E3 Washington Board Members
Courtney Sullivan - Board Co-Chair (she/her)
Courtney is the Director of Regional Education Programs with the National Wildlife Federation. She has been developing and managing programs that offer sustainable educational opportunities for communities for twenty five years. She earned her BS/BA in Environmental Science and Education from Alaska Pacific University and also holds a MS in Management of Non-Profit Agencies from Capella University. Courtney joined the National Wildlife Federation in April 2008 and returned to Washington, where she engages and develops community stewards and formal and non-formal educators, advocates for educational policies, and supports coalitions for sustainable environmental education and stewardship.
Elizabeth Schmitz - Board Co-Chair (she/her)
Elizabeth Schmitz is the Environmental and Sustainability Education Program Manager in Science, Environment, and Sustainability/Learning and Teaching at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this role, she supports administration of Washington’s $10 million climate science professional development Proviso, ClimeTime. She also oversees implementation of the Washington Green Ribbon Schools program, Washington state’s Environmental and Sustainability K-12 Learning Standards, and the state’s Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan. Elizabeth is thrilled to offer her support to teachers, schools, and school districts as they implement environmental and sustainability education efforts!
Previously, Elizabeth taught at outdoor schools, worked as a statewide environmental education specialist and policy analyst for the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, and served as the executive director for the Kentucky Environmental Education Council. Most recently, she reconnected with elementary school kiddos as a Reading/LAP para-educator at Olympic View Elementary School. Elizabeth is thrilled to offer her support to teachers, schools, and school districts as they implement environmental and sustainability education efforts!
Sylvia Hadnot (they/she)
Sylvia Hadnot, multicultural educator extraordinaire. From jazz to ecological history to art leadership and more, Sylvia brings real-world knowledge and experience into her educational endeavors. Sylvia has performed jazz piano at the Triple Door and the Paramount, among other jazz houses. She launched her own benefit events company at age 22 to support local artists in the city. She has written youth curricula for social-emotional health, college and career readiness, and environmental justice. Between all of her activities and work, Sylvia somehow also found the time to complete a Master’s in Education, with focuses on Anti-Racist and Urban Environmental Education.
Perpetually interested in the growth and success of those around her, Sylvia has been interested in education since age 5. With several years of teaching experience, from working with students in the King County Youth Detention Center to coaching soon-to-be teachers in anti-racist curriculum design to teaching art to special populations, Sylvia now uses her time to teach adults from teachers to organizational leaders. Sylvia is most passionate about supporting adults with creating and maintaining the systems they need to build more liberated, powerful and agent individuals and communities.
Born and raised in Seattle, Sylvia grew up in the Beacon Hill neighborhood before moving to Shoreline to attend high school. She now lives on Lake Union with her black cat, Jabari. When she is not walking around the neighborhood looking for a bite to eat, you can find Sylvia studying the latest in equitable community practices, stretching in a yoga class, moseying around at a thrift store or plant sale or riding a lime scooter to a networking event. You can learn more about Sylvia and her work at www.haseverything.co and contact her with any inquiries for projects or collaborations at sylvia@haseverything.co.
Chase Buffington (he/him)
Chase is the Director of Cispus Outdoor Learning Center, a partnership among the Association of Washington School Principals, Washington School Principals Education Foundation, and the Association of Washington Student Leaders. Chase has worked in the outdoor procession for over fifteen years with a focus on outdoor recreation and education and has been with Cispus since 2009. Chase is an active member of E3's Catalyst Committee and a strong supporter of advancing the Outdoor Schools for All initiative in the Washington State legislature
Roberta McFarland (she/her)
Roberta McFarland (Ph.D) serves as A member of Outdoor Schools Washington.
She proudly admits to being a naturalized North Westerner as a coffee aficionado and hiking enthusiast. While her career started with the Houston, Texas Outdoor Education Center programs in 1979; some argue she started year one as the youngest staff at the Boy Scout Camp Mohican where her father served as Camp Director.
In 2016 she joined the board of E3 Washington and currently serves as Treasurer. She also volunteers her time for Outdoor School for All an effort of the Washington Outdoor School Coalition (WOSC) to obtain state funds for EVERY student in Washington to have a week in residence exploring nature and community.
Aliza Yair (she/they)
Aliza Yair M.Ed. is a systems-focused policy leader in nature-based early childhood education and child care. Growing up in the suburbs of Long Island, access to wild natural environments were few and far between, yet her focus on biological sciences and environmentalism in college created a strong basis for her passionate career in educational policy. Aliza was an early childhood teacher and program leader in Aotearoa New Zealand for 8 years, until returning to Harvard's Graduate School of Education for her Masters in International Education Policy in 2014. In 2017, Aliza moved to Washington with her family and from 2017 to 2021 led the WA Outdoor Preschool Pilot. This project resulted in Washington becoming the first state to define, regulate, and publically fund outdoor nature-based child care as a distinct program model. She continues to support the expansion of access to outdoor, nature-based child care in the state and training for nature-based early childhood educators. She currently serves Washington State DCYF as the Child Care Licensing Quality Assurance/ Continuous Quality Improvement Manager, and is completing her Education Doctorate at the University of Washington.
Dylan Gschwind (he/him)
Dylan is committed to reimagining learning and liberating students and teachers by going outside the four walls of the traditional classroom and into nature alongside community. These days he’s doing that with the Cascade Bicycle Club, helping to expand their local Seattle in-class bicycle education program to communities across the state. He has many years of experience working for nonprofit organizations in partnership with public schools to create innovative learning experiences.
He has bopped around the country quite a bit over the past 15 years, but hopes to make Seattle a more permanent home. He was born & raised in Chicago, then attended Pomona College in Southern California for undergrad before working at various outdoor education organizations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Boston. He recently completed his Masters in Educational Leadership. Outside of e3 Washington, you can typically find Dylan running on trails, cooking up various bowls of vegetables in the kitchen, singing along to Taylor Swift, or playing with his dog, Mesa, at the Genesee Dog Park.
Becca Kedenburg (she/her)
Becca leads the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust’s environmental education program, which engages 4th-12th graders in classroom lessons, field investigations, restoration projects, and paid summer internships. She has worked in environmental education for more than ten years. She is passionate about equipping young people with knowledge and skills they need to be compassionate and effective stewards of the environment. Becca Co-Chairs E3 Washington’s Convenings Committee, including the Pacific Northwest Allied Networks (PNW-AN) initiative, since 2022.
Khavin Debbs (he/him)
Khavin was born and raised in Sacramento, CA. It was there that he cultivated his love for being outside and experiencing nature. In 2013, he relocated to Seattle, where he taught at a Montessori preschool and finished his BA from The Evergreen State College and M.Ed from Antioch University. Khavin is currently working on a doctorate in Educational and Professional Practice,and is an education professor at North Seattle College. Khavin has spent the last seven years working with and around nature based education, helping to construct outdoor learning spaces for young children, and consulting with other organizations such as Petah Villages to ensure thoughtful, DEI driven outdoor education. Khavin is also an artist and photographer, and enjoys soccer, basketball, music, mycology, rock climbing, and going for walks with his wife Rachel and daughter Forest.
E3 Washington Committee Members
Equity committee:
Equity Committee
Sylvia Hadnot (chair)
Derek Hoshiko
Khavin Debbs
Amy Wilson
Rae Han
Leia Althauser
Katie Hatam
Nicole Avendaño
Brad Street
Communications Committee:
Communications Committee
Rochelle Gandour-Rood (chair)
Derek Hoshiko
Chase Buffington
Torrey Green
Aliza Yair
Finance Committee:
Conference Committee
Courtney Sullivan (chair)
Roberta McFarland
Convening Committee:
Convenings Committee
Becca Kedenburg (co-chair)
Elizabeth Schmitz (co-chair)
Amy Wilson
Ben Greené
Courtney Sullivan
Crystal Lloyd
Janice Elvidge
Leia Althauser
Stacey Selcho
Sylvia Hadnot
Catalyst Committee:
Catalyst Committee
Dylan Gschwind (chair)
Megan Karch
Kathryn Kurtz
Stephanie Bishop
Aliza Yair
Elizabeth Schmitz
Nicole Corbo
Board Development Committee:
Development Committee
Sylvia Hadnot (chair)
Susan Carlson
Courtney Sullivan