Jen supports educators to integrate sustainability, place and food systems into their curriculum. To do this she helps develop and conduct workshops, institutes and credit-bearing courses at the local, national and international levels. As director of the Farms’ Sustainable Schools Project, she works to further develop and evaluate program models, document promising practices, and network with EFS leaders, schools and communities. Jen’s favorite part of the job is working with educators and helping them to find their passion and joy in teaching and learning and how to share that with students of all ages. Jen is also proud to serve as a board member of Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP).
Jen holds a BS in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Vermont (UVM), a MS in Environmental Education from Lesley University’s Audubon Expedition Institute, and is currently a PhD candidate at UVM. While at UVM for her undergraduate degree she helped to start Common Ground, a student-run farm still active today. She was first introduced to Shelburne Farms through an internship learning to drive draft horses with then Children’s Farmyard manager Donald Campbell. Before joining Shelburne Farms, Jen worked with the City of Burlington on the public process for a 30-year sustainability plan. She also worked with AmeriCorps*VISTA on two state-wide initiatives focused on education, specifically, the arts, the environment, and literacy.