A team focused on transforming education and building local capacity

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Our Roots
Our Team
Board Advisors
Board of Directors
Financials

Our Roots

EcoEducate is a US 501 (c) 3 nonprofit dedicated to transforming education and fostering sustainability in ecologically valuable and fragile islands and coastal areas in Latin America.

Our approach connects teaching and learning with realities in students’ communities in ways that help young people acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to shape a sustainable future and understand the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental systems.

Our Mission

EcoEducate transforms education in ecologically fragile islands and coastal areas of Latin America by bridging learning to local contexts. We support educators with innovative, experiential strategies to equip students in developing the knowledge, skills, and mindset to build a resilient and sustainable future.

Our Vision

We envision a growing, international network of school communities where dedicated educators collaborate to inspire students through transformative education, deeply rooted in both local and global realities, preparing them to lead sustainable solutions for nature and society. These communities serve as showcases of best practices in action for expanding Education for Sustainability on regional and national scales.

Research-based Principles

Our work reflects a deep commitment to the following research-based principles:

Teachers matter most for achieving high-quality education and positive student outcomes.

Professional development (PD) should be designed in partnership with education authorities and local communities to ensure it complements and doesn’t compete with national, regional and local priorities.

Education that connects learning with students’ daily lives and local and global sustainability principles improves content knowledge, higher-order-thinking skills, and environmental literacy.

PD should help educators master fundamental, research-based teaching strategies (such as planning, classroom management, differentiated instruction, and facilitating learning around driving questions) before tackling more complex approaches, such as project-based and place-based learning.

PD should be designed based on the specific needs and opportunities in a given educational community; one size doesn’t fit all.

PD should help teachers teach the specific subjects and grade levels to which they are assigned.

PD should be intensive, continuous, and connected to practice, involving modeling, teacher observations, and opportunities for teachers to reflect on their evolving practice.

PD should be accompanied by rigorous monitoring and evaluation of its impact on teacher practice and, when feasible, student outcomes.

PD should integrate diversity, equity, and ethics by preparing educators to use inclusive practices, address disparities, and uphold ethical standards to ensure all students receive fair and effective support.

Our Program Team

Our program team has over 40 years of combined experience transforming education in Latin America.

Richard Knab

Founder and Executive Director

Heny Ágredo

Education Director and Training Facilitator

Miriam Chacon

Coaching Director and Training Facilitator

Susan Huss-Lederman

ECO-PBL Director
Duraymi Huete Chávez

Duraymi Huete Chávez

Lead Instructional Coach (Galapagos)
Lori Ulrich

Lori Ulrich

Communications & Marketing Coordinator

Our Board of Directors

Our board possesses decades of knowledge and experience in a variety of sectors, including environmental conservation, international education, and non-profit management.

Katie Burdick

President

Johannah Barry

Treasurer

Scott Henderson

Secretary

Andrew Sherman

Board Member

Monserrat Creamer

Board Member
Elizabeth Coolidge Nassikas

Elizabeth Coolidge Nassikas

Board Member
Carlos Quiroz, EcoEducate Board Member

Carlos Quiroz

Board Member

Our Board of Advisors

Our Board of Advisors is comprised of experienced educators with a deep understanding of education in Latin America. In addition to advising EcoEducate in key areas, such as professional development design and monitoring and evaluation, many of our advisors also participate in program delivery.

K.C. Busch, EcoEducate Advisor

K.C. Busch

EcoEducate Advisor

Amelia Farber

EcoEducate Advisor

Mariana Castro

EcoEducate Advisor
Dr. Paul Polanco, EcoEducate Advisor

Paul Polanco

EcoEducate Advisor

Diego Román

EcoEducate Advisor

More Details

EcoEducate received its 501 (c) 3 designation from the US Internal Revenue Service in May 2023.

Since that time, EcoEducate’s Board of Directors invested in: 1) professional development for 40 Galapagos instructional coaches that serve all 400 teachers who, in turn, serve 7,500 students (through grants to the Galapagos-based Fundación Scalesia) and 2) Technical support in the design and launch of an Education for Sustainability Program in Chile’s Juan Fernandez islands and Isla Mocha for 48 teachers and 313 students from four schools (in collaboration with Fundación Educación 2020, a Chilean nonprofit, and OIKONOS, a US-based nonprofit working in Chile).

For budget or operational details, please contact [email protected]

Carlos Quiroz, EcoEducate Board Member
Board Member

Carlos Quiroz

Carlos Quiroz is Owner and Principal of Quiroz Communications. He has nearly 30 years of experience leading public outreach, communications, and marketing initiatives for public and private clients. His work includes multicultural marketing and public relations campaigns for the US Department of Agriculture, community outreach for the California Department of Water Resources, and leadership of a nonprofit organization focused on connecting Latino communities to social, education, health, and mental health services. Carlos brings a deep understanding of multicultural engagement, designing strategies that reflect the cultural, social, and linguistic realities of the communities he serves. His work is grounded in building trust, strengthening connections, and delivering measurable results.
Elizabeth Coolidge Nassikas
Board Member

Elizabeth Coolidge Nassikas

Elizabeth Coolidge Nassikas is Director of Practice at Annum Architects, a Boston-based architectural firm specializing in the adaptive reuse of historic buildings for contemporary use. She holds an MBA from Babson College and a BA in American History from Reed College. Having taught early in her career, she brings a deep and enduring passion for education in international contexts. Elizabeth served as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Galapagos Conservancy for 13 years and continues to work with and support a range of nonprofit organizations. She is also an active member of the Boston Society of Architects Administrative Group, contributing strategic leadership and operational expertise to the field.
K.C. Busch, EcoEducate Advisor
EcoEducate Advisor

K.C. Busch

Dr. K.C. Busch is an Associate Professor of STEM Education at North Carolina State University, specializing in science learning and affiliated with the Leadership in Public Science interdisciplinary cluster. Her long-term career goal is to explore and advance educational experiences that empower individuals to engage in collective action to improve their lives and their communities. K.C. is a first-generation college graduate. She holds a Ph.D. in science education from Stanford University, an M.A. in science education from the University of Texas in Austin, and a B.S. in ecology from Iowa State University. She taught secondary school science for twelve years in Austin, TX. She also has informal environmental education experience in Africa with the Peace Corps, in Nevada with the National Park Service, and in Vermont and Iowa. She has extensive experience providing professional development to science teachers in the Galapagos Islands. You can learn more about her research here.
EcoEducate Advisor

Amelia Farber

Amelia Farber advises EcoEducate about environmental literacy. She is an Environmental Change Research Fellow at Reuben College in the University of Oxford and a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Education, where she earned her PhD (Dphil). Her doctoral research is entitled: "Constructing Local Ecological Knowledge: How Children in the Galápagos Islands Learn About their Environment." As the daughter of a teacher, her fascination with education and the environment began in childhood through classroom and outdoor experiences in Southern Oregon and she followed this passion into her undergraduate and masters studies at Stanford University where she had the chance to first conduct research in the Galápagos Islands with support from Professors Bill Durham, Nicole Ardoin, and Rodolfo Dirzo. Outside of the academic and environmental education space, Amelia has 8+ years of experience within tech companies ranging from event marketing, to designing and running global partner programs, to conducting sales data analysis and operational project management.
EcoEducate Advisor

Mariana Castro

Mariana Castro advises EcoEducate on Monitoring and Evaluation and serves as a training facilitator. Mariana is the Deputy Director at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education. She brings more than 25 years of experience in education to her research and development work. Her career includes extensive service to the field of education. including curriculum and instruction, language development, teacher preparation, and professional learning. In her research, Mariana integrates her background as an educator, her passion for working with multilingual youth and their teachers, and her commitment to social justice. Beginning in 2006, Mariana worked with the WIDA Consortium as a professional learning delivery specialist. Since then, she has held positions coordinating, managing, and directing professional development, the standards department, and as a researcher focused on language development.
Board Member

Monserrat Creamer

Monserrat Creamer advises EcoEducate on a broad range of issues including education policy, monitoring and evaluation, and contextualizing curricula. Monse is an educator with extensive experience in teaching, education policy, and monitoring and evaluation. She served as Ecuador’s Minister of Education from 2019-2021, implementing innovative educational approaches related to Project-Based Learning and contextualized education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monserrat is a member of the board of SUMMA, a regional education think-tank, and teaches graduate courses at the Universidad Espíritu Santo-UEES.  She earned her doctorate in education from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Board Member

Andrew Sherman

Andrew Sherman advises EcoEducate on school transformation and education leadership. Andrew earned a graduate degree in International Education at Harvard University and has also completed advanced graduate studies in Latin American History, Organizational Leadership, and Educational Administration. Andrew has led three different school communities in the LATAM region in Mexico City, Quito, and Guayaquil (Ecuador), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Andrew also founded an educational services consulting firm, GAMUT Education, dedicated to supporting school start-up projects in Latin America by implementing initiatives in key areas of organizational operations including market studies, government compliance, physical site specifications, facilities development, and academic programming. Andrew currently serves as the Vice President of Latin America for Cognia, the largest accrediting body in the world.
Secretary

Scott Henderson

Scott Henderson is a terrestrial landscape and marine management practitioner with field experience as a researcher and consultant, primarily in Latin America. He opened Conservation International's office in the Galapagos Islands in 2004 and, after serving in various regional and global positions, returned to his roots in 2023 as Galapagos program lead. There, he heads efforts to build a nature-positive economy that unleashes the stewardship potential of local communities to solve their conservation challenges. Prior to joining Conservation International in 2003, Scott worked as a nature guide and divemaster in the Galapagos Marine Reserve and as a graduate student with teaching responsibilities at the University of Oxford. He earned his MSc at Oxford with honors in environmental change and management and his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University with magna cum laude honors in biology and English.
Treasurer

Johannah Barry

Johannah Barry founded the Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc. in the Washington, DC, area in 1992 while serving as Executive Director of the Delaware-based Darwin Scientific Foundation, Inc. In 2001, she led the merger of the two organizations, creating Galápagos Conservancy, which continues to be the only US-based non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to conservation in the Galápagos Islands, and led the organization as its president for 29 years. Johannah's background includes over 25 years of institutional advancement and organizational development. She has held senior fundraising positions with the World Conservation Union (U.S.), The Wilderness Society, and Resources for the Future. She has served as a consultant to the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, and the Audubon Naturalist Society.  Johannah holds Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in English from Washington State University and the University of Virginia, respectively.
President

Katie Burdick

Katie Burdick has been a Sole Proprietor since 1972. Over the course of her career, she has worked preparing environmental impact reports (which she stopped doing when they became too much like writing obituaries for large tracts of land), consensus building, and group mediation on issues surrounding water in California (so she is well-versed in conflict management), and organizational development for non-profit organizations across the U.S. with a focus on strategic planning, program development, and fundraising. She has worked with organizations ranging from national environmental and social justice groups to small three-person advocacy groups. To her, organizational development professionals are a cross between an MBA, a lawyer, a psychiatrist, and a party planner. She has trained and coached groups and individuals nationally and abroad on non-profit management, program design, strategic and operational planning, budgeting, fundraising, and self-assessment.
Dr. Paul Polanco, EcoEducate Advisor
EcoEducate Advisor

Paul Polanco

Dr. Paul Polanco is a senior education leader and nonprofit advisor with over 20 years of experience advancing educational access, equity, and instructional improvement across public school systems and mission-driven organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in bilingual education and has dedicated his career to strengthening literacy outcomes and supporting educators and students in underserved communities. He currently serves as Senior Manager, Academics, at The New Teacher Project (TNTP), where he has advised state and district leaders on evidence-based K–3 literacy initiatives and instructional systems improvement, and has designed statewide coaching frameworks and professional learning models to strengthen instructional quality. He also teaches graduate-level coursework at Southern Methodist University, ensuring his work remains grounded in research and responsive to educators' and communities' evolving needs. Paul is known for building strong, trust-based relationships and fostering collaborative partnerships that lead to meaningful, long-term impact. He is a teacher favorite in Galapagos, where he has several years of experience designing and delivering professional development workshops.
Founder and Executive Director

Richard Knab

Richard Knab has over 30 years of experience in education and conservation programs in Latin America. His career began with a three-year term with Peace Corps Honduras. He has since held various roles in fundraising, communications, and program and partnership development focused on Central and South America. While at Galapagos Conservancy, Richard conceived the Education for Sustainability in Galapagos Program. He gained support from Ecuador's Minister of Education, led the participatory program design process, and raised funds for the program. Additionally, Richard established and led a dedicated professional development team, which included Galapagos-based instructional coaches, 40 local teacher-leaders, and a network of 45 experienced bilingual educators from the U.S. and Latin America. He holds a B.A. in History and Spanish from Middlebury College and an MSc in International Development from the University of Pennsylvania.
Education Director and Training Facilitator

Heny Ágredo

Heny Ágredo is EcoEducate’s Education Director and training facilitator. She also serves as Executive Director of the Fundación Scalesia in the Galapagos Islands—one of EcoEducate’s primary partners. Heny is a bilingual educator who worked for over a decade in the Dallas Independent School District, serving as a teacher of gifted and talented students and as an Instructional Coach in her school. As an Instructional Leader, she supported teachers by modeling classes, leading professional learning communities, and performing interventions with students performing below grade level. Heny studied communications and journalism at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana of Medellín, Colombia. She holds a master's degree in political studies from the EAFIT University of Medellín, Colombia and a master's degree in bilingual education from Southern Methodist University (SMU). Heny served as the Education Coordinator of the Education for Sustainability Program in Galapagos. She is currently pursuing her EdD in Educational Leadership through Johns Hopkins University.
Coaching Director and Training Facilitator

Miriam Chacon

Miriam Chacon is EcoEducate’s Coaching Director and training facilitator for Fundación Scalesia in Galapagos. Miriam coordinated the Education for Sustainability Program in Galapagos from its launch in 2016 until the end of 2022. Funded by EcoEducate, she currently focuses all her time in strengthening the instructional coaching skills of 40 educators in Galapagos. She received her bachelor’s degree in Education Sciences from the University of Guayaquil, a master’s degree in Education from the University of Jaén, Spain, and a master’s degree in Educational Innovation from the University of La Rioja, Spain. She is an educator with decades of experience that includes teaching math and science, teacher training, mentoring, and leadership in the development of educational policies in Ecuador. Miriam has been Undersecretary of Educational Fundamentals, manager and director of several programs at the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, and the Secretary of Higher Education of Ecuador-SENECYT.
ECO-PBL Director

Susan Huss-Lederman

Susan Huss-Lederman advises EcoEducate about Education for Sustainability for English language learners. She is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and has been an English language educator for over 30 years. She earned an MA in applied linguistics from Teachers College-Columbia University and a PhD in sociolinguistics from Georgetown University. Susan has taught refugees in the US, implemented teacher education programs (Wisconsin K-12 licensure), and provided professional development workshops in several Latin American countries as a Fulbright Scholar and an English Language Specialist. From 2018 through 2021, Susan served as a lead English trainer for the Education for Sustainability in Galapagos Program. In 2022, she presented the Specialist Master Class, ESP for Climate Change and Sustainability: Implementing an Eco-PBL Framework. Under the auspices of a Citizen Diplomacy Action Project grant, she has developed and trained English teachers and students in Manizales, Colombia to address environmental and health problems caused by plastic.
EcoEducate Advisor

Diego Román

Diego Román is an Assistant Professor in Bilingual/Bicultural Education at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to this appointment, he was an Assistant Professor in Bilingual Education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Diego holds a B.S. degree in Agronomy from Zamorano University in Honduras and a M.S. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He also earned an M.S. degree in Biology, an M.A. degree in Linguistics, and a Ph.D. degree in Educational Linguistics, all from Stanford University.  At the K-12 level, Diego has taught middle school science to English Learners and newcomer students for seven years, first in rural Wisconsin and then in San Francisco, California. His research interests are located at the intersection of linguistics, science education, and environmental studies. Diego has been involved in teacher professional development in the Galapagos Islands for over a decade.
Duraymi Huete Chávez
Lead Instructional Coach (Galapagos)

Duraymi Huete Chávez

Duraymi Huete Chávez is Lead Instructional Coach in Galapagos for EcoEducate and Fundación Scalesia. She works with teachers and school leaders to strengthen teaching and learning through proven instructional practices, instructional coaching, and approaches that connect learning to students’ communities. Her experience spans public education systems, with a focus on teacher professional development, curriculum design, and strengthening institutional capacity. She has particular expertise in instructional coaching, developing practical teaching methodologies, and supporting educators working in underserved and vulnerable contexts. Duraymi has worked with Ecuador’s Ministry of Education, the National University of Education (UNAE), and the Quito Municipal Secretariat of Environment, as well as with international organizations and partnerships including GIZ, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and IPANC.
Lori Ulrich
Communications & Marketing Coordinator

Lori Ulrich

​​​Lori Ulrich is thrilled to help EcoEducate develop a powerful online presence and maximize funding for their unique mission. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the environmental nonprofit world, where she mastered the art of “wearing many hats.” She has developed a wide-ranging skillset across marketing, editing, branding, communications, membership, and fundraising— always focused on messaging that resonates and strategies that drive connection.​​ ​​​She supports EcoEducate's outreach efforts as they grow and expand their impact in Latin America. Lori holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University.​​ Outside the office, she finds joy and awe in the outdoors, especially while hiking and exploring natural spaces. A certified stream monitor in the state of Virginia with two "adopted" streams of her own, she’s deeply committed to environmental stewardship.​​ Lori is an active volunteer in her community, regularly giving her time to local parks, schools, and her kids’ music activities and sports teams. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and their three active teenagers.​​