The Instructors

Rob is an ornithologist, conservation biologist, urban ecologist, wildlife biologist, citizen scientist, and environmental educator. He and his students study how human-dominated landscapes affect native birds including hornbills in the agricultural landscapes of Thailand, turkeys in suburban Saint Paul, and ovenbirds in northern Wisconsin. Currently, he is focusing on bird-building collisions in downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Rob has devoted his career to helping educators use the outdoors in their science teaching. He developed the Minnesota Master Naturalist program, which trains adults to volunteer at nature centers, parks, and refuges. He has helped develop the Driven to Discover citizen science outreach programs for both informal and formal educators.

Lisa taught middle school life and earth science for 20 years, and loved taking her students outside to investigate nature! She also advised teacher candidates at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Organizing University of Minnesota ecology professional development programs for teachers and their students to instill a love and appreciation for the environment is Lisa's current focus. In addition to MUBI, she has been the program coordinator for Driven to Discover: Citizen Science, North American Monarch Institute, Advanced Schoolyard Ecology Explorations, Pollinator Ambassadors, Pollinators in the Science Classroom, and Outdoor Investigations in the STEM Classroom.

Abbie has been birding since childhood, and citizen science paved her path to ornithology and urban ecology. She has done fieldwork in the Chicago area, where she tracked the movements and resource use of Canada geese during winter months. She has also worked as a field technician at Midway Atoll, a remote National Wildlife Refuge set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There, she worked on projects to monitor and manage populations of albatross, petrels, shearwaters, and white terns (pictured left). Her graduate studies focused on citizen scientists' observations of bird collisions in core urban environments. Currently, Abbie is staff at the University of Minnesota where she coordinates two citizen science projects and engages the public in research on invasive plants.

Lillian is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at Openlands and works with volunteers, teachers, and staff to build and inspire advocates for nature. Lillian believes that a positive introduction to nature at an early age can change the trajectory of the world’s current climate crisis and inspire careers in science. She also believes that exploring the environment in a child’s neighborhood can cultivate a life-long appreciation for nature and can rebuild communities. Bird watching in one’s neighborhood, planting native plants, and growing fresh collards, bell peppers, and basil in the schoolyard can create an awareness that nature lives not only at the park and farm but can be found and created in your front yard and backyard.

Lucas Rapisarda is a PhD student in the department of Conservation Sciences at the University of Minnesota and is interested in the intersection between community-based science, water quality, and environmental justice. Specifically, Lucas seeks to understand how co-creative and collaborative community science/citizen science projects can impact social, economic, and political power of rural and urban BiPOC communities disproportionately impacted by historic and ongoing environmental degradation. Lucas hopes to better understand and contextualize the history of racist economic, educational, and social practices to better understand and address environmental water quality issues. Lucas is the program coordinator for Nature for New Minnesotans, which seeks to address barriers of access to the outdoors for immigrant communities in the Twin Cities Metro area by adapting naturalist curriculum for adult ELL learners.

Jeramie is the Director of Outreach and Community Engagement at the IL Department of Natural Resources. Jeramie is responsible for managing education and outreach projects/programs that are associated with conservation programs, including programs affiliated with teachers and students from more than 70 schools. He is passionate about developing programs that engage communities from diverse backgrounds to help them appreciate green spaces, nature, and conservation. Prior to joining the IL DNR, he worked with Openlands and served as a Wildlife Biologist for 10 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a National Wildlife Refuge conserving wildlife, enhancing critical habitats, and coordinating environmental education and outreach programs. Jeramie is a recipient of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Director’s Outreach Award (2017); inducted into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center’s Mentoring Hall of Fame (2015); and received the Wildlife Society’s Prestigious Annual Diversity Award (2014).

Emilie is an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology with a minor in Insect Science. She is the Extension Center for Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Citizen Science Intern and provides program support to the MUBI, Outdoor Investigations in the STEM Classroom, and Pollinators in the Science Classroom programs. Emilie also instructs an animal diversity lab at UMN. She loves animal handling, species ID, and her 3 Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Betty, Inez, and Dorothea. Upon graduation, Emilie plans to begin her career with field work in the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest.