primitive and survival skills course at Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA, he realized that he wanted to share things that might help connect people to their surrounding and feel comfortable being outside (while being outside himself). Today, he continues to attend conferences, trainings, lectures, and webinars and has to fight the urge to constantly look things up. Very few days pass in his life without lots of laughter, a hike, or a trail run.

Central Region Counties: Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland,  Madison, Onondaga, Seneca, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins, Yates

Linda Besio
Northern Region Director

Linda Besio (She/Her) was born and raised in the North Country and is part of a large family of 9 brothers and sisters. She graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a degree in Biology and began working for NYS Parks in 1998. Linda loves working with the schoolchildren and the animals at the nature center. She hopes to continue on as part of this wonderful place for as long as possible. t

​Northern Region Counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Warren

Ciara Scully
Metro Region Co-Director

Ciara Scully (she/her) grew up using parks in NYC as her backyard. Her passion for Environmental Education stems from a desire to connect folks to one another, and the nature in their neighborhoods! With a background in geography, environmental science, and conservation education she has been working with NY State Parks in NYC since 2018, first as an environmental educator and now serving as the Deputy Park Director at Shirley Chisholm State Park. NYSOEA has always been such a valuable place for her to learn about EE and connect with other educators, and she is delighted to get to share that world with others in the Metro region. 

Christina Tobitsch
Metro Region Co-Director

Christina Tobitsch (She/Her) is the Lead Educator and Curriculum Development Specialist at Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s in Environmental Conservation Education from NYU. Christina grew up in the Hudson Valley, and has held several great educator positions up and down the Hudson River that helped her discover and hone her passions for estuary education, early childhood programming, and exhibit/curriculum design. Christina has many creative side hobbies, including dance and playing the clarinet. She loves incorporating music and the arts into EE programming!

Lily Ropes
NYSOEA Office Manager

Lily Ropes (She/Her) is a longtime resident of the Hudson Valley who appreciates the beauty and the outdoor activities that the area has to offer. Lily comes to us most recently from the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, where she served as the Director of Marketing. Prior to that, she worked at The Culinary Institute for America for 20 years in Marketing and Administrative roles. She will be based out of the Stony Kill Foundation office in Wappingers Falls, NY where she is also the Office Manager. Among her reasons for applying to this dual position were a desire to live walking distance to work, and to find a greater work-life balance at an organization that shares her values.