Board Members

The Minnesota Association for Environmental Education is a volunteer run organization that gets much of its support from our incredible Board Members. As a non-profit organization, the MAEE Board of Directors sets the strategic direction of the organization, manages finances, fundraises for the organization, oversees staff members, represents the organization, and monitors and evaluates the activities of the organization.

MAEE is very grateful for the expertise, time, and passion our Board Members bring to the organization.

Alyssa JanillaBoard Member since 2023

Alyssa is an educator at the UMN Landscape Arboretum. In her past roles, she has worked with children as a special education paraprofessional for five years, starting in Saint Paul Public Schools, and most recently at a local charter school. She is a licensed substitute teacher and taught kindergarten for three months in 2023. Alyssa has her BS in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. She has completed internships in public horticulture at the Smithsonian Institution and at the Polly Hill Arboretum. Alyssa has worked at several local nurseries, including Gertens, where she enjoyed providing horticultural education and assisting customers to choose the right plant for the right place! In 2013, she started her own garden maintenance and landscape design business to install new plantings and maintain existing garden beds. Alyssa loves stand-up paddle boarding Minnesota’s beautiful waterways and exploring national parks and public lands on road trips.

Heidi FerrisBoard Member since 2023

Heidi Ferris, Ed.D, holds 25+ years of teaching experience with expertise from higher ed to middle school to high school to pre-K and adult learners; suburban, urban, and rural settings; Hawaii to Washington to Minnesota. She founded Growing Green Hearts, LLC in 2012 to foster innovative environmental projects and curricula. She is a community connector and servant leader who prepares diverse community groups to meet the needs of our shared climate-changing world. Heidi currently works as the Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development Extension Educator with Minnesota Sea Grant.

Clare GallahueBoard Member since 2026

Clare is a second-grade teacher at Park Terrace Elementary in Spring Lake Park. She has a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of St. Thomas. She is working toward completing her master's with an emphasis in Literacy at Concordia University, St. Paul. Clare was drawn to MAEE to find more resources for incorporating environmental education into general elementary classrooms after seeing a need among her students. Outside of teaching, Clare loves creating new things and always has at least 5 art projects going at once.

Muffet TroutVice President, Board Member since 2024

Muffet comes to the board through the field of social studies education. She grew up in Illinois, attended college and learned to teach in California, taught high school for 10 years in Wisconsin, and eventually moved to the childhood home state of her parents – Minnesota, where she is a professor of budding P-12 teachers at the University of St. Thomas. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of her favorite places, and she works to understand land-based cultural values with the aim of promoting healthier relationships with the land.

Cora LaVallieBoard Member since 2025

Cora is a 2024 graduate from the University of St. Thomas (MN) who is passionate about making environmentalism accessible and exciting through personalized engagement. With a BA in Psychology and Environmental Studies, she works to bridge the gap between complex sustainability issues and general understanding. Using psychology to connect with diverse audiences, she values the wisdom and traditions of different cultures, inspiring collective, meaningful action to any sustainability initiative. Cora thrives on building community, fostering connections, and creating spaces where people from all backgrounds can engage with sustainability in a way that feel relevant and empowering. Through her love for pollinators, accessibility, and responsible resource use, she is driven to create a more healthy and inclusive world. Cora currently serves as a communications consultant, where she works to create resources that engage Minnesota's community in environmental action. Besides pursuing her passion for the environment, she enjoys reading, crafting, dancing, and exploring the outdoors in all forms. Through curiosity and creativity, she is constantly searching for new ways to connect her community with nature and sustainable action, showing others how simple and fulfilling it can be.

Jess PaulsonBoard Member since 2023

Jess grew up with a passion for the outdoors, camping, fishing, & hunting, with her family. She holds a BS in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Outdoor Education, and an MS in Education. She has worked in roles helping to band raptors, tromping in the swamp during summer camps, and taught about native fish. Being a USFWS wildland firefighter for over 12 years also sparked a passion for habitat restoration & prescribed fire education. For 10 years she was a science advisor at the Terra Nova School (formerly the Jane Goodall Environmental Sciences Academy), a public 6th-12th grade project-based learning charter school. Now she works with science teachers like herself as the Professional Development Program Director for the University of Minnesota's Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. She is excited to apply her experiences & knowledge in conservation efforts & outreach programming to the MAEE board.