Nicole Weber, PhD
Dr. Nicole Weber is program director for the Science in Education program, and teaches in both the Science and Technology in Education programs. Through an intersection of conservation biology (research) and science education (application), Dr. Weber bridges students’ scientific understanding to local issues in their community and natural environment (on a personal, local, and global scale). As the world becomes more culturally and biologically interconnected, people are becoming less connected to their natural surroundings. Dr. Weber looks for ways of connecting conservation to students’ local community, through authentic experiences focused on social and environmental issues, to support students in developing a better understanding of common scientific misconceptions and the interplay of social and environment issues.
Alice Layton
Alice Layton is the President of the Rupununi Learners Foundation. She worked in publishing and film before completing a Masters in Social Work. As a social worker she has specialized in career counseling with low income people, managing a job training program for men in a maximum security prison and another for women on public assistance. Her first visit to Rupununi schools, in 2001, inspired her to create the Foundation and to return to school herself, for a Masters in Library Science. Alice divides her time between her roles as President of the Board and homeschooling mom.
Matthew T. Hallett
Matt Hallett is a graduate student in Environmental Science at Miami University's Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES) where his research is focused on using remotely triggered cameras to estimate the abundance and spatial distribution of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area, Guyana. Matt earned a Master of Arts in Zoology from Miami University/Project Dragonfly's Global Field Program where his focus was on Community-based Conservation and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the College of Charleston with minors in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Matt has also spent several years assisting with research and community-based conservation efforts focused on African elephants in both Kenya and South Africa, Sumatran Rhinos in Malaysian Borneo and Black Caiman (and now jaguars) in Guyana. Experiences in both research and education have had a powerful influence on Matt's approach to conservation and as a result he actively seeks to engage his audience in the process of conservation science - an audience that may be made up of members of local communities or university students who are studying abroad. He is excited to once again be involved in the instruction of the Guyana Lesley Abroad Service Semester (GLASS), as it provides an opportunity to bring these groups together in an environment where shared knowledge is created by maximizing the strengths of all involved.
Faculty Spotlight
David Morimoto
Associate Professor of Biology, Director of College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Natural Science and Mathematics Division
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Cristin Ashmankas
Assistant Professor of Oceanography
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