Merry Lea Staff
Executive Director - Luke GaschoProgram Director - David Miller
Director of Land Management - Bill Minter
Collegiate Program Director - Dale Hess
Director of Public Programs - Jennifer Schrock
Lindsey Fellow - Ryan L. Sensenig
Education Coordinator - Paul Steury
Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator - Jenny Spitler
Environmental Science Educator - Lisa Zinn
Environmental Science Educator - Carol Good-Elliott
Property - Kerry Goodrich, Hal Kiester
Interns - Jane Litwiller, Dana Wilkinson
Dr. Luke Gascho, Executive Director
B.S. Biology /Education, Eastern
Mennonite College, 1974; M.A., Christian School Administration, Grace Seminary,
1983 ; Ed.D., Nova Southeastern University, 1998.
Dr. Gascho joined us in 1997 as senior administrator. He has extensive experience in science education and school administration including teaching in Grenada and Puerto Rico.
He may be reached by e mail at lukeag@goshen.edu
Click
here to visit his web page.
Carol Good-Elliott, Environmental Science Educator
B.A.
Biology, Environmental Studies Minor, Goshen College, 1989.
Carol works with scheduling, teaching and writing curriculum for the K-12 education program.
She can be reached by e-mail at carolge@goshen.edu
Dr. Dale Hess, Collegiate Program Director and Associate Professor of Agroecology
B.A.,
Millersville State College, 1976; M.S., Purdue University, 1984; Ph.D.,
Purdue University, 1989.
Dr. Hess joined the Merry Lea staff in 2004. Dale directs the Summer Agroecology Intensive program. He has extensive experience in sustainable crop production research and training, including more than a decade spent in West Africa.
He may be reached by e mail at dhess@goshen.edu.
Click here to visit his web page.
Kerry Goodrich, Property Supervisor
Mr.
Goodrich, a native of Noble County, has cared for Merry Lea's physical plant
since 1980. He has completed coursework in heating systems, industrial management
and horticulture at IVY Technical College.
He may be reached by e mail at kerryag@goshen.edu
Hal Kiester, Assistant Property Supervisor
Hal's
roots are in the neighborhood of Merry Lea. He cares for the physical
plant with special emphasis on grounds maintenance. He can
be contacted by calling Merry Lea.
Jane Litwiller, Environmental Education Intern
B.A.
Goshen College, 2005; Environmental
Studies.
Jane grew up near Ludington, MI where she learned her love for the outdoors. One of the things she enjoys doing in her spare time is playing and listening to all sorts of music.
She may be reached by email at janell@goshen.edu
Dr. David Miler, Program Director and Assistant Professor of Biology
B.A.,
Eastern Mennonite College, 1964; M.S. University of Delaware, 1972; Ph.D.
Michigan State University 1977. Dr. Miller is an entomologist and he joined
Merry Lea in 1988.
He may be reached by e mail at davejm@goshen.edu
Click here to visit his web page.
William Minter, Director of Land Management
B.S.,
Colorado State University, 1980; M.S.F. Purdue University, 1989. A certified
professional forester, Mr. Minter has served on the staff since 1991.
He may be reached by e mail at billfm@goshen.edu
Click here to visit his web page.
Jennifer Halteman Schrock, Grant Writer and Director of Public Programs
B.A.,
English, Goshen College, 1983; M.Div., Chicago Theological Seminary, 1990.
Jennifer joined the staff in July 2002. She is in charge of public programs for Merry Lea. She also edits the Merry Leaflet and does grant writing. Formerly she taught English and was a freelance writer and editor.
She can be reached by e mail at jenniferhs@goshen.edu or at merrylea@goshen.edu.
Ryan Sensenig, Lindsy Fellow and Assistant Professor of Biology
Ryan received a bachelor’s degree
from Eastern Mennonite University and a doctorate in ecology from the University
of California, Davis. He also has biology and earth science teaching certification.
Sensenig’s doctoral research was conducted in Kenya where he studied
the effects of grassland burning on grazing animals. For the past six years
he has taught ecology at a high school and has won a number of state and
national teaching awards.
Ryan can be reached by e-mail at rlsensenig@goshen.edu or at merrylea@goshen.edu.
Jenny Spitler, Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator
B.S.
Animal Science, 1996 Michigan State University
Master of Arts in Teaching, Belmont University 2004.
Jenny has spent the last two years teaching science to elementary students. More recently, she moved to a small farm near Merry Lea where she is studying and practicing sustainable agriculture.
She can be reached at jennyds@goshen.edu
Paul D. Steury, Education Coordinator for K-12
Bethany
Christian High School 1981, BA in Sociology from Goshen College 1987, MS
in Outdoor Resources Management with an emphasis in Environmental Education
1997.
Paul, who loves world wide adventure, returned home in 1999 to join family, friends, and become part of Merry Lea's staff.
He can be reached by email at paulds@goshen.edu
Click
here to visit his web page.
Dana Wilkinson, Environmental Education Intern
B.A.
Environmental Studies, Wittenberg University (Springfield,OH) 2005.
Former instructor
with Nature's Classroom, Carrollton, OH.
Native of Bloomington, IN.
danaw2@goshen.edu
Dr. Larry Yoder, Assistant to the Executive Director - Emeritus
B.A.
Manchester College, 1964; M.A. Indiana University,1966; M.A.T., Indiana
University, 1970; Ph.D., Indiana University, 1972.
A botanist and educator, Yoder has been with Merry Lea since 1981, serving as executive director until 1997 when he assumed his present role.
He may be reached by e mail at larryry@goshen.edu,or visit his home page.
Lisa Zinn , Environmental Education Instructor
B.A.
Biology, Houghton College (NY). M. Env. Studies. Miami of Ohio.
Lisa is part of the education team that works with the K-12 education program. She also works as researcher in the MAPS bird banding program and supervises summer Maple Scholar undergraduate researchers. Lisa joined our staff in 2003.
She can be reached by
e-mail at lisarz@goshen.edu
Click
here to visit her web page.