Pepperwood’s founding Education Director, Sandi Funke, starts a new chapter this month expanding lessons learned at Pepperwood county-wide as the new Parks Program Manager for Sonoma County Regional Parks. Sandi’s foundational vision of how to engage everyone in our community in meaningful, inclusive environmental science education informs all we do. We are incredibly grateful for her role in building an incredible team, with whom she co-created SCENIQ, TeenNat, and our SRJC Conversation Science Internships.

We are simply thrilled that Margaret Boeger, formerly Pepperwood’s Youth and Community Project Manager, will be taking over the helm of our education activities as our new Education Director. Margaret has been with Pepperwood for nearly a decade, joining us after serving as an environmental educator at the California Academy of Sciences. She was recruited by founding Academic Director Steve Barnhart to pioneer Pepperwood’s school programs and has played multiple roles that equip her with a deep knowledge of our educational offerings.

Margaret chairs the Environmental Learning Pathways initiative of the Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative, and has strong roots in the conservation community. A wildlife biologist by training and a “futurist” by nature, Margaret is the perfect fit to hone our “next generation” education vision.

The best part is that we will all benefit as Sandi and Margaret continue to actively collaborate within their new roles—taking environmental education in Sonoma County to new heights!