STEM Needs Muddy Boots
Kirsten Cook has a B.A. in Human Ecology from Connecticut College and a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington. She has over 25 years of conservation education and program management experience. Her career has spanned a range of organizations, including 2 arboretums and a zoo, habitat restoration nonprofits, and now the Okanogan Conservation District. She has published articles in Clearing Magazine and the journal Democracy in Education. Her volunteer service has included Crater Lake National Park, Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle Audubon Society, Cascade Harvest Coalition, and the Okanogan Land Trust.
As the Community Outreach Director for the Okanogan Conservation District, she is responsible for education programs for youth and adults, as well as Okanogan CD’s Fire Adapted Communities efforts. In 2012, she and Kathleen Ferguson, Life Sciences teacher at Okanogan High School, created the Ecology of the Okanogan class, a year-long science elective that gets students outdoors, doing science alongside local natural resource professionals.