AmeriCorps Members 2010-2011

The Environment, Education, and Community Outreach (EECO) project is a collaboration of Montclair State University's New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC), Service-Learning and Community Engagement Program, and the Center for Student Involvement. The largest component of EECO involves the creation of a conservation corps that will support the education and conservation mission of the School of Conservation. Currently, the project supports 7 full-time AmeriCorps members at the NJSOC.  These AmeriCorps members develop valuable skills to support their professional and personal development while helping NJSOC in its conservation efforts. EECO is funded by a $260,000 grant from the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service. At this time, we are fortunate to have Timothy Pall, Karen Stretton and Andrea Zasoski join our Americorps team.

Jenna Gersie

Jenna Gersie was born and raised in Sussex County, NJ, and her love of nature was inspired by day-trips to places such as Stokes State Forest and the Delaware River.  In 2010, she graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, with a B.A. in Environmental Studies.  During her undergraduate career, Jenna studied tropical ecology abroad in both Cairns, Australia and Monteverde, Costa Rica.  At Skidmore, Jenna completed two senior projects: one on bird imagery in environmental literature and the other on a history of the Native Americans of the Saratoga Springs region.  She was also the Media Liaison for the Environmental Action Club and a member of the swim team.  Jenna completed an environmental communications internship at Skidmore in 2008, where she developed the Environmental Studies webpage and wrote a newsletter for the Environmental Studies Program.  In 2010, she interned for the Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Project at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL.  She has also volunteered with Yayasan Pulau Banyak, a sea turtle conservation program in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Samantha Mass

Samantha Mass grew up in Red Bank, NJ. From a young age she can remember having a passion for nature and the outdoors. She pursed this passion at the University of Vermont where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in Environmental Studies. While in college, Sam spent her summers as a National Park Ranger in Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook interpreting historic and natural areas as well as designing programs such as Junior Ranger.
During the spring semester of her Junior year, Sam had the opportunity to study abroad in New Zealand where she studied the local ecology, policy, and was involved in a directed research project with the local primary school. She and three other students developed a 10-week environmental curriculum to teach students about biodiversity and invasive species.
Thanks to her work with the NPS and her studies in NZ, Sam has decided to pursue Environmental Education for Sustainability and is excited to spend a year with the EECO program at the NJSOC!

Danielle Odom

Danielle Odom was born and raised in Sussex County, NJ in Hampton Township where several visits to Stokes State Forest would foster her love for the outdoors from an early age. She actually attended the New Jersey School of Conservation as a child in 1998 with her sixth grade class.

In 2008 she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Biological Science cum laude at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU). Her undergraduate independent study focused on studying the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis, and its deleterious effects in the New Jersey Pinelands. She did another independent group study on the production of biodiesel from used vegetable oil. During her time at FDU she co-founded the Green Club in order to initiate and promote a campus-wide recycling program. Similarly, she was a founding member of the Green Day Committee, a campus-wide event promoting sustainability and environmental-conscientiousness. Danielle had the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica for her Field Study of Business, Culture and Global Sustainability course. She was a member and co-captain of the FDU Cross Country team. In the summers in between attending college she often worked or volunteer with several local veterinary hospitals in Sussex County.

After graduating Danielle was seasonally employed by the Mercer County Mosquito Control as a vector ecologist. She soon after became gainfully employed as a senior laboratory assistant in the molecular science department at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Danielle is currently attending the online-based Master’s of Science in Environmental Studies graduate program at Green Mountain College. She has completed all major course work and is currently working on setting up her thesis project – another entomological study – which she plans on completing here at the NJSOC, concurrently with her AmeriCorps Service term and AmeriCorps Service Project – a three sisters teaching garden.

After AmeriCorps she plans on earning her PhD and dividing her time between research and teaching as a professor. She enjoys mountain biking, running, Frisbee, tennis, photography, reading, music, hiking, camping, trekking, and so much more.

Timothy Palla

Timothy J. Palla was born on the island of Oahu. He lived there for three years before his family moved to a small agricultural town in Nebraska, where his father was raised. Timothy cultivated a deep respect for the environment due to the interconnectedness of his community with the natural environment.

Timothy moved to New Jersey in 2006 to attend the County College of Morris. There, he was co-founder of their first environmental club, while pursuing a degree in biology in the environmental field. Upon graduation, he transferred to Rutger, Cook College wherehe was part of the campus environmental organization and helped assess and clean local waterways. He received his Bachelor Degree in Mayof 2010. He just recently returned from a three month trip to hawaii where he lived in an Eco-village. Timothy is very excited for his opportunity with the EECO where he will have the opportunity to teach and be out in nature - something he has always wanted.

Ashley Schmid

Ashley Schmid was born in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she was raised in the close-knit and supportive community of Harrington Park.  Her childhood time spent in the outdoors and exploring the woods around her house has helped to foster an ingrained love and respect for the natural environment.
Ashley graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Special Education.  During her undergraduate career she spent much of her time studying at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and volunteering for their Outdoor School program.  Since Penn State, Ashley has received a Graduate Certificate from Rutgers University.  She has also taken two Outdoor Educator courses with the National Outdoor Leadership School for the past two summers.
Ashley came to the NJ School of Conservation during sixth grade with the Harrington Park Elementary School.  After two full years of teaching in the classroom and working part time at a local nature center, Ashley is happy to focus her attention on residential environmental education at the NJSOC, back where the experience first began.

 

Karen Stretton

Karen was born and raised in the illustrious suburban town of West Chester, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in History. She decided to continue her education at graduate school, and recently received her Master’s Degree in Environmental Geography from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. During her time at Shippensburg, Karen focused her studies on land use planning, water resources management and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She also worked as a floodplain management intern for the PA Department of Community and Economic Development.

Karen is now enjoying the opportunity to apply her environmental knowledge as an educator at the School of Conservation during her year-long AmeriCorps term. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading and gardening.

Andrea Zasoski

Andrea Zasoski grew up in Ewing, NJ which is located just outside of historical Trenton.  She received her BS in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA.  During her undergraduate career, Andrea was highly involved in the biology department.  During her senior year, she was vice president of Beta Beta Beta, the national biological honor society, and was president of the Conservation Club.  For her senior thesis, she designed an experiment to determine the optimal size restriction for harvesting queen conch in Belize.  Andrea also studied abroad in Arizona and Belize.  In Arizona, she did several studies on the native vegetation found in the American Southwest, including the famous saguaros.  While in Belize, she had the chance to go snorkeling and conduct research on the state of the coral reefs and survey populations of queen conch.

During the summer of her sophomore year, Andrea participated in an internship at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.  Her research focused on the foraging behaviors of the green crab.  She designed an experiment to determine if green crabs followed the optimal foraging theory when foraging in a rippled bed habitat.  After graduating with honors in May 2010, Andrea enrolled in AmeriCorps and became a part of the EECO program at NJSOC.  In her free time, Andrea enjoys baking, crafts, and eating desserts. 

 

Past AmeriCorps Members...

Daniel Brown

Dan is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his time outside playing sports such as basketball, football, and baseball.  Dan attended Rider University and received his BS in Marine Science.  He has been fascinated with marine life, particularly sharks, since the age of four.  As a Rider student, Dan had the opportunity to work with students on the collegiate level through his experience in Greek Life and Residence Life.  He also had the opportunity to work with high school and grade school students via various community service projects he was involved in with his fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp).  He also had the opportunity to work on research projects such as tagging and releasing fish in a marsh and a field study conducted in the Florida Keys.

Dan is currently a member of the Environment Education Community Outreach (EECO) program for AmeriCorps at the New Jersey School of Conservation.  This program allows him to still perform one of his passions, community service, while teaching students who visit the school about environmental science, outdoor pursuits, social sciences and the humanities.  In Dan’s free time, he likes to play sports, volunteer his time and efforts for community service projects, attend social events SigEp hosts, spend time with family and friends, visit the aquariums and zoos, and attend sporting events in Philadelphia. 

 

James McNany

Jim is a native of Maplewood, New Jersey. He has been an avid outdoorsman since his youth, rock climbing, hiking, camping, and boating whenever the occasion presented. Jim developed his love of the outdoors during the years in the Boy Scouts working toward and attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

Jim is a graduate of the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While there, he studied History, English, and Political Science, earning his bachelor’s degree in History. Since graduating, Jim has pursued a career in education working as a tutor, a substitute teacher, and a teacher at a learning academy. While studying for his master’s degree in education at Montclair State University, Jim was offered the chance to join the AmeriCorps team working at the NJSOC and jumped at the opportunity. After he completes his AmeriCorps commitment, Jim would like to continue his career in education, teaching either Outdoor Skills and Conservation at an institution similar to the NJSOC or History or English in the classroom.