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Dr. Luke Gascho
Executive Director, Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Luke's interests include leadership, sustainable building design and creation care from a faith-based perspective. Luke oversaw the design and construction of Rieth Village, a facility at Merry Lea that earned a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. He also chairs the Creation Care Council of the Mennonite Creation Care Network and is the author of Creation Care: Keepers of the Earth. He became Executive Director of Merry Lea in 1997.
Email: lukeag@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
Visit his web page
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Janie Beck Kreider
Public Program and Creation Care Intern
Janie graduated from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 2012 and came to Merry Lea in August of 2012 for a year-long internship. Half of her time is spent helping create, promote, and organize public programs for Merry Lea and the other half of her job is to work for the Mennonite Creation Care Network.
Email: janiebk@goshen.edu Office: Rieth Village at Merry Lea
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Carol has nearly 20 years experience educating people of all ages about the natural world. She is especially fond of working with young children. When not scheduling, teaching or writing curriculum for the K-12 education program she can be found hunting fairy shrimp in a temporary pond or spotting birds to add to her birding team's list. Carol came to Merry Lea in 2001.
Email: carolge@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
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Kerry, a native of Noble County, has cared for Merry Lea's physical plant since 1980. He has completed coursework in heating systems, industrial management and horticulture at IVY Technical College. His real passion, however, is working outdoors. Kerry is an avid hunter and observer of wildlife.
Email: kerryag@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
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Tom Hartzell
Program Assistant for the Sustainability Semester in Residence
Tom came to Merry Lea as a student in the Master of Arts in Environmental Education in 2011. In the MAEE, he carried out a research project on sediment contamination in the Elkhart River. Upon his completion of the MAEE in 2012, he was added to the Merry Lea staff in order to provide programmatic and educational support to the Sustainability Semester in Residence. Other aspects of his work include teaching in the K-12 programs, webpage maintenance, and promotion of Merry Lea's residential collegiate programs.
Email: tchartzell@goshen.edu Office: Rieth Village at Merry Lea
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Dr. Dale Hess
Ecological Field Station Director and Associate Professor of Agroecology
Dale directs the Summer Agroecology Intensive program at Merry Lea's Rieth Village and teaches a botany course at Goshen College. His experience in sustainable crop production research includes more than a decade spent in West Africa. Dale joined the Merry Lea faculty in 2004.
Email: dhess@goshen.edu Office: Rieth Village at Merry Lea
Visit his web page
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Jane Litwiller
Environmental Educator and Property Assistant
Jane grew up near Ludington, MI where she developed her love for the outdoors and aquatic ecosystems in particular. After graduating from Goshen College, she worked at Merry Lea as an intern from the Fall of 2006-Spring of 2008 and began full-time employment at Merry Lea in May 2010. Her responsibilities include working with K-12 school groups who visit Merry Lea on field trips, miscellaneous K-12 programming responsibilities, mowing and trail maintenance, and miscellaneous building and property maintenance.
Email: janell@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
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Dave is an entomologist who joined Merry Lea in 1988 and has served in many roles since then, including program director. Most recently, he taught a natural history class in the graduate program in environmental education and chaired Goshen College's biology department. Dave retired from Merry Lea in 2008, but continues to oversee Merry Lea's insect collections and answer occasional entomology questions.
Email: davejm@goshen.edu
Visit his web page
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William Minter
Director of Land Management
Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Bill is a certified professional forester who has served on the staff since 1991. He has restored over 100 acres of wetland and prairie at Merry Lea. When not practicing land management, he teaches courses on related subjects to both Goshen College undergraduates and Merry Lea's graduates in environmental education. Bill takes a special interest in oak savanna ecosystems.
Email: billfm@goshen.edu Office: The Learning Center at Merry Lea
Visit his web page
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Dr. David Ostergren
Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Education
Associate Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Dave is your first stop if you are interested in Merry Lea's graduate program. In addition to his administrative work, Dave teaches policy courses in the Sustainability Semester in Residence at Merry Lea and on the Goshen College campus. Areas of research include U.S. Wilderness policy and Russian national park and nature reserve management. He began his work at Merry Lea in 2008.
Email: daveo@goshen.edu Office: The Learning Center at Merry Lea
Visit his web page
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Dr. Jonathon Schramm
Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Jonathon's background includes science pedagogy. He teaches the pedagogy class in the master's in environmental education program and advises students as they develop curriculum. Jonathon's responsibilities also include overseeing the Environmental Problem-solving course in the Sustainability Semester in Residence and research for the Institute of Ecological Regeneration. He joined the Merry Lea faculty in 2012.
Email: jschramm@goshen.edu
Visit his web page Office: The Learning Center at Merry Lea
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Jennifer Halteman Schrock
Public Program Coordinator, Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Jennifer plans programs such as Merry Lea's annual Autumn Hope Conferences and NatureFests. She also works with Mennonite Creation Care Network. She has helped develop Merry Lea's Sustainability Semester and teaches a course on Faith, Ethics and Ecojustice in this program. Jennifer joined the Merry Lea team in 2002.
Email: jenniferhs@goshen.edu Office: Rieth Village at Merry Lea
Visit her web page
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Lindsey Research Fellow
Ryan teaches ecology, biology and environmental science courses and is the chair of the Biological Sciences Department at Goshen College and he also conducts field research at Merry Lea. Ryan’s doctoral research focused on the effects of grassland burning on grazing animals in Kenya, and he continues to research the relationship between grazing animals and healthy prairies. Ryan started at Merry Lea in 2007.
Email: rlsensenig@goshen.edu
Phone: (574) 535-7489
Primary Office: Science Center #212, Goshen College Campus
At Merry Lea: Rieth Village Site
Visit his web page
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Paul D. Steury
Education Coordinator for K-12 Programs
Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED)
Paul teaches pedagogy and environmental issues classes in Merry Lea's graduate program and oversees the K-12 program. He is generous in sharing his extensive network and is in demand as a speaker. Paul joined the Merry Lea team in 1999.
Email: paulds@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
Visit his web page
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David graduated from Goshen College in 2012 and came to work at Merry Lea for the Agroecology Internship. David helps support the agroecology program at Merry Lea by helping with the farm management and upkeep, marketing Merry Lea produce, and assisting in the Agroecology Summer Intensive.
Email: davids56@goshen.edu Office: Rieth Village at Merry Lea
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Maria Tice
Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator
Maria returned to the Merry Lea staff in 2012. She had served as a Merry Lea intern from Fall 2005 to Spring 2006 after graduation from Goshen College. She now serves as the administrative assistant and also coordinates all the volunteers who assist in our education and land management efforts. Maria's experience both in environmental education and administration enable her to bring support and expertise to the wide range of Merry Lea programs.
Email: mariact@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
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A botanist and educator, Larry became Merry Lea's executive director in 1981, serving until 1997 and continuing in other roles until retiring in 2007. Currently, Larry devotes his time to his family farm near Huntertown, IN. Larry also continues as a guest lecturer on soils and geology.
Email: larryry@goshen.edu
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Dr. Laura Meitzner Yoder
Associate Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED), Director of the Sustainability Semeseter in Residence
Laura teaches in the master's program in environmental education and is the director of the Sustainability Semester in Residence for undergraduates. Her job description also includes research. She came to Merry Lea in 2011, following years of experience in southeast Asia.
Email: LSMYoder@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
Visit her web page
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Dr. Lisa Zinn
Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Education Department (SEED), Environmental Science Educator
Lisa teaches natural history in the graduate program and Landscape Limnology in the Sustainability Semester in Residence. She also advises graduate student projects and helps to coordinate the graduate student teaching praciticum. She also teaches undergraduate Ornithology and oversees the MAPS bird banding program and Merry Lea's web site. Lisa joined the Merry Lea team in 2003.
Email: Lisarz@goshen.edu Office: Learning Center Building at Merry Lea
Visit her web page
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