Leadership

On January 2, 2025, the NatureBridge community lost its founder and a true pioneer of environmental education, Donald Rees. With a bold vision, unrelenting passion, and an unwavering belief in the power of nature to transform young lives, Don created an enduring legacy that has connected over 1.6 million students to the natural world.

After more than 50 years, NatureBridge is saying farewell to our longtime campus at Crane Flat as we transition to our new home at Henness Ridge, the National Environmental Science Center (NESC).

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.”

Miho Aida (she/they) has held multiple roles at NatureBridge over the past twenty-four years, including Environmental Science Educator, Community Connection Coordinator, Field Staff Scientist, Marine Project Coordinator, Pacific Rim Environmental Education Specialist, Armstrong Scholars Educator, Diversity Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion Manager, and Director of Equity and Inclusion. Now, on the eve of Miho's departure, we asked them to reflect on their time at NatureBridge and share a bit about their upcoming adventures.

On a recent autumn afternoon in Yosemite Valley, Seth Gurgel and Jen Leung looked on in delight as their two-year-old son Auggie marveled at the texture of fallen leaves and explored with his fingers the tiny seeds hidden within alder cones. Ada Meyer, a NatureBridge Environmental Science Educator, guided Auggie in these tactile experiences, watching his face light up with each new discovery. Although NatureBridge programming is geared toward school-age children, Ada’s background in early childhood development came shining through as she and Auggie excitedly engaged with their environment. Ada had volunteered to shepherd the young children of a few very special visitors this week, because the NatureBridge national and regional boards were on campus for the annual board retreat. “That was our first glimpse of the power of NatureBridge with our own kid,” Seth remarks.

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.

As a child growing up in Northern California, Corinne Dedini would travel frequently with her family to their forest service cabin in Stanislaus National Forest. Along the way, young Corinne would see signs directing travelers to Yosemite National Park, and she remembers asking “Mom, what’s Yosemite?” And her mother would reply that it was “just like our little cabin” in Stanislaus.

Congratulations to Kim Hanson who recently accepted the permanent position of Mid-Atlantic Regional Director after serving as Interim Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Now in her third decade of working for NatureBridge (she began in 2002!), Kim brings a wealth of experience, wisdom and vision to the role.

Jerry Edelbrock is a builder: a builder of partnerships, a builder of people and a builder of visions. In 1983, long before the notion of a Yosemite Institute (YI) in Olympic National Park at the Rosemary Inn had come to fruition, Jerry was building the foundation for what was to come. Throughout his time building connections, infrastructure, and programming in Olympic, Jerry always went back to one question: “Is it in the best interest of the park?”