eeBLUE People

Maggie Allen is an Education Specialist at NOAA's Office of Education, contracted through TechGlobal. Beginning her role in the office as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, she now coordinates grant and partnership programs, such as a network of 27 aquariums, that work to build a more environmentally literate society. Maggie has a B.A. in Environmental Sociology from Whitman College and a Master's in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington, where her thesis focused on how partnerships and policy contributed to a successful indigenous-led social movement against a fossil fuel export terminal in the Pacific Northwest. Maggie has worked as a social scientist for NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, an AmeriCorps VISTA at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and as an environmental educator in the Florida Keys.

NAAEE’s Senior Director of Capacity Building, Sarah Bodor, comes from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where she held a number of program management and leadership positions throughout the organization. She worked closely with state education agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to develop and pilot standards-based curricula and provide teacher professional development. Her background also includes communications and fundraising. In 2008, she served as the writer of Maryland’s Children in Nature Plan, which resulted in the passage of Maryland’s environmental high school graduation requirement.

Judy Braus brings to her role as NAAEE Executive Director a wealth of experience in the environmental education profession, with a focus on conservation education, diversity and inclusion, and using the power of education to help create healthier communities that empower local communities, stakeholders, and individuals to help restore and protect the environment. She comes to NAAEE from the National Audubon Society, where she was the Senior Vice President of Education and Centers, overseeing an extensive nationwide network of nature centers and educators. Prior to that, she led the education programs at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the U.S. Peace Corps, and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Jaime works on the Bay Watershed Education and Training Program and Environmental Literacy Program teams, both NOAA environmental education grant programs. Previously, Jaime worked for the EPA with the Trash Free Waters and Ocean Dumping Programs. She has a Master in Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor in Marine Science from Boston University. Her background is in marine and coastal conservation, with a particular emphasis on marine mammals.

Louisa Koch, NOAA’s Director of Education, educates and inspires the public and future workforce about the Earth System working with NOAA’s amazing array of people, partners, places and information. Louisa also serves as NOAA’s National Team for Regional Collaboration, helping to address complex, place-based challenges that require interdisciplinary approaches and regionally tailored solutions. Ms. Koch served as NOAA’s acting Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research. Prior to joining NOAA, Ms. Koch worked at the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Defense and the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Ms. Koch earned a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s in Physics from Middlebury College. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

John McLaughlin is a Program Officer with NOAA's Environmental Literacy Program. He also serves as a Citizen Science Coordinator for the agency. Prior to coming to NOAA he worked for the GLOBE Program where he trained educators around the world in collecting and analyzing environmental measurements. John enjoys measuring and reporting precipitation and observing clouds and contrails.

Christos was born in Athens, Greece. He has a B.Sc. degree in Biology and an MS in Oceanography. He joined NOAA in 1997 as a Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellow and spent the first five years with the GLOBE Program, an international partnership in science and education. While in GLOBE, he conducted over 40 environmental education training workshops in 18 countries. He also played a key role in expanding the Program in several countries in the Balkans, northern Europe, and East Asia.

After GLOBE, he spent three years with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries as a member of their science team. His commitment to education brought him to NOAA’s Office of Education in December of 2004 where he is currently serving as the Deputy Director. In his current position, he oversees major education efforts, like the Educational Partnership Program, Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, Environmental Literacy Grants, and the Bay-Watershed Education and Training programs. He serves as the Vice-Chair of NOAA’s Education Council, represents NOAA in interagency
education efforts, and leads the Coastal Ecosystems Learning Centers network, a NOAA partnership with 27 aquariums and marine science centers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Bronwen coordinates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) B-WET program, a competitive grant program based at the NOAA Office of Education that funds outdoor experiential environmental education in schools throughout the United States. Bronwen came to NOAA in 2008 as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow. She holds an MS in marine resource management from Oregon State University and BA in biology from New College of Florida.  Before joining NOAA, Bronwen spent two years as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa, where she worked for a community-based marine protected area. This experience led to an understanding of the importance of working within social and cultural frameworks when trying to motivate the public to respond to complex environmental challenges, an interest that is well-served through her work in education at NOAA.

I have a BA in philosophy and history of science and mathematics and a MS in marine science. For over 20 years my work has focused on building ocean literacy, environmental literacy, and science literacy among K-12 and informal education audiences through grants and other partnerships.

T’Noya Thompson Being born and raised in the Bahamas fostered a deep connection to the ocean that inspired a career path at an early age for T’Noya. She began her career at Moody Gardens in the animal care department, where she served several roles, including connecting with communities in various capacities for twelve years. After Moody Gardens, she worked at Galveston Bay Foundation for two and a half years as the Advocacy Programs Manager. There she educated and encouraged action to improve the overall health of Galveston Bay, Texas’ largest estuary. T’Noya joined NAAEE as the EE Specialist in 2019 and then became the Manager of Research, Evaluation, and eeBLUE in 2021. She worked with various partners on eeBLUE, eeWORKS, eeRESEARCH, and developing eeVAL, an evaluation portal with Duke University. Currently, T’Noya serves as a consultant for NAAEE.