6 part-time Community Educators have joined MyRWA Education Manager Natalia Bayona to support our education program this ‘24-’25 school year. These educators will lead activities, design curriculum, and create partnerships throughout the watershed to help connect classroom science content to place-based, real-world ecological issues right outside the door.
This is our second school year having a team of community educators and we are so excited for the capacity they add to our education programs. Want to bring a MyRWA education program to your classroom or youth group? Reach out to Education Manager Natalia Bayona (natalia.bayona@mysticriver.org) to chat about our education offerings and scheduling!
Meet Our Educators
Jessica Crispin
Jessica Crispin has recently joined MyRWA as a community educator. She began volunteering with MyRWA this spring as a river herring monitor. She has a strong interest in nature, natural science, and protecting and preserving the environment. Jessica has gained valuable experience in the environmental consulting industry, where she actively participated in conducting environmental site investigations and leading cleanup programs to restore land and water resources affected by hazardous substances. Jessica is enthusiastic about being part of the MyRWA community education team and is looking forward to involving young people in the science, protection, and restoration of the Mystic River Watershed.
Michelle Faller
Following a career in software quality and project management, Michelle shifted her focus to family and part-time work. She currently specializes in working outdoors and with youth as a Girl Scout leader for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts and as a library volunteer at Peirce Elementary School. Additionally, Michelle has a variety of outdoor and crafting hobbies, including hiking, camping, backpacking, swimming, paper crafts, fiber arts, 3D printing and soap making. Michelle earned a B.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Science from Virginia Tech and a M.S. in Project Management with a focus in Healthcare Informatics from Northeastern University. Michelle lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her husband, two children, and dog.
Moira Farrell
My professional background includes positions at nonprofits, newspapers, Fortune 500, and manufacturing companies. My home is on the North Shore. I am an avid gardener, naturalist, birder, and hiker (I’m proud to have summited Mt. Katahdin several times). I am also an experienced coastal sailor who learned to sail in Casco and Penobscot Bays.
I view nature as my cathedral and the sky as her ceiling. I enjoy sharing the wonderment of Gaia with others and look forward to working as a community educator for MyRWA. I hope to inspire others to appreciate and value the natural resources in our Communities.
Tai Lam
Tai Lam lives in Malden. He is involved in the Malden community and is an active member of Chinese Culture Connection, Friends of the Malden River, and Urban Media Arts (Malden's local TV station). Tai is currently a part-time computer science student at North Shore Community College and is looking forward to the completion of the Malden River Works Park as another location to recreate in Malden.
Stephen Rice
Hi, my name is Stephen Rice, I am a lifelong resident of Woburn. I grew up next to Horn Pond. I have been a volunteer with MyRWA for the past three years, first as Herring monitor, and then helping with the watershed education program with Natalia Bayona. I am very excited to be joining the Environmental Education Program as an Environmental Educator. I earned an Associate of Science from Middlesex Community College, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts. I have been working as a substitute teacher in the Woburn Public School system for the past three years. I also have worked with children at the Somerville Community Garden Center. I have three children that are all married, and I have many grandchildren. I enjoy golf and playing guitar in my spare time.
Jennifer Fraulo Strassfeld
Jennifer has had a nearly life-long interest in plants, landscape, and environmental quality. She is so excited to work with the education team at MyRWA to help watershed communities connect with the beautiful Mystic River and care about improving watershed health. Jennifer studied sustainable land planning and design at The Conway School in Western Massachusetts after studies in biological sciences and environmental law at Harvard University and Vermont Law School. Her work has taken her to a herbarium in Cambridge, a sustainable agriculture research center in Kansas, a Wyoming cattle ranch, the wilds of New York’s Hudson Valley, and a national interest group in Washington, D.C. Along the Hudson, she worked to conserve natural landscapes and create public open space. As a program manager at The American Society of Landscape Architects in Washington, D.C., she helped shape and launch the national Sustainable Sites Initiative® (complementing the LEED® green building rating system). Since the arrival of her first child, her environmental focus has turned to gardens, including at her home, at her children’s schools, and elsewhere in her community. When she isn’t gardening, she likes to swim, cook and eat good food, read, and explore natural and built environments.
