Title: Environmental Program Manager
Employer: Urbana Park District

Savannah Donovan is the Environmental Program Manager at the Urbana Park District (UPD) and serves as President of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois (EEAI). They have a BS in Integrative Biology from UIUC and an MS in Environmental Education & Interpretation from UW-Stevens Point. They have been working to coordinate and lead environmental public programs since 2009. In the past two years, they have co-founded and leads the Champaign County Climate Coalition (C4) and have co-authored the UPD's CARES (Climate Action, Resilience, Education & Sustainability) Plan. They began in the UPD as an Environmental Public Program Coordinator, which includes both administrative work and public-facing education. As a manager they focus more on the strategic administration work, but still does some of the public education they love.

Before working for the UPD, Savannah worked for the Champaign County Forest Preserve District as an Environmental Public Program Specialist at Homer Lake. They also served meals on an Alaskan train, worked as a field tech and lab tech, and volunteered in a wildlife medical clinic to gain experience in the field.

Learn more about Savannah’s role as the previous Environmental Public Program Coordinator at Anita Purves Nature Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GltzAL2GQ3o

One tip that Savannah has for anyone interested in environmental education: as a student, you can get involved with environmental organizations. The EEAI has student-level memberships, you can serve as a volunteer or even on the board, and they have scholarships to attend conferences. Visit www.eeai.net for more information or to join.

Savannah is incredibly knowledgeable about and experienced in environmental education careers. They are a great person to talk with if you’re interested in learning how to succeed in the competitive field of environmental education. Contact Christina Swanson at alumnimentor@sib.illinois.edu if you would like to connect with Savannah.