Meet Our Environmental Educators
Cheryl Abbey
Environmental Educator
Cheryl spent 40 years in sales and marketing in the education field. After retiring to spend time with her eight grandchildren a chance meeting brought her to Fair Hill Nature Center as an educator. Cheryl says “I love working with the children and helping them learn and appreciate nature and the environment in this beautiful setting.
Jennifer Altvater
Environmental Educator
As a certified elementary and special education teacher, Jennifer has over 16 years of teaching experience. Being an environmental educator allows her to combine her enthusiasm for teaching and connecting with students with her love of the outdoors. Here at Fair Hill Nature Center, she pursues her passion for making learning joyful by fostering students’ natural curiosity about the world around them. She is grateful to have the privilege of building community through hands-on, fun, and memorable learning experiences that cultivate an enduring connection with nature and the environment.
Melinda Bertling
Environmental Educator
Melinda’s favorite place to be is outside and in the woods mountain biking, hiking and camping. Her love of nature began at a young age thanks to the influence of a park ranger and many mountain vacations with her family. She hopes she can have a similar effect on others by teaching about what she loves. Melinda previously worked for the City of Newark’s Parks and Recreation department and has over 10+ years of experience giving tours at Milburn Orchards. During the evening, you can find her driving a zamboni!
Melissa Ekey
Environmental Educator
Melissa has a BS in Early Childhood Education from Towson University and a M.Ed. in Urban Education from Johns Hopkins University. She taught Kindergarten and First grade for over 20 years. Spending days at the Fair Hill Nature Center teaching and learning outdoors with students and colleagues is her dream job! In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, camping, and riding her mountain bike.
ANNA JONES
Environmental Educator
Anna is a recent graduate from the University of South Alabama with a degree in Anthropology. Throughout college, she worked as an educator for private schools in the area, as well as leading field trips at museums, where she discovered how much she loves teaching through hands-on experiences. Anna loves being outside, exploring nature, and helping kids get excited about the world around them
SCOTT MARTIN
Environmental Educator
Scott worked for 10 years at a children’s psychiatric hospital; arranging and running daily activities and trips including the center’s pool, garden, gym, holiday plans, and weekend forays out of the center. He returned to school to obtain a master’s degree in special education, became a family man, raised two wonderful kids with his wife and taught elementary special education for 20 years. After retiring he spent several years working for the park service in Maryland. Upon meeting Laura Hannan; he was offered the opportunity to combine some of my favorite things in life. Scott became an educator for the nature center. Scott gets to be in the great outdoors at the park, teaching and learning about nature and conservation with elementary age students, being a counselor in the summer camp program, and working on maintenance projects related to the center.
PAT TANNOCK
Environmental Educator
Pat is a retired elementary school teacher from New Jersey, where she served as Science Curriculum Coordinator for Kindergarten through fifth grade. She is an outdoor enthusiast enjoying hiking, biking, skiing, and kayaking. Pat loves Fair Hill and enjoys delivering programs to the students. She feels that it’s important to give them a love of nature and a sense of how through their efforts they can preserve it.
SOPHIA TROIANO
Environmental Educator
Sophia is a recent graduate of the University of Delaware, where she earned her degree in marine biology. She is now a member of the Maryland Climate Corps and has been placed with the Fair Hill Nature Center since September 2025. While her academic background provided a strong foundation in scientific research, her work at the Nature Center has expanded her skills to include environmental education and community engagement. Sophia has quickly come to love the Fair Hill Nature Center for its welcoming community and the chance it gives her to inspire others to care for the environment.
