Welcome 2026 Board Members

Spring is in the air, and our board is working hard to elevate environmental education in Wisconsin. In March 2026, the board got together for an in-person retreat to strategize for the next year. We started the day welcoming new board members and the rare chance to interact in person (since most of our work is virtual). With some silly games and commitments to our board norms, we were all so thankful to be together.

After this we dived in the work. We all did an overview of utilizing our web and database software NEON - including finding data, scheduling events and connecting with our members. We launched this software in summer 2025 and slowly our board has been integrating onto the platform. Big shout out to Victoria Rydberg-Nania for supporting the board through this transition!

From there we were able to reflect on our strategic plan and think about where we are now and where we want our focus for the next year. Overwhelmingly we want to develop our capacity to connect and build our membership network to be stronger, more involved and engaged!

The last part of our day we were able to work in small groups to launch into each of our board lead role activities. We had a groups who were focusing on next steps to raise advocacy to the top of our planning, reengaging current and lapsed members, and developing organizational capacity. All of this is possible because of the donated hours of our wonderful board!

So, who are we? Check out all the board members for 2026 on our board page. Below meet the newest board members added for 2026

Dina Drankus Pekelnicky

I love being outside and I love introducing the joy of nature to others. My background is in social work and the more I experience, the more sure I am that connecting people with nature is powerfully healing. Being in nature allows so many complex internal processes to unfold that cannot be artificially manufactured. I have many interests, but a primary focus for me right now is developing nature therapy and experiences for infants and toddlers. I have worked with multiple nonprofits that aim to holistically support families from prenatal through preschool. In that work, another core focus of mine has always been social justice and health equity. Access to nature is clearly a social justice and health equity issue; it's a basic human right!

Licia Johnson

Licia is currently the Education Director and Naturalist at the North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters. In her role there she coordinates public, private and school-based environmental education programming, heads up the Discovery Center program team, along with mentoring seasonal staff, helps care for several ambassador beings and leads trip by foot, canoe and snowshoe. When not playing at work you can find her baking scones, spending time wandering the forest and swimming in the frigid winter lakes.

Lori Klein

Lori is an outdoor educator in Milwaukee at the Urban Ecology Center, with a career in education that began in 2009 working with the Chicago American Indian community to support Native youth and families. She has also taught Oneida language and culture at the Indian Community School and continues to develop her teaching practice to create meaningful, hands-on outdoor learning experiences rooted in ecological and cultural understanding. Lori holds degrees in French and Cultural Foundations of Education, and in her personal life she enjoys outdoor adventures, foraging, wellness practices, and spending time at home with her spouse and two cats.