Experiential Educator

Heindel grew up in Vermont before majoring in geology at Dartmouth and attending the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She was the head of field education for the Teton Science Schools in Wyoming before accepting her new role as executive director of Vermont’s North Branch Nature Center, a highly-regarded hub for educating people in and about the outdoors.

“If we draw a line too narrowly on a nature center and limit it to plants and animals, that’s not quite enough,” Heindel told The Montpelier Bridge. “For me, the next level out is the oh-so-exciting abiotic parts of the world — the water, the fire, the ice, the snow, the wind, the climate — and from there pretty quickly you get to people, the way we interact with those and some complicated, sometimes contentious environmental issues. That’s what really drives me and what I hope I can bring here.”