Admin Team
Drew Dumsch
President & CEO
Drew has worked as an environmental educator in California, Massachusetts, Tennessee and the Chicago area and since 1991 has been an ecologist, naturalist and educator in Saco, Maine. He co-founded The Ecology School in 1998 and is an active member of the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) and the Nature Based Education Consortium (NBEC). Drew also works closely with the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) and the Maine Outdoor School for All Network for Maine (MOSFA)-- to promote the work of environmental living & learning centers nationally and in Maine. When not working to advance the cause of ecology, local food systems and sustainability education, Drew spends his time with his wife, Lisa, and their kids/young adults, Nico and Sophia, on the Nonesuch River behind their house.
Sarah Demaris
Group Sales Manager
Sarah's path to The Ecology School has come with many twists and turns through the world. Originally from South Texas, she has always been fascinated with our relationship to nature and how different cultures and communities connect to their natural surroundings. After traveling through Europe and North Africa, she settled in New York City, where she thrived in the chaos and thrill of an incredibly diverse community. After a decade of living in the city, her desire to be closer to nature brought her family to Maine, where she spends her free time surfing, practicing yoga, working with her houseplants, taking photographs, playing with her two cats, and baking. She's always eager to spread her love of the Maine outdoors and her desire to live more sustainably with anyone!
Stacy Faivre
Marketing & Communications Manager
Stacy grew up in Northern New Jersey, where some of her earliest memories include exploring trails along the Hudson River and the landscapes of the Hudson Valley and Berkshires. After studying Fashion Merchandising and Retail Marketing, she shifted careers to pursue her passion for the outdoors, sustainability, and regenerative farming, eventually finding her place at The Ecology School in October 2023. Stacy also became a Registered Maine Guide in 2020. As Marketing & Communications Manager, she shares The Ecology School’s story through social media, newsletters, print ads, and more. Outside of work, she enjoys crafting, gardening, surfing, baking sourdough, listening to records, and adventuring outdoors with her partner, Craig, their daughter, Sylvie, and dog, Rey. As a new mom, she’s learning & discovering the joy of exploring with a little one in tow.
Alex Grindle
Director of Programs & Rentals
Alex began her career at The Ecology School in the spring of 2002 as an educator and stepped into an administrative position in January of 2004. At The Ecology School, she is responsible for coordinating all aspects of The Ecology School program. She and her husband Peter spend most of their non-work time enjoying the antics of their twin boys. When not totally wrapped up in the day to day of caring for their boys , some of the other things she finds herself doing include: enjoying being outside in just about any capacity (beekeeping and gardening), reading (especially if it is young adult literature or parenting books), or being a sous chef as her husband Peter cooks scrumptious meals.
Meg Edstrom Jones
Director of Educational Partnerships & The Teacher Institute
Meg has taught in many settings; on mountains, along rivers, in the classroom and at the beach. When not enjoying The Nature, Meg can be found touching her toes, training to be Wonder Woman, or adventuring with her husband, Clay, and their two avid explorers Evan and Clayton Vee. After starting her Ecology School career as an educator in the spring of 2007, she quickly joined the administrative team, coordinating our multi-year curriculum, in addition to summer and vacation camps. Meg can also be found dashing around, presenting workshops at regional and national conferences.
Jake Linck
Program Coordinator
Jake grew up in rural Upstate New York, and graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Urban Ecology. He is interested in examining how humans fit into the interconnectedness of the environment, and is excited to share the wonder of the outdoors with his students. In his free time, you might find Jake out for a run, playing soccer, making art, or cooking!
Rich O'Brien
Director of Operations & Food Services
In 2019, Rich joined our full time staff as our Operations Manager. Prior to this, Rich had been working seasonally as our chef since 1991. In partnership with Pangea Food Service Management, which was established by Rich in 1998, The Ecology School has been able to provide a holistic food experience, sharing the story of food with our participants, and highlighting the connections between food, humans and the environment. Rich now works closely with each member of our team to ensure that the site runs smoothly.
Anthony Pyatt
Business Manager
Anthony brings nearly two decades of experience in education, nonprofit leadership, and operations to his role as Business Manager at The Ecology School. He began his career in Austin, Texas, where he served as Managing Director of the cutest private, nonprofit school. From 2005 to 2022, Anthony spent his summers working in overnight camps in Maine, where the mix of community, nature, and creativity felt like home. He served as a year-round Assistant Director for the final eight years, and along the way, fell in love with Maine and its natural beauty. Now in Maine full time, Anthony is thrilled to return to mission-driven work. He also serves on the board of Portland Players Theater in South Portland. He’s passionate about supporting communities by creating efficient systems and thoughtful practices that allow programs—and the people behind them—to thrive.
Rone Parent
Nurse
Rone is a Licensed Practical Nurse, EMT, and Wilderness First Responder who has worked in healthcare since 2020 in hospitals, clinics, and schools. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and a Nursing diploma from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, and is currently completing a Master of Nursing program at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Rone is an Army veteran and has lived in seven states in the past decade. In his free time, Rone enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending as much time outdoors as possible, often hiking and exploring the mountains of New England
Alena Shaughnessy
Database Coordinator
Alena brings ten years of non-profit database management experience to The Ecology School. While she enjoys working with data and charts, Alena also appreciates Maine’s many opportunities to explore the outdoors. In the warmer months, she likes working in her garden and checking out local watering holes.
Aviva Shaw
Director of Advancement
A native New Yorker, Aviva has lived all over Maine since 1994—first moving to the Acadia National Park area as a teen, then Downeast for college as a young adult, and finally settling in Portland. Aviva has founded, served, and worked with non-profits her entire career. This combined with the experience of growing up on a robust backyard farm as a child, Aviva was immediately drawn to The Ecology School and its mission. Along with her dog and three children, Aviva enjoys many activities and interests, such as gardening, painting, yoga, hiking, kayaking, camping, cooking, chauffeuring her kids, traveling, renovating homes, reading, and striving to be as zero-waste as possible.
Julia Shields
Program Assistant
Julia is from Pennsylvania. She spent summers in college working for a local outdoor education nonprofit where she fell in love with nature and found a passion for helping others discover and enjoy the outdoors. After graduating from Penn State Behrend in 2023, she joined AmeriCorps and spent several months working with environmental conservation nonprofits in California, Oregon, and Nevada. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, knitting, crafting of any kind, reading, and thrifting.
Marguerite Wiser
Farm Manager
In 2021, Marguerite joined our team as our farm manager. Since then, she has enjoyed expanding the farm and campus with new crops and gardens each year. Marguerite grew up in Maine and has always loved getting her hands dirty and growing plants. After a childhood playing in her parents’ garden, Marguerite began working on farms in high school, through a gap year, and during college at St. Lawrence University and beyond. Marguerite has enjoyed expanding our production capacity, opportunities for educational engagement, and especially our produce donations.
Support Team
Nicole Newton - Operations Support Staff
Nicole Lukoki - Operations Staff
Helen Hartnett - Cook
Shelby Seraphin - Cook
Karl Froehlich - Maintenance
Ecology Educators
Jennie Aubert
From Northern California, Genevieve grew up camping and hiking around the Sierra Nevadas and was immediately excited about the outdoors. While studying Environmental Policy at UC Berkeley, summers were spent outdoors working at summer camp programs and growing a passion for getting kids outside. After graduating, she spent two seasons working in outdoor education in Colorado and is so excited to see what Maine has to offer. In the off-season, she is an avid bike packer and in her free time enjoys cycling, reading, craft projects, and going on adventures.
Ciara Evans
Ciara graduated from Loyola Chicago in December 2024 with a degree in Environmental Science. Growing up in Pittsburgh and traveling a lot, she developed a love for spending time outdoors and sharing this experience with others. In university, she gained experience doing crayfish research, farming, and park maintenance and loves to share what she learned with others. Having worked in an outdoor, environmental education setting before, she is excited to join the 2026 educator team. In her free time, Ciara loves to work on her craft projects or being active by running, hiking, or doing yoga.
Alia Franczyk
Alia grew up in San Diego County and attended the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating in Spring 2025, she worked several seasons in Colorado, looking forward to exploring new places and working outside and alongside fellow educators who are also passionate about field-based learning. She is very excited to spend this next season in Maine with The Ecology School! In her free time, she enjoys hiking, snowboarding, swimming, and biking.
Wren Miller
Wren grew up in many places but calls the woods and farmland of Lancaster, Pennsylvania her home. She recently graduated from Boston University with a BA in biology and a minor in visual art. During her college years, she worked on several farms and discovered her interest in ecological agriculture and science communication, and she is so excited to share her lifelong love of the natural world as an educator. In her free time Wren loves to make art, wander outside, or cook a beautiful meal.
Chloe Morycz
Chloe grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology. She has spent time as an environmental educator in New Hampshire and is excited to be back in New England! She is passionate about building strong connections between people and the natural world around them. In her free time, she enjoys birding, crafts, and listening to music.
Emma Preuss
Emma is from Westerly, RI, and grew up along the East Coast, eventually graduating from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Environmental Studies with a focus in Place-Based Education. In college, Emma worked as a Watershed Educator with SeaGrant Lake Champlain and became passionate about outdoor education and connecting individuals to their local environments. In her free time, Emma enjoys live music, reading books, and going on nature walks.
Star Sweet
Star graduated with a degree in Outdoor Education in 2020 and has been working in the field ever since! Most recently, Star was an educator at Camp Jekyll 4H in Georgia, where a lot was learned about coastal ecology. When not teaching, Star enjoys reading, writing, watching anime, hiking, and sword fighting.
Lillie Weeks
Lillie is from Atlanta, Georgia, where she has spent most of her life except for a year where she worked as an outdoor educator in Julian, California. She's found herself working in many different industries over the years, from fine dining to permaculture to early education. She holds a degree in Educational Psychology from Georgia State University. In her free time, Lillie enjoys songwriting, photography, and spending time outdoors. She's looking forward to a new adventure in Maine.
Farm Team
Samantha Hight
Student Farm Apprentice
Sam is one of the student farm apprentices for the summer. She is a rising senior at the University of New England, completing her bachelor’s in environmental studies. Growing up in the North Florida Panhandle, Sam has spent the majority of her life outdoors. She enjoys anything and everything about nature. Working mostly as a camp counselor and summer teacher, Sam enjoys a break from the chaos of teaching and instead experiencing the joy of watching plants grow.
Virginia Grace May
Farm Assistant
In 2023, Virginia was a student farm apprentice at Riverbend Farm. Now, Virginia Grace is back on the farm team after finishing her master's degree researching the American chestnut. She has a deep love of studying botany, climate action organizing, and playing in the dirt. In their free time, Virginia is out hiking, foraging, birdwatching, or kayaking. Or inside with an absurd amount of crafts and a good podcast!
Abby Parker
Student Farm Apprentice
For the past 6 years, Abby has worked in flower and small-scale vegetable gardens around Downeast Maine. She is currently studying environmental science at the University of Southern Maine. She looks forward to spending the summer learning new farming techniques and growing food for the local community!
Jess Saunders
Farm Assistant
Jess has loved growing on vegetable, flower, and livestock farms over the past 6 years. They are excited to integrate their knowledge of farming at The Ecology School, and to expand their teaching skills on the farm. When their hands aren't in the dirt, they love swimming in the ocean and eating local food.