Staff

Sarah brings more than a decade of experience developing and managing science-based education programs, as well as ecological research and conservation projects around the globe. She has worked in a wide variety of contexts and ecosystems, from urban forests in Boston, MA, to agricultural communities in eastern Colorado and rural villages in east Africa. In 2009, while conducting fieldwork for her PhD in Ecology in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, she founded a non-profit there dedicated to protecting elephants and improving human livelihoods. Sarah believes passionately in the importance of connecting people with nature for the benefit of both, and she is especially focused on ensuring people from traditionally under-resourced communities share in those opportunities. Sarah is a Colorado native and loves hiking and backpacking with her rescue pitbull, Winston.

Victoria Bonnett or Ms. Vicky, as she is affectionately known by her students, has over 20 years of experience in youth environmental education, including program and curriculum design. During her 10+ years with EDI, Victoria has developed a strong network of support among educators in east county by helping teachers meet their classroom needs and providing quality experiences for students and their families. She has experience working with Special Needs students and is bilingual (English and Spanish). Victoria holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University and is currently working to complete her M.A in Education.

A zoologist and biologist by education and by nature, Duffy, as she is known, grew up in the wilds of Southern California and Baja, seeding her passion for the region's diverse and unique flora and fauna. She has served as a field researcher for studies of the Mediterranean scrub of California and the tundra of the North Slope of Alaska. Duffy put India ink and Rapidographs to mylar as a scientific illustrator in college, and presently illustrates children's books with wild and fanciful critters. She is also an active naturalist guide for San Diego Natural History Museum's Canyoneer program.