Meet Mount Rainier Institute Staff
John Hayes
Director
John started leading the effort to establish Mount Rainier Institute in 2012. He has worked in the Environmental Education field for over 20 years. Before coming to western Washington, John was the Executive Director of Dunes Learning Center in Northwest Indiana. John also worked at Teton Science Schools in Wyoming where he was part of their Graduate Faculty. He has taught and coordinated environmental education programs in Vermillion County Illinois, and for Indiana University’s Bradford Woods.
Josh Miller
Education Coordinator
Josh grew up in Southeast Michigan, but got his start in Environmental Education at The Ecology School in Coastal Maine. His experiences teaching about Ecology and Food in relation to the natural world prompted him to pursue his Master's in Environmental Education & Science Communication at the University of Idaho. Before coming to the Mount Rainier Institute, he was working as a nature center interpreter for the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, cooking, games (virtually or on the tabletop), and podcasts.
Micah Baker
Instructor
Micah grew up in the lush Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She earned her Masters degree in Elementary education, teaching fourth grade science for multiple years. During summers off, she worked in various outdoor camps across the country. Three years ago, her partner constructed a camper and they began traveling and working seasonally. Since then, she’s been enamored with the PNW. She is stoked for the opportunity to facilitate lifelong learning outside of the normal classroom setting. In her downtime you might find Micah smelling everything, flopping around in water, writing in her journal, shaping clay into ceramic mugs, or singing to precious unfurling ferns.
Sammie Lemmer
Instructor
Sammie is a lifelong lover of all things outdoors including hiking, camping, climbing, swimming, and more. She has guided trips for college students at Johns Hopkins, taught at San Mateo Outdoor Education amidst old growth redwoods, and most recently spent two years with preschoolers in Tiny Trees’ outdoor classrooms in and around Seattle. She is thrilled to return to residential outdoor education--to live, teach, and learn in the forest. When not out exploring, Sammie can be found reading, cooking, crocheting, or attempting the NYT crossword puzzles.
Toby Harmon
Instructor
Toby spent his childhood years as an organic farmer in rural northern New York and caught the itch for all things outdoors at a young age. During his time at Clarkson University, where he obtained a bachelor’s in Environmental Science and Policy, Toby spent several summers teaching environmental science, climate studies, and ecology at educational camps and climate summits. Having just recently finished his Masters, he wanted to continue this path of education and inspiration. In the spare moments of his life, his love of travel tends to win over. In his free time, you can find him playing his guitar in the high Montana desert, sleeping on the shores of the Great Lakes, or exploring the canyon bottoms of the Dakota Badlands. He is more than excited to add “wandering the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier” to this list.
Sophia Allen
Instructor
Sophie was born and raised in the beautiful state of Washington. She studied environmental science at University of Washington, with a focus on wildlife conservation. After graduating, she spent time traveling up and down the west coast working as an outdoor educator and a backpacking guide. She’s excited to get kids outdoors and show them how cool the forest is. You can usually find her outside backpacking, reading, or smelling pine trees.
Amanda Silber
Instructor
Amanda has worked for Mount Rainier Institute since 2021 and loves sharing her love of thinking about science outside with students. She has been a certificated K-12 science teacher in Washington since 2014 and currently teaches science at a local college. She earned her BA in Biochemistry from Colorado College, her MSc in Chemical Biology from UCSF, and her MAT in Science Education from UW Seattle. When Amanda is not teaching, running, or biking in Pack Forest, you can find her backcountry skiing, gardening, or practicing yoga.
Lina Oppenheimer
Instructor
Growing up in Seattle, Lina was fortunate to spend plenty of time exploring and learning about the beautiful old-growth forests, coastal tide pools, and alpine landscapes of western Washington. After earning a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Bryn Mawr College and serving as an AmeriCorps member at Teton Science Schools in Jackson, WY, she has been excited to take her love of working with youth outside back to the PNW. In her spare time, Lina loves playing board games, hiking, baking, and sending homemade greeting cards to family and friends.
Alexis Pedrick
Instructor
Alexis grew up in Virginia, she spent many summers camping, hiking, and backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She graduated from William & Mary with a degree in Biology, where she focused her studies and research on conservation and aquatic ecology. Upon graduating, she worked as a Naturalist in Southern California, where she discovered her passion for environmental education. Following her time as a Naturalist, she worked as a paddle-board, rock climbing, survival skills, and high adventure instructor in the DC metro area. Shortly after, the west called her back and she has pursued environmental education ever since. In her downtime, you can find Alexis creating montages, making bagels, water coloring, or taking strolls through the beautiful outdoors.
Mount Rainier Institute
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. Mount Rainier Institute is honored and grateful to provide programs that take place in the ancestral homelands of the Nisqually, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Yakima, and Cowlitz.
Mount Rainier Institute provides outstanding nature-based education experiences that are rooted in science and nurture the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders.