Staff Bios

Phoebe Atkinson, Education Director
(216) 321-5935 ext. 224
atkinson@shakerlakes.org

Phoebe serves as an Early Childhood Naturalist for the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Before coming to the Nature Center, she worked in Geauga County for three years as a naturalist with the Geauga Park District. She has also held naturalist positions with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Columbus Zoo. She has a B.S. in Zoology and a Masters in Environmental Communications, Education and Interpretation, both from The Ohio State University.

Beverly Barr, Welcome Desk Manager
(216) 321-5935 ext. 235
barr@shakerlakes.org

Beverly serves the Nature Center at the Welcome Desk wearing a number of different hats. She is the first person to greet visitors, answer the telephone, and field numerous questions about the Nature Center and its environs. Beverly is also our Rental Coordinator and is the person to contact for any event you are planning with the Nature Center in mind. She is our Outdoor Adventure Class registrar and registers folks for all one-day events. Beverly is a co-founder and former teacher of a pre-school that is now in its 28th year of operation. She is very happy to be working with children again and greeting visitors who literally come from all over the world.

Naomi Bongorno, Grants Manager
(216) 321-5935 ext. 223
bongorno@shakerlakes.org

Naomi's primary responsibilities include implementing an overall strategy for foundation and corporate grant support, researching opportunities for funding, cultivating prospects, and writing proposals and reports. Naomi received a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and is excited to be working in her field with the Nature Center.  She moved to Cleveland in 2005 and worked at Cleveland State University as a Forum Coordinator for the Levin College Forum Program and at the Cleveland Clinic as a Coordinator in the Research Division.  Prior to moving to Cleveland, Naomi was the Assistant Director for Foundation and Corporate Giving for a large non-profit dedicated to providing services to victims of domestic violence.  Naomi lives in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland with her husband and daughter.

Raja Byrnside, OAC Director and Naturalist
(216) 321-5935 ext. 243
byrnside@shakerlakes.org

Raja (pronounced Ri.ya) inherited her Russian name from her mother. A native Ohioan, she received a bachelor's degree in marine science from the University of South Carolina. She spent four years within the education department at Sea World of Ohio through its transition to Six Flags. She has also enjoyed working as a garden educator at the Cleveland Botanical gardens, while tutoring math and reading for after school programs. In her down time she enjoys walking, sailing, volleyball, and partaking of all types of coffee.

Jessica Davis, Annual Fund and Membership Manager

Jessica is responsible for managing the Nature Center's membership program and annual Nature Fund campaign. She maintains our database and is primarily responsible for donor communications. She received her Bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in May of 2006. Before coming to the Nature Center she served two years as an Americorps member in Cleveland. In her spare time she loves to read, try new foods, spend time with friends and family and take her dog for walks.

Justin Evans, Seasonal Naturalist

Justin, an identical twin who hails from Berea, Ohio, earned a B.A. degree from Hiram College in Environmental Studies with a focus on Wildlife Management and Education. He has worked as a Graduate Intern Field Instructor for the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He has also worked with the Ohio Environmental Council on Lobby Day, educating elected officials on environmental issues facing Ohio. He interned in the summer of 2007 at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center and lived at Hiram College's James H. Barrow Field Station for two years working as a feeding manager and performing research in entomology and organic gardening. His interests include entomology, hiking in the national park, rock wall climbing, tennis, line and swing dancing, long walks on the beach and traveling.

Char Glatley, Development Director
(216) 321-5935 ext. 242
glatley@shakerlakes.org

Char's responsibilities include cultivating and sustaining corporate relationships; overseeing benefit events; liaising with the Board of Directors; working with the Development Committee and coordinating with its sub-committees on planned giving, the Evergreen Society, and the Endowment campaign; and increasing the revenue and marketing of rentals. She hopes to connect our mission with every person and activity at the Nature Center and would like our supporters to help us develop into an educational, sustainable, and collaborative center. Char worked for 10 years in event planning for businesses and nonprofits, is a co-founder of CREW for the Cleveland Playhouse, former president of Playhouse Square Partners, and a 2003 graduate of Cleveland Bridge Builders. She resides in Shaker Heights with her husband, Mark, and sons, Blake and Spencer.

Katrina Heinzen, Seasonal Naturalist

Katrina joined the Nature Center as a Seasonal Naturalist. Though her formal education is in music, she has enjoyed a lifetime of outdoor adventures large and small and is thrilled to now share adventures with students visiting the Nature Center. Katrina has lived in the Cleveland area for 15 years, but was originally from the very, very small town of Fayette, Missouri. Reflecting on her childhood she recalls, "The rural setting was perfect for exploring and encountering wildlife. I am so fortunate that my mother was a science teacher and I was eager to have her explain everything around us, providing a great foundation in all areas of science. In my adult life, I have felt a strong need to recreate those patterns. I frequent Cleveland's beautiful parks, read my field guides and keep my connection to nature strong. It is such a joy to pass on the knowledge and the love of nature to the next generation. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity!"

Amanda Hong, Admin/Volunteer Programs Intern

Amanda is joining the Nature Center this summer as an intern, and is helping with volunteer coordination and marketing initiatives. She graduated this past May from Case Western Reserve University with a BS in Biochemistry and a BA in Economics, and will matriculate at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine this fall. Prior to her internship at the Nature Center, Amanda also completed five other research internships with Procter & Gamble, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Amanda has also been an avid volunteer with various campus organizations, including serving as the former President of the Journal Distribution Project, which sends medical journals to clinics in developing countries, and the President of Mortar Board. She is excited to work with the Nature Center this summer and for the opportunity to interact with the surrounding Cleveland community.

Stefanie K. Lader, Communications Specialist
(216) 321-5935 ext. 228
lader@shakerlakes.org

Stefanie received her bachelor's degree in Journalism from Ohio University with a certification in environmental science. She served as the Nature Center's marketing manager from 2001-2006. After having a baby in May 2006, she now works part-time as a communications specialist. Her responsibilities include serving as editor of the bi-monthly newsletter, The Rookery, and updating the Nature Center's website. Stefanie is intensely committed to the environment and really enjoys working for the Nature Center.

Jan Larson, Part-time Naturalist
(216) 321-5935
larson@shakerlakes.org

Jan has worked with the Center's Big/Little and preschool Outdoor Adventure Classes on a part-time basis since 1997. She has a degree in American Studies from Bowling Green State University and is a Master Gardener through the Ohio State University Extension Service. Jan particularly enjoys exploring art and nature with our youngest program participants and loves introducing young families to the Nature Center. Jan also does costuming for a local youth theater. She, her husband and two teenage daughters live in Shaker Heights.

Paul McClain, Seasonal Naturalist

Paul is an elementary grade school teacher and has taught first and second grades for several years. He is a trained Waldorf teacher and taught two years at a Waldorf school in Nashville, Tennessee. He was also a retail buyer for six years for J.L. Waters, a backpacking specialty store in Bloomington, Indiana. Paul enjoys the outdoors, i.e., gardening, canoeing, backpacking, birding and photography. He and his family moved from Nashville to Shaker Heights in 2007 and they enjoy the accessibility of all of the parks in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Paul is also involved with the National Wildlife Federation and Bioneers.

Victoria Mills, Executive Director, Doan Brook Watershed Partnership
(216) 321-5935 ext. 234
mills@shakerlakes.org

Tori graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in Environmental Studies and History, with a Fine Arts minor. Since then, she has worked as an environmental planner and educator. Before returning to Cleveland, Tori worked for the Oceanarium of Maine, the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), both domestically and abroad. Her focus since returning home to Cleveland has been on watersheds, first working at the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan and now with the Nature Center and the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership.
 

Lara Roketenetz, Natural Resources Specialist
(216) 321-5935 ext. 240
roketenetz@shakerlakes.org

Lara holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Case Western Reserve University. She works with stewardship volunteers and a variety of groups to assist the Nature Center in implementing its land management plan to preserve and restore the biodiversity of habitats represented near the Center. She also creates programs to control invasive species, replace native plants, and study the impact of deer in the Shaker Parklands. Lara previously served as an environmental biologist and scientist at a private consulting firm. The resident of Lakewood, who is currently enrolled in John Carroll University's master of science program in biology, shares her home with 2 dogs, a cat, 6 turtles, a snake, and numerous fish.

Joan Spoerl, Part-time Naturalist
(216) 321-5935

Joan received her bachelor's degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago and her master of arts in teaching in early childhood education from Tufts University. She moved to Cleveland Heights in 2004, from Chicago, where she taught kindergarten and preschool, and where nature, science and art collided in the interdisciplinary curricula of her classrooms. Volunteer work at the Nature Center led to her current stint leading nature walks for birthday parties and teaching Outdoor Adventure Classes on the weekends as needed. Joan is also the Program Development Coordinator at the Shaker Family Center and is an independent consultant for Usborne Books. She loves the Nature Center and Cleveland, and enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, reading, learning and most importantly, spending time with her husband and son.

Kellie Tayer, Administrative Assistant/ Bookkeeper
(216) 321-5935 ext. 222
tayer@shakerlakes.org

Kellie Tayer, a Northeastern Ohio native, is an administrative assistant/bookkeeper at the Nature Center. She has an Associate in Arts degree from Ohio Valley College in Parkersburg, WV, and studied journalism and foreign languages at Kent State University. She worked twice for the Des Moines Register newspaper in Des Moines, Iowa, as a features staff writer and book/theater/music reviewer. In the mid 1980's she served in the United States Marine Corps where she met her husband, a retired Navy corpsman. Kellie is the author of three romance novels and the mother of three children, one of whom currently serves in the U.S. Air Force.

David Wright, Naturalist/Community Outreach Coordinator
(216) 321-5935 ext. 233
wright@shakerlakes.org

David returned to Shaker Heights after attending Arizona State University, where he pursued Political Science and Philosophy. He has worked for a variety of organizations, ranging from the Boy Scouts to the School Camping Project of the Cleveland Board of Education, and the Earth Day Coalition. He has worked with Nature's Classroom/Project Reach in Carrollton, OH, and as a Unit Supervisor with the State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and was the Associate Director of the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP. David also was the former Program Director for the Phyllis Wheatley Association's Camp Mueller in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He now serves Camp Mueller as a consultant.

David is currently president of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Education Council of Ohio, and serves on the Board of Directors for Audubon Ohio as well as Earth Day Coalition. David enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading, and spending time with his daughter, Rachyl. 

Jan Zorman, Facilities Director
(216) 321-5935 ext. 229
zorman@shakerlakes.org

Jan received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Ohio State University and a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, Central Africa and has worked in a variety of jobs while maintaining a studio as a visual artist. She began working at the Nature Center in 1998. She is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the building and trails for the Nature Center. She is involved in the coordination of a land management plan and also oversees the computer network.