Recent SOU grad hired at outdoor school
Natalie DiNenno, a fall 2022 graduate of SOU’s Master of Science in Environmental Education Program, has accepted a position as executive director of Klamath Outdoor Science School (KOSS.)
KOSS has a camp in Sun Pass State Forest, near Ft. Klamath and Jackson Kimball State Park, and provides outdoor school, summer camps and a wide range of other outdoor education programs throughout southern Oregon. Natalie will continue to reside in Ashland.
After growing up and attending college on the East Coast, Natalie made her way to the Northwest to pursue graduate studies at SOU.
“I was immediately captivated by the beauty of southern Oregon and the supportive network of environmental educators in this region,” Natalie says.
Students in SOU’s Master of Science in Environmental Education Program work to design an environmental education program and then implement it as their capstone project in the annual Fall in the Field outdoor classes for the region’s third- through eighth-grade students. The MSEE program is intended to prepare graduates for teaching and leadership positions at nature centers, museums, schools, government agencies and other organizations.
Natalie grew up outside of Philadelphia and received bachelor’s degrees in environmental studies and sociology from Williams College in Massachusetts. She has worked as a naturalist, camp counselor and administrator, and visited the Pacific Northwest for the first time while attending the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies program.
She enjoys writing, making music or turning over rocks in streams to marvel at benthic macroinvertebrates in her spare time. She is passionate about providing immersive, place-based, experiential education for all students, of all ages and backgrounds.
Natalie is already busy in her new job with KOSS, scheduling fifth- and sixth-grade classes for spring and fall outdoor school, all grades for day camps and planning a wide range of summer programs. She is also hiring instructors and support staff for those camps.
For more information on KOSS’s programs and open positions, see the KOSS website. Natalie can be reached directly at 541-850-8218 or by emailing natalie.dinenno@klamathoutdoorschool.org.