Sarah Carlson
Founder

She/her

Sarah is a Bank Street Graduate with an M.S. Ed. in Early Childhood Elementary Education, and has taught in a variety of public and private school settings in New York and New Jersey for the past 19 years. She is the 2018 recipient of the Margaret O’Neill Early Childhood Nature Educator Award for her work with Brooklyn Nature Days. Sarah is certified as a Forest School Kindergarten Teacher through Cedarsong Nature School and is currently pursuing her New York Master Naturalist Certification through Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension Program. She currently serves on the Board of the Eastern Regional Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS). Sarah holds Permanent Teaching Certification in both New York and New Jersey. She is inspired by children's authenticity, energy, and expression and is rooted in the idea that we are always learning through experience, reflection, and finding the magic in day to day moments. Sarah believes strongly in the freedom, health, and creativity that ample time in nature can provide.

Lilly Clark
Director

She/ella

Originally from New York City, Lilly Clark graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Childhood Education, minoring in Sociology. She continued her professional studies at Bank Street College of Education, focusing on the Reggio Emilia approach. Lilly believes in nurturing the whole child through unconditional acceptance and compassionate interactions that are respectful of the child's ideas, input, and social-emotional development. In her spare time she enjoys embroidery, book club, color-coding spreadsheets, and exploring the city by bike with her family. Lilly is certified in Infant, Child and Adult CPR and First Aid.

Susannah Bortner
Assistant Director

She/her

Susannah is originally from Hershey, PA, but has been a Brooklynite for 21 years. She holds a BA in English with a minor in Women's Studies, a study abroad certificate from the University of Wales, an MFA in Poetry from Brooklyn College, and has also continued her education with courses and certificates through CUNY's New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. Susannah has 15 years of teaching experience with ages 2-10. She is certified in Infant, Child and Adult CPR Pro and Wilderness Advanced First Aid. Susannah is currently (slowwwwly) pursuing a master’s degree in Child Developmental Psychology.

Formerly the co-director of Outside the Lines Playschool with her teaching partner & BND Director Lilly Clark, Susannah has found her pedagogical home outside in the park surrounded by children and nature. She believes that children are powerful in both body and mind and possess the skills and strength to complete difficult tasks independently. She wants to teach children that it is a sign of strength to ask for help/cry/try again (repeat).

Susannah lives in Kensington with her husband and their two spirited sons. She loves baseball (Go Phillies!), birdwatching, swimming, playing strategy board games, 90s R&B, and roller coasters. She does the NYT crossword puzzle every day (nerd alert) and reads 50 books a year.

Susannah laughs loudly every day and considers Doritos and peanut M&Ms a food group of their own.

Nina Troy
Enrollment Coordinator

She/her

Nina moved to the big city from the mountains of Asheville, NC in Sept 2018. She has a BA in Theatre Studies and a minor in Education from Guilford College. While living in Asheville she was a preschool teacher in the young threes classroom which is where her love for teaching began.
Since joining BND in Oct 2018, Nina has discovered a newfound love for all things feathered, leafy, woody, and muddy. She feels so fortunate to have found a career where she gets to teach kids to love and care for the earth and all the little critters on it.
In her spare time Nina leads a fairly sedentary lifestyle. She dabbles in baking, embroidery, and couch potato-ing with her husband and their little black cat. Nina is certified in Infant, Child and Adult CPR.

Ethan Addis
Teacher

He/him

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ethan has been living in Brooklyn for the last year-and-a-half, exploring Prospect Park all the while. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in the College of Social Studies, an interdisciplinary major in history, government, economics, and political theory. Since graduating, Ethan has worked as a server and a middle school track coach. Ethan loves to read and write, but he is happiest when he is outside and on the go. Working with children connects him to a younger version of himself, one that is more curious and less inhibited. Ethan is thrilled to help children explore what it means to be a person in relation to others, and to nature. When he is not working, Ethan loves to ride his bike, whether it be in Manhattan or Montana. If someone pedals past you singing John Prine rather loudly, it is probably him.

Holden Compton-Lujin
Teacher

He/him

Originally from Indiana, Holden has lived in NYC for 11 years and enjoys traveling throughout the city to its many parks and waterways. He has been working in a variety of progressive, play- and arts-based early childhood settings for the past 9 years. Holden has always loved science and nature-based education, and working in an all-outdoor setting has been a dream come true! In his free time, he enjoys hiking, paddling, learning languages, cooking, and video games. Holden is currently studying for his B.S. in Early Childhood Education from the University of New Hampshire.

Kate Hogan
Teacher

They/them

Kate is originally from the Hudson Valley and is currently based in Brooklyn. They graduated from Binghamton University in 2017 where they majored in Biology and focused on ecology, evolution, and animal behavior. While at Binghamton University, Kate was a member of the a cappella group "The Vibrations" and explored activities like caving and backpacking with the Outdoors Club. Kate has always loved spending time outdoors and enjoys going hiking, camping, and star-gazing whenever they can. In their free time, Kate likes to read, sing, play Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, try new arts and crafts, and spend time with their friends. Kate feels inspired by children’s innate sense of curiosity, and is excited to explore the park with the kiddos! They have been with Brooklyn Nature Days since 2021.

Allison Sirota
Teacher

She/her

Allison is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. She joined the Brooklyn Nature Days team in 2021 after receiving a BFA in Film from Pratt Institute. She loves to explore Prospect Park with her students, where she integrates her passions of art-making, sewing, farming, and naturalism into her daily teaching practice. Outside of the park, you can find her in the bike lane, at the farmer’s market, or in a movie theater!

Ruby Harrison-Clay
Teacher

They/them

Ruby Harrison-Clay is a playworker and youth advocate, artist and musician, and bicycle adventurer born and raised in New York City, deeply dedicated to relationship-building as a means to cultivate a more compassionate and collaborative world. They join the Brooklyn Nature Days Team with a deep love for the outdoors, nurtured during their time living amongst rainforest and mountains in the Pacific Northwest, and the grassy hills, rolling ocean, and redwoods of the Bay Area CA. For most of their life, they have participated in and facilitated youth empowerment programming. Most significantly, from 2019-2023 they co-led the elementary afterschool program at Brightworks School in San Francisco CA, and from 2015-2017 they co-directed the LGBTQ+ youth-led community organization Stonewall Youth in Olympia WA. Some of their favorite projects with young people include building a 30-ft tall wooden marionette, carving out a mountain bike route in the grassy hillside next to school, making forts out of foraged branches in the woods, crafting a miniature hot air balloon, and furnishing a rudimentary metal-smithing forge. Ruby graduated from the Evergreen State College in 2017. Ruby is transgender and uses they/them pronouns.

Mariana Muñoz
Teacher

She/her/ella

Mariana was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has called Brooklyn home for the last 5 years. She is fluent in both the Spanish and English language and has extensive experience working with children as a childcare provider for local families as well as a mother to her own two beautiful, inquisitive children. Since her early years growing up in the Dominican Republic, Mariana has always been drawn to nature and the outdoors and is thrilled to be part of a program that matches her enthusiasm for child-led exploration and learning. Mariana’s joyful sense of curiosity is contagious and mirrored in her students excited faces as she empowers them to discover new things about themselves and the natural world around them.

Olive Siu
Teacher

They/them

Born and raised in New York City, Olive recently moved back home after earning their B.A. in American Studies and Educational Studies and teaching in the Midwest. Olive is always learning new things and gaining new perspectives in the company of their students and believes that all children are powerful, capable beings. Olive looks forward to supporting each student as they play and explore in Prospect Park. In their spare time, Olive enjoys reading outdoors, baking pies, and re-learning how to rollerblade!

Alice Ryan
Teacher

She/her

Alice spent her early childhood in Germany where she loved to go for walks in the woods with her family. She is a great believer in the forest school philosophy, has over a decade of child care experience, and is grateful to be part of Brooklyn Nature Days. In addition to her love of nature, Alice has a passion for music, dance, and storytelling. She is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and loves to sing songs and read to the kids at BND. Alice is excited to be returning to Brooklyn Nature Days and hopes to pass on her love of the great outdoors to her students in Prospect Park!

Rose Goldberg
Teacher

They/she

Rose grew up running around the forests and mountains of western Maine. A childhood that centered time outdoors sparked an appreciation of the natural world and a lasting sense of wonder that she has carried throughout all her work since. Rose has experience working in outdoor education leading groups of students on backpacking and canoe trips. Most recently Rose worked as a middle school science teacher where she developed a curriculum that aimed to use the natural world as the classroom and prioritized curiosity in and outside the classroom. Rose graduated from Clark University with a degree in Environmental Science. During their time in college Rose took time off to hike the Appalachian Trail. Since moving to Brooklyn, Rose has loved spending time biking, running, reading and exploring Prospect Park in for all it has to offer. They are excited to join Brooklyn Nature Days and to continue working and empowering young people in the outdoors.

Rizzo Klotz
Teacher

They/he

Rizzo was raised in the woods of Connecticut and was educated by his parents in the identification and stewardship of nature from a young age. They have always loved children and have been working with kids since his first babysitting gig in middle school. Since moving to New York in 2021, he has been a full-time nanny. He realized you could combine a reverence for nature and child education when he first started working at Woodcock Nature Center: the nature sanctuary, animal rehab and summer camp in Connecticut that he went to as a kid. Since then, they have aimed their career towards being an early childhood nature educator. Rizzo has a BFA in Theater Performance from Chapman University, and is pursuing certification in Nature education for early childhood. Rizzo’s teaching style is centered around empathy and kindness. They believe children deserve autonomy and should be given the space and respect to exercise it. Rizzo LOVES to read and has taught himself ecology, mycology, and sustainable foraging. While not working, he will most likely be found doing those things or community organizing for the Trans and Gender Non-Conforming of Brooklyn.

Callan Umperovitch
Teacher

He/they

Hi there I’m Callan, some people know me as Mick. I’m excited to be joining the BND team and have been lucky to be teaching in outdoor preschool for the past 6 years both here in Brooklyn and in Seattle, Washington. I moved to New York a few years ago to do a grad program focused on urban design and ecologies at Parsons that I graduated from this spring ‘23.  I have been loving exploring the east coast since my move and at the same time dearly miss the Cascades mountain range back home in Washington state. My background involves environmental conservation, urban farming and connecting youth to their nearby greenspaces. Some of my hobbies include hiking and going to the park, foraging and cooking, making art, comedy, queer nightlife and learning about others. Looking forward to connecting with you!

David Palmer
Support Teacher

He/him

David has worked with and for children for over two decades. He has designed software for pediatric offices, helped manage the supply chain of materials in children's book publishing, and has partied with children of all ages through movement and music classes with wee ones and their caregivers. David's family time is often spent with his wife and two children exploring the world of creatures and their homes on hikes with binoculars, a scope, and a camera. His hiking has taken him on a wilderness tour in southern Texas, across the mountainous plateaus of Pennsylvania, and through the redwood forests of California. His endless curiosity drives his delight about science and nature, and he is overjoyed to share an exploration of the world with BND families.

Jennifer Kipp
Teacher

She/her

Jennifer has been a resident of Brooklyn for 20+ years.  She holds a B.S. in Acting and Italian from Syracuse University.  Before becoming a mother herself, she worked with Inwood House, a non for profit youth agency focused on improving outcomes for young mothers in child welfare.  In the past few years, you may have seen her volunteering in Prospect Park leading parent-child forest groups, singing songs, reading in ridiculous character voices and participating in imaginative play. Jennifer believes that immersing a child in nature balances their mind and body, offers them the opportunity to explore their innate interests, as well as practice kindness, empathy, and respect with each other and the living organisms around them.  She is so happy to be part of the incredible team at Brooklyn Nature Days and cannot wait to meet your tiny yet mighty adventurer.  Let the play begin!

Cameron Cohen
Teacher

He/him

Cameron was born on the Isle of Man before moving between Chicago, Belfast, Connecticut and eventually growing up on the north shore of Long Island. For as long as he can remember he’s been fascinated by the outdoors, spending much of his childhood learning and leading on trips from Harriman State Park to the Presidentials. Having been a Boy Scout and having become an Eagle Scout, his fascination with the environment has inspired him to help educate his community on key issues, such as Harmful Algae Blooms and Invasive Species. He is a recent graduate of Emerson College with a BFA in Creative Writing and a minor in Comedy. Cameron has worked as an Escape Room Operator, a Gardener, and Fundraiser for the Human Society among other things, and draws on his years of experience making children’s days brighter. He believes that children are endlessly curious, and providing them with new worlds to explore teaches them to be independent, questioning, and bright. Cameron is delighted to join the Brooklyn Nature Days team for his first full season, and so excited to meet his students and let them discover the wonders of Prospect Park. In his off hours, Cameron loves to paint, write, exercise and do the occasional stand up set.