LSE/LECL Alumni

LSE Alumni Profiles

Juliene Price currently serves as Educational Outreach Coordinator for Cedar Grove Composting, a family-owned company that collects and composts food waste in Greater Puget Sound and Portland Metropolitan areas. In her position there, Juliene travels to Cedar Groves’ Puget Sound-area customers in schools, restaurants, businesses, and hotels and teaches the importance of composting organic materials, how and what to compost, and distributes outreach and educational materials to clients.

Of her experience in the LECL (now LSE) program at PSU, Juliene says she appreciated the practice of giving presentations and “learning about the different frameworks for sustainability… lesson planning and how to teach… [and] the opportunity to take a few credits of internship. Having real world application of what I was learning and/or what I wanted to be doing in the future was extremely helpful (in fact, I think that is what allowed me to get the job I now have).”

Jami Walker works for Portland Energy Conservation, Inc., a non-profit organization that consults with utilities and government utilities to design and implement their energy efficiency programs. As Senior Project Coordinator, Jami designs trainings, coordinate events and creates outreach materials. Additionally, Jami serves as the chair of the Green Team, and has coordinated several sustainability initiatives including incorporating sustainability into PECI’s strategic plan.

Jami reflects on the experience of being a LECL (now LSE) student, saying: “[It] gave me the ability to take a whole systems view and apply it to everything I do, which has been extremely valuable. [LECL] expanded my writing and analytical skills and [I] learned approaches for adult education, which I am able to apply on a daily basis. On a personal level, I learned more about myself and what is truly important than at any other time in my life thus far. It was invaluable to be in a community of peers who were working towards something greater than themselves.”

Bob Hatton currently serves as a NWSA AmeriCorps Member in the position of Harvest & Stewardship Coordinator with the Portland Fruit Tree Project, a non-profit organization that aims to “increase equitable access to healthy food and strengthen communities by empowering neighbors to share in the harvest and care of city-grown food resources.” Within PFTP, Bob’s main duties are to coordinate Harvest Parties and to develop the Tree Stewardship Program. 

In his scholarship with LECL (now LSE), Bob greatly appreciated “the idea of learning/teaching in a way that is multi-cultural, inter-generational, multi-sensory, and inter-disciplinary… also Friere's concept of giving ‘voice to the voiceless,’ [and] the opportunity to learn about permaculture principles, biodiversity, organic gardening & garden-based education.”

Heidi Mann is the Director and Teacher at WoodHaven School, a Waldorf-inspired, nature-based preschool cooperative for children ages 3-5 in Beaverton, OR. There, Heidi has incorporated an outdoor component for kindergarteners one day a week that she hopes will expand to an “all-day, all-weather” kindergarten in the future. This venture was also the topic of her culminating project in the LECL (now LSE) program.

Heidi says that the most crucial element of the LECL program for her was the focus on Ecology and Culture. She says: “I believe that so much of how we interact with each other and the world around us can reflect the culture of our origin and the culture of our contemporary surroundings. If we learn about the ways in which first nations have lived sustainably, we can understand our own connection or disconnection to the land we inhabit… When we apply this principle to education, we are able to teach empathy and compassion for others and for the natural resources with an understanding of the impact of our ancestors' choices have had on us today and a glimpse of what our choices might do to support the generations to come.”

Michele Knaus works as Executive Director of Friends of Family Farmers, a non-profit that supports and promotes socially and environmentally responsible family-scale agriculture through education, advocacy and outreach. She has specifically helped FoFF to develop the iFarmOregon program as a resource hub and land link for new and beginning farmers in our state, and the Eaters Campaign, an education and outreach program for non-farmers that helps to draw the connection between food and farms in Oregon.

As a student in the LECL (now LSE) program, Michele appreciated the many opportunities she had to network and organize student groups and department programs, and the flexibility within the LECL program that allowed her “to shape…the assignments to focus on what I was passionate about (food system sustainability). [It] was especially helpful and really made the graduate school experience worthwhile.”

Lynne Hjelte Fowler works as a Primary English Development Teacher for the Beaverton School District. Lynne states that what she appreciated most in the LECL (now LSE) program was the opportunity to develop an “awareness of garden-based education programs in the Portland Public School District, the history of environmental education and learning about educational philosophers… [and] I felt the community outreach piece was rewarding.”

Michelle Mathis works as an Associate Landscape Designer for GreenWorks PC Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design. She focuses on designing schools, parks, and trails that incorporate sustainable design features. She believes that if our schools, parks, trails systems and restoration projects are designed well they can inspire a deep connection to nature and be a source of hands-on learning.

Michelle held her current job before beginning the LECL (now LSE) program; the LECL classes helped her build a strong understanding of educational processes and theories. This in turn helps her understand and meet clients’ needs when creating learning landscapes. As far as direct application of skills learned, Michelle feels that, “permaculture classes were most relevant to my day to day design work and offered me new tools for design.” As a LECL student, Michelle helped to develop the WISE website (www.wisedesign.org), which provided her with an opportunity to develop hands-on, practical skills and gave her a reputation as a forward thinker in educational whole systems design.

Michelle also appreciated the “whole systems approach to sustainability including; food systems, the soul, education, policy, and international relations. We could all find a piece of the vision that was our passion and build on it and grow our knowledge in that area. While a Masters in Educational Leadership may not seem like a good fit for a designer, the LECL program was flexible and holistic, shaping my future as a designer of learning landscapes.”

To read more about the great work of LSE graduates, check out this article from Edible Portland: http://edibleportland.com/content/2008/06/portlands-new-wave-of-educators/.

Sarah Weinberger works at Clark College as the Service Learning and Volunteer Program Assistant. Her main responsibilities include coordinating the AmeriCorps "Students in Service" program, advising students and community members about volunteer opportunities, and planning events about volunteering and service learning. Her previous work experience includes working as an English teacher in South Korea and teaching recycled art classes at SCRAP in Portland. Sarah believes that the emphasis on community-based learning has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the LSE program. She also appreciates the ability as an ELP student to take courses in PACE, which has expanded her expertise in the workplace.