  ACES' year-round staff at the entrance to Hallam Lake on the left and 2008 Summer Naturalists above StaffDIRECTOR Tom Cardamone joined his wife Jody (ACES' first Director) as Co-Director in 1975 and became ACES' Executive Director in 1982. He holds a Masters Degree from the College of Forestry and Natural Resources at Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Hamilton College. Tom has served on several Boards including The Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board, The Pitkin County Park Association (now the Aspen Valley Land Trust), The Pitkin County Wildlife Task Force, and The Colorado Wildlife Federation. After living 30 years at Hallam Lake, Tom and Jody now live in Emma and he divides his time among ACES' three sites: Hallam Lake, Toklat, Rock Bottom Ranch, and a fourth project, the Spring Creek Hatchery property. Tom finds inspiration in pristine wilderness and the eloquent writers who capture their wild essence along with the details of biology.
Allison Holmes is the Rock Bottom Ranch Manager. As an RBREducator, she coordinates school programs, teaches, and gets out in thefarmyard as much as possible. Allison joined ACES as a SummerNaturalist in 2004 and has since worked as a Winter Naturalist,Interpreter for the Ghost Town of Independence, Supernaturalist, andEducator at Hallam Lake. Prior to joining the ACES crew, Allison earneda B.A. in Geology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Anda Rojs Smalls joined ACES in the winter of 2004. Having been involved with ACES at various levels, she is currently in charge of the Naturalist Field School to coordinate summer kids and adult programs. She is an ex-ACES Trustee, is learning to become a Naturalist, and takes many pictures for ACES' Publications and Website. Anda was on the CU Ski Team while earning a B.A. in Journalism and a B.S. in Spanish at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She was born and raised in Maribor, Slovenia and made her livelihood as a ski racer for many years. Anda and her husband Ryan are proud parents of their 2 year-old daughter Zala, and their newborn son Luka. Sarah Schmidt has been an ACES environmental educator for past two years and, starting in the summer of 2008, is our new Education Director, coordinating School Programs for students throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. She has earned her B.F.A. in Art Education from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and has just finished her Masters in Natural Science and Environmental Education from Hamline University. Prior to joining ACES, she taught middle-school art in Minnesota. The opportunity to live in this mountain community, surrounded by three wilderness areas, and to connect environmental education with art, brought Sarah to ACES. She enjoys learning about local plants and from the Golden Eagle and Red-Tailed Hawk. Olivia Siegel has been an ACES naturalist for a year and is now joining the ACES Development Team. She has a degree in Neuroscience from Brandeis University. Since graduating she had a public horticulture internship at the Morton Arboretum outside of Chicago, and a botanical research internship with the Nature Conservancy in Northern California. Olivia loves taking people on hikes and seeing how they are inspired by the beautiful landscapes in this area. In addition to working as an ACES' naturalist, Olivia is part of the administrative staff as the Development Coordinator. Lindsy Stinnett joined ACES' staff in the summer of 2004 as a Naturalist and went on to teach children's environmental education at the Hallam Lake preserve in the summer of 2005 as a Super Naturalist. She is currently working as ACES' Community Outreach Coordinator. Lindsy comes to Aspen from upstate New York where she completed a B.A. in Environmental Science and a B.S. in Psychology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She takes many of the pictures featured in ACES publications and devotes much of her time to the organic garden at Hallam Lake. When not at ACES, Lindsy enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, and pottery. Debbie Welden joined ACES as Development Director in the winter of 2008. A Mississippi native, Debbie has called Aspen home for 30 years - having worked as a Crystal Palace performer, Development Manager at Aspen Music Festival and School, and Development Associate at Rocky Mountain Institute. She holds vocal performance degrees from Millsaps College and Southern Methodist University and has frequently been seen in many local productions and concerts. Debbie is most at home in the non-profit world, and this, coupled with a love for the outdoors and a belief in the healing power of nature, makes ACES a wonderful place to work. Debbie, her husband Todd, and son Bo spend much of the summer river rafting and enjoying the spectacular environment of Colorado and the West.
Lauren Beck is joining the Super Naturalists team for the summer of 2008 after getting her feet wet as a Summer and Winter Naturalist at ACES in the past year. She has a degree in elementary education from DePaul
University, has worked as a camp counselor at Camp Illini, and as a
tutor of refugees at the Glen Ellyn Resource Center. She came to ACES
for the opportunity to both expand her knowledge base in the
environmental sphere and to teach children about the natural world
using experiential methods. Lauren is interested in studying local
plants and their uses and thoroughly enjoys anything and everything
outdoors.
Rachel Baxter received her degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Furman University. Since graduating, Rachel spent half a year in Zermatt, Switzerland, teaching High School Geology and Environmental Science. She also worked as a lifeguard, as a mental heath teacher and aide, and studied abroad in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Spain. Jeffrey Beem-Miller is a recent graduate of Oberlin
College with a double-major in Biology and Environmental Studies. He
spent a semester exploring Development and Conservation in Panama.
Jeffrey has also worked on the Oberlin College Student Organic Farm and
as a camp counselor for two summers. Micah Davis will be completing his degree in Environmental Communication from Colorado State University next spring. A Colorado native, Micah has worked and learned in Colorado his whole life. He currently works at CSU’s Environmental Learning Center and completed a 300-hour internship with the Nature Conservancy last summer. Nancy Esposito graduated from Albion College with a degree in Biology. Nancy most recently worked as a Science Educator at the Driftwood Education Center in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Her previous experience includes a range of naturalist work at the New Canaan Nature Center in Connecticut, Camp Grady Spruce in Texas, and other locations. Jessica Gambel recently graduated from Brandeis University
with a degree in Biology and a minor in Theater Arts. She has served as
a peer counselor, shadowed a Radiation Oncologist in Baltimore for a
summer, and participated in many theater productions at Brandeis.
Jessica also studied abroad in Madrid, Spain in the Spring of 2007. Adam McCurdy recently graduated with a degree in
Environmental Science and Biology from the University of Massachusetts.
Adam thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in the summer of 2006, was the
captain of the Men’s Rowing Team at the University of Massachusetts,
and is an Eagle Scout. Lauren Schaefer has one year remaining for her degree in Environmental Geosciences and Spanish at DePauw University. She spent a semester studying abroad in Ecuador in the Comparative Ecology and Conservation Program. Lauren has experience developing a gardening program for children ages 3-12 at the Montessori School of Lake Forest. Jason Schnissel graduated with a degree in Psychology and minor in Environmental Studies from Binghamton University. Jason gave tours of the university’s nature preserve while participating in a class called Natural History of the Nature Preserve. He also worked at the Princeton Ski Shops and the Mt. Hood Summer Ski Camp. Carly Sieff will complete her degree in Science and Society at Brown University next year. She is involved in the Outdoor Leadership Environmental Experiential Program at Brown and was an Education Intern at the Adirondack Mountain Club. She recently spent time in South Africa conducting fieldwork and research in Ecology and Conservation. Sarah Waldrop majored in Psychology and minored in Biology at Radford University. For her independent student study she conducted research on the relationship between daily activities and mood fluctuation. Sarah also worked as a preschool aide, a camp counselor, and was a peer instructor while at Radford. Melissa Dickey has joined Rock Bottom Ranch as an Environmental Educator in 2007 because of ACES' positive reputation for education in the schools and in the field. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology. Prior to joining ACES, she worked as a Naturalist for the Seacoast Science Center, and worked as a naturalist for the Appalachian Mountain Club. She also volunteered for the Sandy Point Discovery Center as an Educator. Melissa especially enjoys teaching elementary-aged children about the natural world. Zach Spector joined Rock Bottom Ranch as an Environmental Educator/Ranch Hand after spending a summer with ACES as a Summer Naturalist. Zach recently graduated from Vanderbilt University, has worked as an instructor for Vanderbilt's Wilderness Skills Program, and spent four summers as a camp counselor in Texas. Zach is especially interested in the relationship between agriculture and wildlife management and is searching to better understand the ways in which a small farm can be holistically managed through sustainable means. OTHER STAFF Jody Cardamone was the first Director of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. She currently serves as a Naturalist and works with the Naturalist Field School. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Education from Cornell University and has pursued graduate studies in Environmental Ethics. |