Northern Illinois University
Lorado Taft Field Campus

Seasonal Staff Biographies

Jacci Cuff (Senior Education Program Specialist)

Jacci is returning to Taft as a senior education program specialist. Before starting as an education program specialist last year, Jacci served three terms of AmeriCorps at Easter Seals Respite Camp in Wisconsin Dells. She has also worked at Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center in Wisconsin Dells. Jacci went to Lawrence University, where she got a B.A. in geology and environmental studies. Eventually, she would like to return to school to get a Ph.D. in geomorphology, but for now is content with where she is at and looks forward to learning from other people each day. She has also expressed interest in getting a master's in outdoor education, as well as one day being a camp director. Her interests change constantly and she is really still trying to pinpoint which one to pursue. For now, as a young outdoor education teacher, she looks forward to growing and developing her skill set.

Teairra Deacon (Education Program Specialist)

Prior to starting at Taft in August, Teairra worked as a conservation assistant intern for the Missouri Department of Conservation. She has also been a fieldworker for Giant City State Park and SIU’s Touch of Nature.  Teairra is a graduate of SIU and has a B.S. in outdoor recreation leadership and management. In addition to teaching about the environment and Leave No Trace practices, Teairra’s professional interests include learning and sharing knowledge related to survival skills, as well as improving and developing her knowledge and skills in all things related to outdoor education.

Ashley Grazutis (Outdoor Education Intern)

Ashley is currently attending NIU and is a double major in middle level teaching and learning (with a major emphasis in science and minor emphasis in Spanish) and Spanish language and literature. She is also a Service Leader Peer Mentor for NIU’s Center for P-20 Engagement and has previously worked as an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) tutor. Ashley’s professional interests include middle school science curriculum relevancy, bilingual education, and outdoor education and experiential learning phenomena.

Bethany Kautz (Senior Education Program Specialist)

Bethany spent the past summer working at Bartlett Nature Center, before returning to Taft as a senior education program specialist. Bethany went to UW-Steven’s Point for 2 years, majoring in biology and wildlife ecology & management and minoring in wildlife and piano performance. She then transferred to North Carolina State University where she graduated with a B.S. in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology with an emphasis in wildlife and a soil science minor. Prior to starting as an education program specialist at Taft in 2017, Bethany worked as an educator at Bartlett Nature Center. She also conducted research on Blanding’s turtles with the DuPage County Forest Preserve and banded geese, wood ducks, and mourning doves for the IDNR in Cook County. She also had an internship as a wildlife rehabilitator at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, IL.  Bethany’s professional interests include mammalogy, osteology, and wildlife behavioral studies.

Cher Ladford (Outdoor Education Intern)

Cher is a graduate of NIU. While there, she studied fine arts with an emphasis in painting, drawing and ceramics and earned her B.F.A. in that major, with a minor in Southeast Asia studies, primarily Thailand. She has held several positions as a yoga instructor and continues to teach yoga for various organizations, including NIU’s Campus Recreation, Afterglow Yoga, and Temple Yoga. She has also worked with the elderly at Barb City Manor in DeKalb and continues today as their mural artist. Cher has done a great deal of volunteer work with Fargo Skateboarding in DeKalb and a community garden. Cher enjoys sharing her love of fitness and yoga, working with elderly populations, exploring cultural diversity, working with international students, and teaching children (or any age group) in nature.

Katie McBride (Education Program Specialist)

In addition to working as an education program specialist at Taft, Katie also serves as the Education Program Coordinator for the Franklin Creek Conservation Association, a position she held full time this summer.  Katie attended Rock Valley College where she graduated with an associate degree. She then transferred to Northern Illinois University to finish her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. While attending NIU she was a part of the Committee for the Preservation of Wildlife, volunteered at Nachusa Grasslands, and started her internship at Taft. She was hired on as an Education Program Specialist the following year. She has worked for Byron Forest Preserve and Nachusa Grasslands as a restoration technician. Katie also worked on a trail crew in Colorado for a season with AmeriCorps. Her interests include native landscaping, prairie restoration/prescribed burns, and outdoor education.

Alex Renko (Outdoor Education Intern)

Alex earned a B.S in elementary education from Northern Illinois University and has had several long-term teaching experiences teaching children common core curriculum and environmental education.  Prior to starting the internship in January, Alex worked as an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) tutor and volunteered to teach physical health and wellness at elementary schools in DeKalb through the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program.  Alex's professional interestes include ecology, outdoor education, and team building for youth.

Anne Rohn (Senior Education Program Specialist)

Anne earned a B.A. in biology from Earlham College. Anne started as an education program specialist at Taft in 2016 and is starting her second year as a senior education program specialist at Taft.  Prior to coming to Taft, Anne completed a naturalist fellowship program with Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul, Minnesota. She has also worked as an education intern at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City and was crewmember with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota. Her professional interests include ornithology, botany, restoration, and environmental studies.

Megan Sneyd (Education Program Specialist)

Megan joined the education staff as an intern last year and has returned as an education program specialist. Megan attended Northern Illinois University, receiving a B.A. in environmental studies. She has worked for NIU's Institute for Environment, Sustainability, and Energy as a communications intern, writing articles for NIU publications as a way to spread information about the NIU Green Team and other environmentally related news to a broader audience. Her professional interests include water ecology and surface water management, invasive species removal, fire ecology, and community outreach.

Will Sutphin (Education Program Specialist)

Will started as an education program specialist at Taft in January of 2018, and spent this past summer working at the Bartlett Nature Center. Prior to joining the Taft staff, he has worked for the Bartlett Nature Center, DuPage County Stormwater Management, and the River Trails Park District. Will is interested in environmental education and would like to one day teach at the college level. He has a degree in geography and political science and his master's degree is in geography and environmental resources.

Permanent Staff Biographies

Amy Banner (Assistant OE Coordinator)

Amy started at Taft as an education program specialist in 2012. Since then, she has worked as a senior education program specialist and then was promoted to assistant outdoor education coordinator. In addition, Amy has worked as a naturalist at Glen Helen Environmental Education Center. She was an Americorps member with the National Civilian Community Corps, working with the Toledo Botanical Garden, Habitat for Humanity, Vinton Weed and Seed, Buley Afterschool Center, and the Flint Housing Association. Amy's professional interests include wildflowers and astronomy. She has a B.A. in historic preservation with a minor in art from Ursuline College.

Alyssa Parker (Assistant OE Coordinator)

Prior to coming to Taft in 2015 as an education program specialist, Alyssa worked as a naturalist at San Mateo Outdoor Education in California and an educator at Shangri La Botanical Garden in Texas. She has also worked as a naturalist apprentice for the USDA Forest Service at Land Between the Lakes NRA in Kentucky. At Taft, she has been a senior education program specialist and was promoted to assistant outdoor education coordinator in 2017. Alyssa has a B.S. degree in biology with minors in environmental science and coastal management from Eckerd College. Her professional interests include herpetology, birding by ear, and wildflowers.

Melanie Costello (Campus Director/OE Coordinator)

Melanie earned her M.S.Ed. from NIU in outdoor teacher education and a B.S. in biology/ecology with a minor in chemistry from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She started working at Lorado Taft as a graduate assistant and has since worked as an assistant outdoor education coordinator and outdoor education coordinator, and she has been the campus director since 2012. She has also worked as an educator at Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, IL; she was a youth development educator for University of Illinois Extension; and she has worked as a crew leader/cabin counselor for the Minnesota Conservation Corps. Her professional interests include the benefits of time spent in nature for children, habitat restoration and native landscaping, and STEM education.