Staff Spotlight: PaHoua Lee
For Golden Gate Campus Director PaHoua Lee (she/they), there’s no place like the Marin Headlands. “Every time I’ve had an important life event,” PaHoua notes, “I have come here to the Headlands to celebrate.” From engagement photos to pregnancy announcements to family hikes, PaHoua has been drawn back to this special place over and over again. “This place always felt like home to me. I left [after working here as an educator for two years], but NatureBridge has always stayed with me in a lot of ways.” Ten years later, in July 2022, PaHoua returned to NatureBridge as Golden Gate's first woman of color Campus Director.
PaHoua first came to the Bay Area in 2009, when they began working as an intern for San Mateo Outdoor Education. Originally from Wisconsin, PaHoua knew she wanted to pursue dual passions of being an educator and working outdoors. Coming to California made sense, PaHoua explains, because “I knew in California [that] outdoor education was just a part of the education system.” When their time at the internship concluded, PaHoua set their sights on coming to work for NatureBridge at Golden Gate.
From 2010 to 2012, PaHoua worked as a field science educator and a Coastal Camp educator at NatureBridge (then known as The Headlands Institute). They were present during the organization’s official transition from The Headlands Institute to NatureBridge, and they fondly remember their co-workers, students and experiences from that period. One of PaHoua’s favorite memories is encountering bioluminescence during night hikes in the Headlands. “Being able to view bioluminescent plankton is breathtaking,” she recalls. “It looks like sparkling stars in the water.”
The NatureBridge community is so special. It is gratifying knowing that each day, we bring our best selves to work in order to create the best experience for our guests. I am also grateful for the relationships I have developed with coworkers, and these friendships have lasted over a decade now.PaHoua Lee, Golden Gate Campus Director
Thank you, PaHoua, for nurturing and stewarding a deep sense of place at Golden Gate and serving our community with compassion and commitment!
Stories
An Incredible 10th Anniversary of Evening on the Lake
On October 25, the Amazon Meeting Center in downtown Seattle buzzed with celebratory energy as over 300 NatureBridge guests and supporters gathered for the 10th anniversary of "Evening on the Lake," our signature Pacific Northwest fundraising event for our Olympic campus.
2024 Olympic Student of the Year: Ames Black O'Neal
We are thrilled to announce our 2024 Olympic Student of the Year: eighth grader Ames Black O'Neal.
Ames participated in a NatureBridge program with his seventh grade class from Portland, OR at our Olympic campus in spring 2024. As a self-described "nature nut," Ames was surprised by how much he learned at NatureBridge and how meaningful he found the hands-on, immersive experience to be. As he later reflected, "Learning is so much more impactful when you are surrounded by the subject matter."
In Memoriam: Bill Anders, Visionary Leader and Co-Founder of Yosemite Institute
Earlier this year, we mourned the loss of William “Bill” Anders, a true environmental champion and visionary leader whose impact resonated deeply for NatureBridge and society at large.
As a member of the historic Apollo 8 mission in 1968, Bill captured the iconic “Earthrise” photo—a stunning image of our small, delicate planet rising over the moon’s horizon. Reflecting on this moment, he remarked, “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”