STAFF AND ADJUNCT FACULTY

Cloe Chunn

M.S. In English Literature from Georgia State
B.S. Degree in Geology from the University of Maine

Cloe teaches in the AEI E.T.L. program, and also is a Science and Math Teacher at Gardiner Area HS in Gardiner, Maine. Cloe's teaching career has spanned 25 years, 14 years at the high school level and 11 years at the college level. She has taught and lived in bioregions as diverse as equatorial India and Antarctica. She worked for both the Audubon Expedition Institute, traveling throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, and UNH's Geocommons program traveling to Scotland, France and India.

Cloe is a registered Maine guide and has authored the book, "Fifty Hikes in the Maine Mountains". She has been a teacher of backpacking and sea kayaking for the University of Maine and is an avid backpacker and hiker. Cloe's passions for natural history, the environment, and sustainability invigorate her teaching. A mother of two children, Cloe is committed to living, as well as, teaching ecologically.

Nicky Duenkel

B.P.H.E., Laurentian University/Universityé Laurentienne
M. A.  Physical and Health Education, University of Western Ontario
Ph.D. Environmental Education and Leadership, University of Alberta

Eco-philosopher, reflective practitioner, avid canoeist, and truth seeker, Nicky’s interests and passions range widely from spirituality and wilderness, to holistic health care, to environmental justice issues, and action research methods. For the past 12 years Nicky has sought to co-create transformative learning environments while involved in higher education programming across North America, in Southern India, Western Senegal, and the Highlands of Scotland. Within these programs she has been particularly focused on helping students become autonomous thinkers who negotiate their own values, meanings, and purposes rather than uncritically acting on those of others; on empowering the whole person; and in recognizing and revealing forces that prevent us from living fully. Nicky loves to ask the question “why” and is rarely satisfied by posing it just once! She is also highly skilled at making theory accessible and at illustrating the dialectic relationship that she believes exists between the two. As a lifelong learner, Nicky’s current interests lie in the applications of contemplative pedagogy and practices, restorative justice, and innovative curriculum design. Nicky has an elemental desire to live simply and to be in deep relationship with the rest of the natural world. She loves to chant and sing and will do so at the drop of a hat! Perhaps most importantly, Nicky’s teaching stems from an enduring place of hope.

Paige Manning

New England Regional Fellow Environmental Leadership Program 2008
M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies , Lesley University 2007
B.S. Environmental Studies Land Use Planning, SUNY College Environmental Science and Forestry 2000

Paige Manning is the Assistant Director of Advising and Student Services for AEI. Before coming to AEI, Paige was part of the admissions team for National Programs at Lesley. In National Programs, she worked very closely with off-campus students and many departments within the university. Her undergraduate education is in environmental studies land use planning.  She graduated from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and then worked for an economic environmental consulting firm in rural Vermont. Her work encompassed community forestry and participatory research. She completed her master's thesis at Lesley in the Interdisciplinary Studies program with a focus on environmentalism and the sustainability movement. She is particularly interested in deep ecology and ecopsychology and their relationship to the sustainability movement.

In her spare time you will most likely find Paige outdoors. She loves to hike and camp, growing up in the Adirondacks. Paige can also be found swimming, bicycling and running as she trains for sprint triathlons.

Jasper Montgomery

M.S. Oriental Medicine, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, Portland, OR 1995
M.S. Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison 1989
B.S. Biology, University of Southern Maine 1986

Jasper is the AEI Field Program Coordinator. She coordinates the day-to-day operations of the field programs and provides professional and logistical support for faculty and students. As part of her work Jasper spends several days in the field each semester. This immersion in the bus community helps her understand the student and faculty experience and provide support to both from a distance.

Jasper has done research in the field (Maine) and the laboratory (Oregon). She became interested in eastern medicine and after receiving her degree, worked full-time as an acupuncturist in the Seattle area before returning to Maine five years ago. She lives with her partner and cat in an off-the-grid solar powered home. Jasper is active in several community organizations including the food coop, the high school civil rights group, and the local restorative justice group. Her favorite activities outside of work are hiking, backpacking, reading, and gardening.

Judy Pratt

B. A. English, University of Massachusetts Amherst
M.Ed. Counseling Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Poet, feminist, and healer, Judy exhibits an insatiable passion for, and curiosity about, life and all of its creatures. Fifteen years of facilitating environ mental and experiential higher education programs across North America (Canada, Mexico, U.S.) as well as in Southern India, Western Senegal, and the Highlands of Scotland have enabled her to both share and gain wisdom related to a myriad of content areas such as sustainable systems and practices, global and local environmental and social issues, urban ecology, plant medicines, and cultural diversity. In doing so, she continues to foster the empowerment of young and old alike. Judy is highly skilled in group dynamics and aims to integrate body, mind, emotions, and spirit into all academic work. Her most recent interests lie in the areas of spiritual autobiography, conscious aging, and action research (to name just a few of the many). An avid reader, Judy “knows something about everything” and yet is also the first to admit that there is so much more to understand and become aware of. She looks forward to continuing to do so!

Julie Sullivan

M.S. Environmental Education, Lesley College, MA 1991
B.A. Theater, University of California/San Diego, CA 1981

Julie was co-founder and lead teacher for Golden Gate Preschool in Seattle, Washington - a Waldorf-inspired preschool. As an environmental educator for San Juan County, Washington and San Bernadino, California, she has taught inner-city students wilderness skills, personal empowerment, group dynamics, and deep ecology.

Julie brings to AEI extensive experience in arts administration and political street theater. Her commitment to the written word makes her an excellent resource for students. Her areas of expertise include forest ecology, bioregionalism, and the cultural history of the American West.