Ramzy Berbawy — Lead Instructor for School-year and Summer Youth Programs

Ramzy began his naturalist journey stargazing in a football field while wondering if he could ever live somewhere the air didn’t smell like fast food. Since quitting his banking job in 2015, he has worked on several small farms around the Olympic Peninsula and the Methow Valley. He is currently  wrapping up his second year as a nature studies instructor with CedarRoot.

Scott Brinton — Lead Instructor for School-year Youth Programs

Scott has over two decades of nature education experience.  He has mentored hundreds of students in practical wilderness skills and nature awareness.  He co-founded the Riekes Nature Studies Department in California, has taught Environmental Science for Peninsula College, and taught Islandwood’s graduate students in the Natural History and Ecology program. Most recently, Scott founded CedarRoot to help continue natural history and rural skills education. 

He is passionate about applying ecological lessons discovered in nature to areas of regenerative design, sustainable development and agroecology. Education: B.A. in Agriculture and Alternative Energy, The Evergreen State College; M.A. in Natural History and Education, Prescott College.  Certifications: Current Wilderness First Responder and Level 3 Track and Sign certificate, trackercertification.com.

Heather Mirczak, Lead Instructor for School-year Youth Programs

Heather has spent over 30 years in education. Her passion for teaching started at summer camp in 1990 on Lake George, NY, then took many directions: team building, outdoor schools, instructing for Outward Bound, caretaking on the Appalachian Trail, LNT trainer, classroom teaching, working with homeschooling students and eventually training teachers. She’s worked up and down the East Coast, in WA state and interior Alaska and is delighted to be here in the PNW among the cedar, fir, lush greenery and the Sound.

Heather places inspiration and igniting curiosity at the core of education; add fun, skill building and time for reflection and the recipe is complete. Her focus has been differentiating instruction, helping students understand their learning styles and using experiences to gain knowledge.  

Michelle Fox — Lead Instructor

Michelle Fox's heartwork has been with children since she was in college, culminating in the recent completion of four decades as an educator. After obtaining a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Spanish at the University of California at Davis, she earned an Elementary School Teaching Credential from the Multi-cultural/Bilingual Program at Sacramento State University. She has had teaching experiences in bilingual (Spanish/English) Elementary classrooms, Spanish immersion Kindergarten, Pre-school, and Elementary school Art.

For the last ten years, Michelle mentored children at a non-profit nature awareness organization she founded and directed in SW Washington (TreeSong).

Summer Sondey — Lead Summer Camp Instructor

Summer was born and raised in the farmlands and forests of Southeast Michigan where the magic of a childhood immersed in the natural world gave her a deep passion and commitment for life lived close to the earth. After graduating from 14 years spent at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, she took the leap far away from her home and found herself landed and in love with the Northwest.  Alderleaf Wilderness College was a great introduction to the diverse ecosystems of this area and after completing their year long wilderness immersion course, Summer chose the Olympic Peninsula and began to set roots.

Aliina Lahti — Lead Instructor for Nature Art Youth Summer Camp

Aliina has a Bachelors in Science, a dual degree in Sculpture Art/Art History & Biology. She recently completed a social justice based, Masters in Teaching Program at Western Washington University AND had a beautiful baby boy all in the same year!!

Her professional background is filled with a variety of non-profit and government work ranging from wildlife biology, habitat restoration, botany, teaching big kids and little kids about all the above, while squeezing in visual art creation.

Aliina loves teaching art and science. She finds the experience of seeing people light up when they learn something new about how life works so rewarding!

Chloe Lampert — Summer Camp Assistant Instructor

Chloe has been a part of the CedarRoot community for over a decade, evolving from student to instructor! She is honored to have worked with local naturalists and organizations including the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, Jefferson Land Trust, and Youth Environmental Stewards. She is a certified level 3 CyberTracker.

Chloe goes to school at Pitzer College in Southern California, where she studies Environmental Science and Indigenous Studies, engages in social activism, gardens, and basks in the sun. She spends her summers home, foraging for woodland trinkets and wild food, confessing secrets to slugs, chasing the tides, rolling in mud puddles, and dancing under the stars. Chloe expresses her creativity through a variety of arts, crafts, and media. Whatever she can get her paws on! 

She is grateful for the profound impact CedarRoot School made in her upbringing & worldview. She believes in fostering love, curiosity, and reciprocity as mechanisms to bridge the cultural divide between “nature” and “human”.

Finn Curran — Summer Camp Assistant Instructor

Finn began attending CedarRoot programs in 2016. He enjoys being outside, reading, playing soccer, and backpacking in the Olympic Mountains. He is also an accomplished sketch artist. Finn is starting eighth grade at Sunfield Waldorf school, and this is his first year as an assistant instructor with CedarRoot. He is thirteen years old.

Orlanda McRae-Clark — Summer Camp Assistant Instructor

Orlanda is 14 and going into ninth grade at OCEAN. She loves spending time outside in nature, sailing, and cooking. Dancing is also something that brings her immense joy. She has been dancing with Ling Hui for nine years and performs annually with her dance companions. She moved to the Northwest in 2015 from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and fell in love with the forest and the animals. This will be her second year being an assistant instructor with CedarRoot.

Kepler Edmundson — Summer Camp Assistant Instructor

Kepler is entering the Sophomore class at Port Townsend High School. He has been in cahoots with CedarRoot School since he was six years old and has avidly assisted CedarRoot camps since 2021. When he is not assisting CedarRoot camps, he can usually be found running on some wooded trail or taking photos around town.

Cora Brinton — Summer Camp Assistant Instructor

Bio on the way!