Jill Dreves, aka Green Darner: Executive Director
Jill Dreves holds a Master of Science degree in Museum and Field Studies in Museum Administration, a BS in Human Development and Family Studies, and she received her elementary teaching certificate in 1989. Jill taught elementary school for 9 years and was a naturalist with the Vail Nature Center before founding Wild Bear Nature Center in 1995.
She enjoys hiking, gardening, creative endeavors, cooking and hanging out with her two sons, Sam and Charlie, in the outdoors.
Mike Reichert, aka Evergreen: Operations Manager and Development Associate
Mike grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from BGSU and an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Ohio Dominican University. He taught ESL in public education in Dublin, Ohio before moving to California for 4 years, and now lives permanently in Nederland. Prior to those experiences, Mike taught English in Korea, Mexico, and Costa Rica. He also spent 11 years working for Apple, Inc. before getting hired full-time with Wild Bear in October 2018. Mike LOVES the outdoors and fondly remembers going to Summer Camp as a kid! He is also passionate about preserving the environment. Playing soccer, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing, reading, traveling, and an occasional construction project, are some of his favorite hobbies.
Dana Blahnik, Education Coordinator
Dana holds a Bachelor of Science in Botany from Humboldt State University, California. She taught school aged children in Humboldt County for 12 years. Nature is her passion and as an outdoor enthusiast, she takes initiative to teach others anything she knows about the outdoors. Dana joined the Wild Bear team in April, 2019.
Adwoa Lemieux, aka Calypso Orchid, Year-Round Environmental Educator
Adwoa Lemieux leads our 10+ programs in the summer, bringing them to high peaks and up to the CU Mountain Research Station. She leads youth during the After School Program.
This Winter Adwoa will be leading our Snow School with local climate scientists.
She has worked in the outdoor sports field for many years. She is a ski instructor at Eldora where she specializes in all levels of children’s ski lessons. She was the director of the waterfront at Farm and Wilderness where she taught boating and swim lessons. She loves being on mountain hiking, lives in Gold Hill and looks for hikes where the most flowers are blooming.
Marley Pegler, aka Mud Fox, Year-Round Environmental Educator
Marley is super excited to be an instructor with the Mountain Rangers at Wild Bear this Summer. During the school year she works with Wild Bear’s After School Program and is a Special Education para-educator at Nederland Elementary School. You might find her running around in the woods with kids, hiking with her black cat, or gardening. She loves to learn new things and explore. If you speak another language or want to learn come find her at Wild Bear!
Debora Martin, aka Sleeper Bear: Fall/Winter/Spring Bear Cubs and Kinder Nature, Summer NederRangers and NCAR Fridays
Debora leads our Nederbugs workshops for 5-6 year olds and NCAR Fridays workshops for 5-8 year olds during the summer months. She loves the outdoors and enjoys sharing her enthusiasm with children. She has been with BVSD as an Early Childhood Educator since 1995, a Volunteer Naturalist with the City of Boulder OSMP since 2007, and has been a Volunteer with the Division of Wildlife since 2006. “As a long time Educator and Interpreter, I’ve learned that an early appreciation of nature grows into a life of affection and respect. I believe children should use their senses and imagination when learning about the wondrous world around us. Wild Bear lets me use my experience to give children a great foundation on which they can build their own desire to explore and find joy in the outdoors.
Livia Spencer: Visitors Services Sundays
Livia spent last summer as an intern at Wild Bear Nature Camp and now runs the nature center on Sundays! She is passionate about the climate crisis and how we can educate the community about what they can do. We are now doing Climate Action Sundays at Wild Bear Nature Center!
Livia is an outdoors enthusiast. She is currently studying Environmental Studies at CU with a minor in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Jenna Hynes, Wild Bear Summer Intern
Jenna is a student at CU Boulder studying Environmental Studies, and is graduating at the end of this year in December 2019. She is originally from Ventura, California. She loves being outside and hiking here in Colorado. She is super excited to be a part of the team at Wild Bear this summer!
Paris Muise, Wild Bear Summer Intern
Paris is from Saratoga, California. Ecology and the interconnectedness of life has always been a very fascinating topic to him. He is a National Outdoor Leadership School graduate and has spent over a month in the backcountry of Wyoming!
Darian Drake, Wild Bear Summer Intern
Darian is a senior Environmental Studies Major at Texas A&M University! #WHOOP! She is a huge family and friends girl, love playing sports, the great outdoors, and late night ice cream dates are her favorite!
