K-12 Sustainability Summit

Christina Grozinger, Ph.D.

Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology
Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences 

Christina Grozinger is the Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology, director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and founding director for the Center for Pollinator Research and Insect Biodiversity Center at Penn State. Grozinger is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was awarded the 2021 National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences and 2023 Penn State President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration. Grozinger earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from McGill University followed by an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical biology from Harvard University and was a Beckman Institute Fellow at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Peter Boger, Ph.D.

K-12 Sustainability Summit Co-LeadDirector for Engagement, Penn State Sustainability

Peter Boger is the director for engagement for Penn State Sustainability and co-leader of Sustain Penn State, where he connects university sustainability initiatives with community and campus partners across the commonwealth. He oversees communications, public programming, and lifelong learning initiatives, including the K-12 Sustainability Summit and the Sustainability Coordinator Non-Credit Certificate. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and previously directed the Tales from Planet Earth environmental film festival.

Aikumis Serikbayeva

K-12 Sustainability Summit Co-Lead
Graduate Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate in Workforce Education and Development, Penn State College of Education

Aikumis Serikbayeva is a graduate assistant and Ph.D. student in workforce education and development at Penn State, specializing in human resource development, organizational change, and leadership competencies. With a background in petroleum engineering and extensive experience in higher education in Kazakhstan, she has served as a faculty member, administrator, and researcher, leading curriculum initiatives, mentoring students, and advancing workforce development programs. Her research interests include faculty retention, sustainability in education, and global collaboration to expand access to educational opportunities. 

Amanda Smith, M.Ed.

K-12 Sustainability Summit Co-Lead
Director of K-12 Strategy and Partnerships, Penn State Outreach

Amanda J. Smith, M.Ed., is director of K-12 strategy and partnerships at Penn State, focusing on pathways to support K-12 schools and communities. She has more than 15 years of experience in STEM workforce development, cross-sector partnerships, and program implementation, including launching initiatives like the Chief Science Officers program and STEM workforce summits in central Pennsylvania. Amanda previously served as STEM outreach liaison for CSATS and taught biology and independent science research in Loudoun County, VA. 

Peter Buck, Ph.D.

Director for Education, Penn State Sustainability
Co-Director, Local Climate Action Program

Peter Buck is co-director of Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program (LCAP), a statewide partnership supporting climate planning and workforce development. His work has been recognized with the Ryan Moser Reilly Institutional Leadership Award and by the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. A published author, speaker, and sustainability leader, Buck has also served in elected and appointed positions at multiple levels of government.

Caroline Ettinger-DeLong

Community Outreach Specialist, Student Farm and Food Systems, Penn State

Caroline leads educational and wellness workshops and events, works closely with student leaders and community partners, and facilitates volunteers, produce donations, and tours. Her research interests include food insecurity and environmental justice. She earned her B.A. in environmental studies from Skidmore College.

Neal Fogle

Economic and Community Development Educator, Penn State Extension

Neal Fogle is an economic and community development educator with Penn State Extension. He is based in Northumberland County and has been with Extension for twenty-five years. In his prior work, he was the Columbia County planning director after serving as land use planner. Neal has a B.A. in geo-environmental studies from Shippensburg University and a master’s degree in economic and community development from Penn State. In his work with Extension, he conducts educational programs focusing on community planning, land use, organizational strategic planning, grant writing, community visioning, and local government.

Derek Kalp, RLA, ASLA, AULA, CEFP

University Landscape Architect, Penn State

Derek Kalp is a registered landscape architect (RLA) in State College, Pennsylvania, working for Penn State’s Campus Planning and Design division for over 26 years, and he now serves as the University landscape architect. He also leads a private practice focused primarily on site master planning and residential design, with a focus on ecological planting design.

Ricardo Martinez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Penn State College of Education

Ricardo Martinez is an associate professor at Penn State in the department of curriculum and education, where he works to create ontological playgrounds of liberation—spaces where youth, teachers, community members, and faculty can empower themselves. His interdisciplinary research is situated in critical youth studies and becomes whatever the youth want and need the research to be. He has facilitated multiple Youth Participatory Action Research projects across the country and has helped dozens of others to develop their own critical youth engagements. As a poet, Ricardo is passionate about exploring poetry as a qualitative method and works to highlight poetry as a praxis to enhance teaching and learning.

Mindy Musser

Director of Environmental Education, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Mindy Musser is the director of environmental education for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. With nearly ten years of professional experience in environmental education and conservation, Mindy has successfully written, scored, and administered competitive grants exceeding $1 million for nonprofit organizations and state and county government agencies. Mindy enthusiastically shares tips to encourage people with all levels of grant writing and programming experience to creatively and confidently design sustainable environmental education projects and activities. In her free time, Mindy raises a backyard flock, travels, and loudly sings off-key in her Ford Bronco.

Michelle Niedermeier

Education Lead, Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program

Michelle Niedermeier is the Education Lead for the Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program, developing youth and adult programs on watershed and environmental literacy. She previously spent over two decades coordinating Penn State’s Community IPM and Environmental Health Program, promoting non-toxic pest management practices. Niedermeier holds a B.Ed. from The University of Toledo and an M.S. in fisheries & wildlife from Michigan State University.

Chris Palma, Ph.D.

Teaching Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State Eberly College of Science

Chris Palma is a teaching professor and the associate department head for outreach in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State’s University Park campus. His research interests include measuring sky brightness and light pollution in Central Pennsylvania and beyond, and he has documented the sky brightness over Penn State’s campus for more than 10 years. In his outreach role, Chris manages the planetarium at Penn State, and he has created and taught teacher professional development workshops in astronomy for 25 years. He has taught many different courses in astronomy at Penn State, which include a new course on preserving dark skies, and a co-taught course for pre-service elementary teachers.

Tamara E. Peffer, M.S.

Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Content Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education
Execute Director, Pennsylvania Advisory Council on Environmental Education

Tamara Peffer, M.S., currently serves as the environmental literacy and sustainability content advisor for the Pennsylvania Department of Education and executive director of the Pennsylvania Advisory Council on Environmental Education. Tamara began her environmental education career in 1994 at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center. She also served as the first communications liaison for the PA Bureau of State Parks from 2013 to 2019. Concurrently, Tamara taught environmental studies, environmental science, biology, and social science and technology at the Reading Area Community College as an adjunct faculty member. Tamara holds an M.S. in the science of instruction from Drexel University and an M.S. in teaching, learning, & technology from Lehigh University. She also holds Pennsylvania teaching certifications in environmental education, biology, general science, and instructional technology.

Robin Perry-Smith, MHA

Urban Extension Educator, Food-Families-Communities, Penn State Extension, Dauphin County

Robin Perry-Smith is an extension educator with Penn State Extension and a public health professional with more than 20 years of experience in cross-sector partnerships, program implementation, and community engagement. Her work advances strategic initiatives in urban engagement, agriculture, food systems, youth development, and community health. Robin builds partnerships among schools, communities, universities, government, and nonprofit organizations to address complex needs and create sustainable community programs. She serves as Penn State Extension’s urban coordinator for the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL), contributing to national and Northeast regional leadership. Her current work includes Penn State Extension, Harrisburg School District, and The Hill Farm partnership, expanding farm-to-school education and connecting hands-on agricultural learning with Pennsylvania STEELS standards.

Julia Plummer, Ph.D.

Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Professor of Education, Penn State College of Education

Julia Plummer is professor of science education and interim associate dean of undergraduate education for Penn State’s College of Education. Her research interests include understanding the design of learning environments that support spatial thinking and use of science practices; how narratives facilitate science learning; and methods that promote youth and families in taking actions to address issues in their communities, such as light pollution. She spent 12 years as a planetarium educator and currently serves as research editor for the Planetarian, journal of the International Planetarium Society. At Penn State, she teaches courses for pre-service elementary teachers (astronomy and elementary science methods) and for in-service teachers (curriculum and research design).

Leslie Pillen

Director, Student Farm and Food Systems, Penn State

Leslie works with a dynamic group of students, faculty, staff, and community partners to learn about and engage across the food system. The program provides hands-on learning and leadership opportunities for students and community through the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, food literacy programs, community partnerships, a Food Systems minor, Student Farm Club, and Food Recovery Network. The program cumulatively activates approximately 100 student leaders and 50,000 pounds of food annually, reaching more than 8,000 participants.

Joshua Potter

Associate Director of Operations, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

Joshua works to tell the story of Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and help maintain a vibrant educational facility to support a wide range of credit, noncredit, outreach, and research programming. He is responsible for developing interpretive materials throughout the facility to support Shaver’s Creek’s educational mission and for managing capital improvement projects to support its programs. He also supports the bookstore, program registration, and membership programs. Joshua received his degree in integrative arts from Penn State, focusing on multimedia and environmental education. After seven years working as a naturalist and outreach coordinator for Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Conway, New Hampshire, he returned to his native Pennsylvania to join Shaver’s Creek in 2010. He grew up just over the mountain in Pine Grove Mills and has a long association with Shaver’s Creek—as a summer camper from ages 5 to 18, as a volunteer in high school, as a student and teaching assistant while at Penn State, and now over sixteen years as staff! Joshua also enjoys birding, hiking, and spending time outdoors with his wife, Sarah, son, Ellory, and daughter, Lucy.

Alexa Sarussi

School Programs Director, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

Alexa Sarussi is the school programs director at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center at Penn State. She coordinates Shaver’s Creek’s partnerships with local school districts and leads a monthly Community Nature Journaling series. She grew up in Arizona and completed her undergraduate degree in biology at Pomona College and her master’s in science education at Penn State. When not at Shaver’s Creek, you can find Alexa growing flowers, riding her bike, cooking, baking, and fermenting, especially with locally grown food and in community with others. 

Jason Swanson

Senior Director of Strategic Foresight, KnowledgeWorks

Jason Swanson is senior director of strategic foresight at KnowledgeWorks, where he develops forecasts, sensemaking guides, and immersive experiences. An award-winning futurist and frequent public speaker, he holds an M.S. in foresight from the University of Houston and serves as a fellow with the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Remake Learning Council.

Emily Weaver

Sustainability Experience Center Coordinator

Emily is the Sustainability Experience Center coordinator, where she organizes activities on the nine-acre property, including leading tours and volunteer groups. Emily’s background is in cultural anthropology and community development, working at the intersection of parks, public space, and community engagement. Before coming to Penn State, she worked with the Rail Park in Philadelphia, a three-mile adaptive reuse project transforming former rail lines into public green space. There, she helped steward the physical park while leading environmentally focused research, volunteer programs, and tours. Emily holds a bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University and a master’s in cultural anthropology and development from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Ellen Will

Associate Director of Environmental Education, Outdoor School Program Director; Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

Ellen is one of three associate directors at Shaver’s Creek overseeing environmental education programming. She also manages the residential Outdoor School program and teaches its companion courses, in which undergraduate students learn to use the natural world as a classroom. She believes that camp can change lives and enjoys seeing the interrelationships between the Penn State student leaders and the elementary-aged participants at Outdoor School. Ellen earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies/environmental education from Appalachian State University in 1995 and her master’s degree in environmental education at Slippery Rock University. Ellen is a member of the American Camp Association and serves on the Penn State Youth Programs Council.