Activity Specialist- Senior Center & Recreation

• Oct 2022 - Present

Creating exceptional and diverse programmatic experiences for adult Windsor residents and surrounding communities. • PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: Creating and implementing new and novel evening/weekend programming for the working 55+ community. Highlights included: Introduction to Birding, Senior Sound Healing, Introduction to Hydroponics, Cooking Demonstrations, and Fluid Art. • COLLABORATION: Enhanced collaboration between Recreation and Senior Services through new and dynamic multi-generational programs. • HIGHLIGHT: Assisting the Recreation Department with “Be Well Windsor” program to help enhance access to holistic health and wellness programming for the Windsor community. Increased offerings and engagement of adult programs (cooking, fitness, and nature offerings) in under 6 months. Show less

Volunteer and Education Manager

• Apr 2022 - Oct 2022

Developing, coordinating, and leading dynamic educational and volunteer experiences to help cultivate knowledge and community in urban greenspaces. • PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: Creating and implementing a 6-week summer internship program for youth ages 15-16 with a focus on green career exploration, experiential education in our gardens and developing outdoor leadership skills. • VOLUNTEER CAPACITY: Increasing the number of group volunteering opportunities within all our urban green spaces. • PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Streamlining volunteer projects and increasing communication across programs to ensure successful outcomes to our volunteer events. • PROGRAM ASSESMENT- Developed a Volunteer Feedback Survey to evaluate and improve large-scale community and corporate volunteer experiences. Show less

Community Garden Coordinator- Division of Recreation, Families, And Leisure Services

• Aug 2021 - Apr 2022

Envisioning and implementing infrastructure and programs that enhance community-wide health and wellness through equitable green spaces. Highlights of this position include:• PROGRAM MISSION & VISION DEVELOPMENT: Developed a new mission, vision, and goal for the current garden program and spaces• INCREASING PROGRAM OFFERINGS/CONTENT: Increased the number of experiential nature-based programs available to children, adults, and families, while staying within budget.• COMMUNICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA: Responsible for community outreach through, social media, email, and traditional marketing techniques.• PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION: Led group garden education programs for adults and children. Assisted and facilitated preparation for and execution of special events. Show less

Camp Director

• Jun 2021 - Aug 2021

Site Director for the Division’s K-2 site at Center Springs Park. Responsible for overseeing logistics, safety, and activity for staff and campers. Duties of the position also include:• DAILY ACTIVITY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION: Developing/implementing daily programming schedule to maximize camper engagement.• BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT: Positive behavior management of campers in crisis and coached new leadership & behavior support techniques for staff• DOCUMENTATION AND SUPERVISION: Maintained behavior, health and sign-in logs and motivating staff to reach new levels of leadership while working with children. • HIGHLIGHT: Success of the site, programming and staff professionalism led parents to enroll their children in additional sessions. Show less

Greenhouse Assistant

• Nov 2020 - Apr 2021

Volunteer for Nature Year Program / Seasonal Environmental Educator (Spring)- Field Trip Program

• Dec 2017 - May 2019

Seasonal Environmental Educator (February 2019-June 2019) Worked as an environmental educator for the school’s visiting field trip program. Duties included: Setting up outdoor centers for learning prior to student arrival, preparing educational materials, connecting the topic of the trip to grade level curriculum while integrating appropriate vocabulary and key ideas, guiding inquisition, fostering learning enthusiasm and excitement for nature, delivering enthusiastic presentations for students of all ages, and ensuring student and chaperone safety during all activities. Nature Year Volunteer (2017-2018) Provided educational support one day a week for the organization's forest school, Nature Year. Volunteered my time to a variety of different age groups, but primarily worked with the kindergarten group, the Maples. Supported teacher naturalists in overseeing child activity time. Ensured safety of students while climbing trees or hiking. Encouraged learning through experiential exploration and problem solving. Supported students and teachers with executing lessons. Fostered positive peer interactions and dispute resolution. Assisted students with farm chores and animal exploration. Show less

Alternate Camp Director / Environmental Educator/ Animal Care Technician

• 2016 - 2018

Upward progress while volunteering and working on a local community farm with a humanitarian and educational emphasis. Environmental Educator-Farm-Based (2016-2017) Students from Hartford and Simsbury elementary schools visited farm for trips four times each year; Fostered real world experiences to connect children to ecology, animal care and the food system and emphasize the importance of interconnectedness within the environment; Conveyed and nurtured an atmosphere of excitement regarding the mission of the farm to establish long term positive associations with the organization and secure new professional relationships; Prepared the farm and classroom with related educational materials prior to student arrival; Conducted enthusiastic educational presentations regarding the animals, farm, and ecology; Supervised student, teacher and chaperone interactions with animals to ensure safety and maximized fun for all participating parties to ensure an authentic farm experience. Alternate Camp Director (2016) Served as the Alternate Camp Director overseeing daily camp activities to ensure safety and maximum fun for up to 50 campers and camp counselors. Updated camper enrollment lists in Microsoft Excel and Google Docs; Maintained camper files; Administered First Aid and Medication Administration; Photographed a wide variety of captivating images and posted them to the farm Facebook page to maximize social media engagement. Volunteer Animal Care Technician (2016, 2018) Volunteered as Animal Care Assistant 1-2 afternoon/evenings a week. Livestock on the farm included: chickens, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits and ducks; Cleaning/mucking out stalls, pens, enclosures; ensuring that all animals had sufficient food and water supply; egg collection; interaction and animal socialization; sweeping barn floors; and bringing all the animals in for the evening. Show less

Tasting Room Attendent / Harvest Volunteer / Vineyard Assistant

• 2014 - 2018

Vineyard Assistant (2018) Supported the vineyard’s implementation of a new 3-phase pruning system for the properties 7,200 vines. Tasks included: suckering, de-branching and leaf trimming; Observing and reporting any disease or pests to the Vineyard Manager; Harvesting ripe fruit clusters come Fall for pressing and fermenting; Assisted with tasks in the winery, including: bottling and labeling wine for the sales floor. Harvest Volunteer (2017) Assisted with annual grape harvest. Clipping several hundred grape clusters; Depositing them into large bins; Moving bins to storage area for processing and juice extraction. Tasting Room Attendant (2014-2016) Conducted energetic and educational group wine sampling presentations in the winery's tasting room;. Educated consumers about the wines and their nuances, the history of the facility and property, the wine creation process, and local points of interest; Represented the winery at off-premise tasting events; Contributed to the company’s social media presence by receiving praise on Facebook; Drove successful, positive mentions in online media. Show less

Farm-based Educator

• Feb 2017 - Aug 2017

Employed at a place-based agricultural education center as a seasonal educator on the farm. Encouraged diverse groups of students to engage in an experiential approach to understanding farm life and our food system; Fostered a hands-on approach to the many aspects of life on a farm (animals, gardens, ecology); Prepared the farm, classroom and outdoor spaces with related educational materials prior to student arrival; Conducted enthusiastic educational presentations; Managed student, teacher and chaperone experiences with animals to ensure safety and maximize fun for all participating parties. That Summer, I was given the opportunity to spear head my own summer program with children K-2nd grade. Developed daily educational activities/plans based on camper’s interests and created my own learning materials to help children integrate all their senses on the farm. Success in the early weeks, led to more parents enrolling their children for additional weeks. Also provided program and educational assistance to the middle school Erdkinder program that summer. Oversaw farm chores in gardens, fields and with animal husbandry. Daily cooking activities and clean-up. Chaperoned the food system field trip from our farm to the Capitol. Show less