Isaac grew up in the great plains of Iowa and Nebraska climbing cottonwoods next to the Missouri River in the summer and visiting the Chihuahuan Desert of El Paso, TX in the winter with his extended family. He received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln double majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife and Environmental Studies. While at the University, his work with the Outdoor Adventures Rec Center provided his first experience with leading groups in the wilderness and set him on a path towards helping others find space in the outdoors. Now, after years of working with groups in North Carolina, Montana and California, Isaac now calls the Sonoran Desert his home and his community. Isaac is an educator focused on sharing the fulfillment and relevance of environmental stewardship with his students. As a Field Instructor with Ironwood Tree Experience, you can find him guiding students down urban and outdoor interpretive trails around Tucson. In his off time you’ll find him running on the Loop trail with his wife and daughter (in her stroller) or at one of the taquerias or cafes around town.
Suzanne (She/Her) is a native Tucsonan and has established deep, strong roots in the Sonoran Desert Region. Her passion to reconnect children with the natural world is fueled by a lifetime of playing, living, learning and teaching within a dynamic, colorful, and detailed landscape. In an effort to develop authentic, engaging, and educational opportunities in nature for adolescents, Suzanne achieved a Prescott College Master of Arts degree in Environmental Studies, investigating youths’ implicit theories of the natural world and their experiences within. This graduate research project builds upon Suzanne’s academic and professional foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and has over ten years professional experience that includes directing, designing and instructing environmental education programs for all ages. Her experiences with local nonprofit organizations foster an ability to collaborate with community organizations, educators, and parents in an effort to enhance learning opportunities for adolescents and children throughout the Tucson area. Suzanne is also trained in Wilderness First Responder and in First Aid/CPR.
Eric (He/Him) began his love affair with the Sonoran Desert and Tucson, Arizona as a child and while earning a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Arizona. The romance and desire for immersion in the natural world led to several years of field research in such places as Arizona, Alaska and Papua New Guinea. Eric was employed by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as an environmental educator and interpretive manager working with community members of all ages. Eric went on to earn an M.A. from Prescott College in Place-Based Education and enjoyed a position as Sustainability Director and professional naturalist at Miraval Resort in Catalina, Arizona. He also served as Associate Faculty for the Liberal Arts, Adult Degree Program at Prescott College Tucson Center before becoming full time Program Director of ITE. He is LEED accredited and a member of the Southern Arizona branch of the US Green Building Council, serves on the Landscape Advisory Committee for the City of Tucson and serves on the advisory board for the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. Eric’s 30 year passion for sharing the intrinsic bond between nature and humanity has generated many wonderful opportunities to “get the word out” en mass on TV and radio as well as one on one and in small groups with youth over many years in both urban and back country settings. Eric is also trained in Wilderness First Responder and in First Aid/CPR.
Miranda is born and raised here in Tucson and has developed a great love for the Sonoran Desert she calls home through community, culture, and family. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Minor in Mexican-American Studies. Passionate about social justice, Miranda has worked and collaborated with various non-profit and youth serving organizations in the Tucson community. Having worked in both reproductive health and environmental education, Miranda understands the necessity of viewing social and environmental issues through an intersectional lens. In her free time, you can find Miranda with family, friends, & fur babies; and exercising!
Deborah was born & raised in the Mid-Atlantic but has called Tucson her home for over a decade. Like many transplants from greener and wetter climates, it took a little while for her to connect with this wildly different low-desert landscape. In many ways, it was through her work with Ironwood Tree Experience, which began in 2014, that solidified her connection and awe to the Sonoran Desert – a place she now wholeheartedly calls home. Prior to working at ITE, Deborah spent a significant amount of time leading wilderness expeditions and facilitating outdoor education experiences at programs such as Outward Bound & Prescott College. Before returning to ITE in 2021 as the Operations Manager, Deborah worked at other nonprofits in the Tucson community such as Watershed Management Group & NOLS, where she continued to cultivate her passion for healthy communication and teams in the workplace as a means for success, happiness and honoring the vision of a mission-driven organization. She has also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Adventure Education from Prescott College. Some of Deborah’s biggest joys in life are laughing, being with her dog Gila, working with animals, planting trees for longterm shade and eating delicious foods.
Benjamin (he/they) grew up rambling around the redwood forests of the Bay Area before moving to Maine to study evolutionary ecology and creative non-fiction writing. While in college, he spent a semester living in a ghost town south of Arivaca, AZ working with Sky Island Alliance to map habitats and critical springs throughout the Sky Islands region and promptly fell in love with this land, its ecology, culture and history. After working with kids on permaculture farms and restoration projects in Nepal and coastal Ecuador, he came back to the US to work at Saguaro National Park doing invasive plant management, native plant surveys, and community science. After nearly two more years working as an invasive plant strike time lead with Tucson Bird Alliance traveling to Fish and Wildlife Refuges and National Parks and Monuments in AZ, NM, TX and CO, Benjamin was incredibly excited to bring his passions for experiential education, land regeneration, environmental justice, and community-based land stewardship back to Tucson to support ITE’s programs. In his free time, you may find Benjamin working with local mutual aid groups, sitting under trees, geeking out about symbiosis or taking friends through the canyons surrounding Tucson.
Olivia was born in Hawaii, raised in Phoenix and has called Tucson home for the last five years. With a love for the natural world and interdisciplinary studies, they studied Natural Resources with an emphasis in international economics, policy, and conservation at Oregon State University. An interest in international conservation programs led to internships and studies in Gabon, Borneo, and Chile and after graduation, service in the Peace Corps as an agroforestry volunteer in Zambia. Some of Olivia’s favorite activities include biking on the loop, cooking and baking new and old family recipes, reading, and observing nature (whether hiking or in a hammock looking at the same tree for hours at a time!).
Taylor (she/her) grew up barefoot in the red dirt of Oklahoma, where she went on to attend
college at Oklahoma State University and receive her Bachelor of Science in strategic
communication with minors in English and marketing. After college, she put on shoes and
moved out west to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction, eventually landing in
Tucson, Arizona. With the mountains in every direction and a level of biodiversity that still
amazes her to this day, she immediately fell in love with the Sonoran Desert. Before working at Ironwood Tree Experience, Taylor spent several years working in conservation and outdoor education with Saguaro National Park as an interpreter and Youth Conservation Corps lead, and with the Arizona Conservation Corps as a backcountry trail crew member.
Taylor is a thru-hiker and avid backpacker, completing the Arizona Trail and multiple
sections of the Colorado Trail with plans to hike more in the future. She values
experience-based learning with the land as the ultimate teacher, and she considers storytelling
through nature as a way of healing, connecting and growing. Taylor believes in the power of
language and community, and she aims to inspire younger generations and future stewards of
this land to build a relationship with the outdoors as part of their community in whatever capacity
they are able.