Carla
Littleton

Carla Littleton is a Master Herpetologist and current Manager of Kamin Science Center’s Animals and Habitats Department, as well as an adjunct cyberschool instructor in several science subjects, including forensics, ecology, environmental, and agricultural sciences. Their passion for wildlife and ecology started early, growing up in the Cleveland Metroparks Park system; despite exploring other career options always seemed to come back to informal science education and biodiversity conservation.

A lifelong learner, Carla earned an Associate Degree in Art and Design and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh; a Master’s of Education from Duquesne University and is currently pursuing a Master's Certificate in Hydroponics from ACS of Australia. Carla also holds certificates in Paleontology (University of Alberta), Invertebrate Disease Management, and Conservation Training from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature surrounding the evaluation and conservation of endangered species and ecosystems.

Despite wide-ranging experience with a plethora of flora and fauna specimens, some of Carla’s favorite living things (Toads, Cycads, and Euphorbias) all share one thing in common: they’re toxic. It was an early fascination with toads, snakes, nudibranchs, and plants in the nightshade family that led Carla to an interest in the poisons and venoms of the natural world.