Fran Agnone (she/her)

About Fran's Community Action Project (CAP)

For Fran’s project, she is working with a broad coalition of stakeholders to explore emerging green careers in the circular economy, a field that aims to eliminate waste by reusing materials that would traditionally be sent to landfill. Throughout the project, she will partner with young people to explore current career paths and craft actionable recommendations for educators and industry professionals to expand career opportunities in the field.

About Fran

Fran has been working with communities of all ages in New York City for nearly two decades as an environmental educator. After teaching in public school classrooms and earning a Masters in Education in 2011, she has centered her work on celebrating the wonders of the natural world and improving the conditions of the local environment.

Through her work she has led programming initiatives or projects with The National Park Service, The New York Botanical Garden, The National Wildlife Federation, and The American Public Gardens Association. Fran joined The Sanitation Foundation in the fall of 2023 and is currently the Education Director overseeing a variety of programs for people of all ages. She is currently pursuing an Educational Doctorate in Instructional Leadership from Hunter College focused on how to support non-formal educators in environmental education spaces.

More About Me

What is your favorite memory of being in nature? 
My favorite and earliest memory of being in nature is digging for mole crabs at the Jersey shore with my older brother and delighting in capturing and releasing them. 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up? 
When I was a kid I wanted to be a zoologist. Although I didn’t meet that goal exactly, I didn’t even know that working in environmental education was an option! So I’m at peace with letting that dream go to make space for working in this lovely field.

If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? 
What did you wind up focusing on for your dissertation?!