Teresa Vaughn

• Established and operated a successful outdoor environmental education organization for 19 years which served over 30 school, youth, and adult groups annually
• Conducted on-going communication with teachers and administrators to identify their goals and determine how to integrate those goals into hands-on outdoor activities; developed hands-on activities centered around nature awareness, ecological concepts, sense of place, natural and cultural history, and humans interacting with the environment
• Coordinated all aspects of the recreation and education programs, facilitated activities tied to curriculum
• Managed all administrative and business office duties, including hiring and training seasonal employees, bookkeeping, and payroll
• Built partnerships with community organizations, state and federal agencies, and schools in order to expand and strengthen environmental education throughout the region
• Maintained consistent outreach to schools, youth groups, adult groups through in-person meetings, email campaigns, professional development workshops, and conferences
• Highly skilled in coordinating and facilitating all aspects of a diverse offering of programs, including staffing, logistics, supplies, and scheduling, in a variety of outdoor settings and locations
• Analyzing research and data pertaining to regional landscapes, local conservation issues, and general ecological concepts to interpret to students in an outdoor classroom experiential format
• Interfacing with user groups regularly to identify their goals and determine how to integrate those goals into hands-on outdoor activities
• Developing high-quality, innovative hands-on activities centered around nature interpretation and awareness, ecological concepts, sense of place, natural and cultural history, humans interacting with the environment, and land-use practices
• Broad ranging experience in administrative duties and business office management, including hiring and training up to 3 seasonal employees, bookkeeping, payroll, income and expense tracking, and budget management
• Effectively building and maintaining partnerships with community organizations, state and federal agencies, and schools to expand environmental education opportunities in our region
• Highly adapted to working in a complex environment, modifying plans to adapt to varying weather conditions and diverse audiences

Southern Regional Director April 2003-April 2009

Leadership Team September 2004-September 2005

Southern Regional Director April 2021-current

Chair, Mini Grant Committee April 2015-current

Chair, Midwest Environmental Education Conference 2024-2025

• Help the organization grow by recruiting new members and maintain membership network.
• Created and maintained a network of environmental educators in the southernmost counties of Illinois.
• Coordinate and facilitate EE curriculum workshops for teachers.
• Lead ad hoc committees throughout the year to accomplish annual goals and objectives of the organization, including re-write strategic plans for fundraising, incorporate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion standards into our mission, interview and hire an executive director, review grants for the EPA, review Green Ribbon Schools applications, and organize board retreats.

• Managed day-to-day operations for 110 site campground and lakeside marina
• Used robust hospitality background to ensure top notch customer service
• Managed all aspects of business office including tracking seasonal income and expenses for profitability and sustainability throughout the seasons
• Managed vendor accounts and bookkeeping
• Established new reservation system to optimize campsite and boat rental availability
• Established and implemented successful marketing plan including website design and social media advertising
• Hired and managed all seasonal staff, assigned duties, tracked hours and evaluated performance for up to 6 people
• Marketing on social media, regional print ads, development of flyers, promotional ads

• Agile educator, teaching in a variety of outdoor settings
• Using recreation activities such as canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, and orienteering to engage participants in a relationship with the natural community, teach ecological concepts, and build leadership skills
• As part of a team of 4 -6 staff, I facilitated outdoor environmental education programs in a variety of formats, including single day, 4-day overnight residential, and 5-day canoe expeditions
• Lead staff in program activities such as team building, Project Wild/Project Wet curriculum, stream dynamics, forest ecology, biodiversity, ecological conservation
• Responsible for planning logistics, meals for staff and participants, communicating water safety protocols, and paddling techniques for canoeing programs
• Wilderness First Responder (Wilderness Medical Associates) certified from January 2000-January 2020

• Trained volunteers for the Citizen Scientist EcoWatch program throughout the state
• Worked independently and as part of a 3-person team to recruit volunteers, plan classroom and field trainings, educate volunteers in the field testing protocols, and determine the biotic index
• Proficient in identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates and calculating biotic index for streams

• Worked on a crew of 3 to perform an integrated resource inventory on the Thunder Basin National Grassland; located plot sites based on soil types, determined vegetation types, and calculated the seral stage of the plot
• Operated a GPS unit, navigated the survey area using topographic maps