Khavin Debbs was born in Sacramento, California. After teaching preschool and elementary school for homeless children he relocated to Washington in 2013. There he finished his bachelors degree in Environmental Education from the Evergreen State College. He then later received his Urban Environmental Education Masters from Antioch University, where his thesis focused on decolonizing the outdoors for families of color. He is currently working as an Education Professor at North Seattle College. In his spare time Khavin enjoys watching and playing soccer, mycology, rock climbing, cooking, and art. Khavin goes by the pronouns He, Him, His.

Ted Gilman is a naturalist and environmental educator at Audubon Greenwich, where he has inspired a love of nature in generations of children and helped train educators from across the country. Ted received his bachelors degree in Biology from Earlham College and did graduate work in Science and Environmental Education at Cornell University. He has led Audubon trips to Trinidad & Tobago and Kenya, as well as served as an education volunteer for the International Crane Foundation in northern China. Ted began teaching on Hog Island in 1974 and has returned over the past four decades to serve as an instructor for ornithology and family camp programs.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Nicole Jackson (she/her) is an alumna of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences of The Ohio State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Education and Interpretation (2011) and has worked in different capacities throughout the past decade as an environmental educator, facilitator and freelance consultant for various non-profit organizations across Ohio. An urban environmental educator, park advocate, and birder, Nicole developed her love for nature as a young girl. Her interest in environmental education was sparked by her being selected as a TogetherGreen Youth Fellow with the National Audubon Society in 2011 and interned as a summer camp counselor with the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. In 2018 she joined the Next Generation Advisory Board of the National Parks Conservation Association. This council of diverse leaders and advocates explore effective methods of engaging younger generations in national park advocacy and protection. Nicole has worked with various national organizations such as Natural Leaders Network and North American Association for Environmental Education as well as universities such as Cornell University and University of Illinois. 

In June of 2020, Nicole along with a small group of Black STEM professionals and students co-organized Black Birders Week. The event was a week-long series of online events that highlighted Black nature enthusiasts and increased the visibility of Black birders, who face unique challenges and dangers when engaging in outdoor activities.  Nicole currently lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a new board member of the Columbus Audubon and hopes to get more communities of color connect to nature in their neighborhoods. In her spare time she likes to bird, read, take nature walks, and has recently taken up nature photography.

Margaret Lechner credits her parents’ love of nature and the outdoors for inspiring her career as an experiential educator. For 25 years Margaret was Jill-of-all-trades (Associate Professor of Biology) at Earlham College, where her work included directing the Wilderness Program, initiating the East Africa semester, teaching biology and education courses, and participating in Quaker Foundations of Leadership. She spent a third of her time in the field, much of it leading Southwest Field Studies, a semester of natural science and education study with a significant back country component.

Margaret's post-Earl ham career has included directing a community mediation center, facilitating AVP (Alternatives to Violence) in US prisons and Central American communities, and organizing AVP World Gatherings in Guatemala, Ireland and Nepal. During Covid she discovered the stories in her that needed to be told, co-writing They Kindled a Fire: The First 50 Years of Wilderness at Earlham and contributing to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Field Guide: Stories of Lived Experiences.

She delights in her children (one son, one daughter-in-law and many students), bread baking, fabric arts and Tai Chi. Contact Margaret at: Margaret.lechner@gmail.com.

Lindsay Strout is a Maine high school science educator who is very passionate about the outdoors and all it has to offer! She studied at the University of Prince Edward Island majoring in Biology and minoring in Environmental Studies. She then left North America and headed to South Korea to teach English for a few years, then traveled for an additional year to 9 other countries, living out of a backpack, exploring the various cultures, food and languages. Upon returning to Maine, she was introduced to nature journaling and currently teaches wildlife biology at Sanford High School. Last year, Lindsay finished her year-long course to become a Maine Master Naturalist as well! She grew up in a very outdoorsy family, from hiking and bicycling to canoe camping. She can’t wait to share her passion for the outdoors and nature journaling with you this summer!