Meet Our Director

Nicole Corbo (she/her)
Founder : Roots & Sky Nature-Based Learning

​Nicole has spent the last three decades educating learners of all ages in nature. She entered the Nature Preschool field by way of Cedarsong Nature School and still leads training programs as a Cedarsong Way Certified Trainer. Nicole founded Roots & Sky Nature-Based Learning because she believes it is essential that all children, preschool through high school, and the grownups who guide them, have opportunities to experience meaningful time learning in, about, and with nature. She offers programs, professional development, and consulting services. Part of the time, she also teaches at Nature Nuts Forest Kindergarten where she is joyfully referred to as Teacher Frog. Nicole has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations that focus on youth in nature and conservation, and she joined the WaNPA collaborative not long after its inception because she saw the tremendous value of connecting with others who feel passionately about nature-based education. Nicole is thrilled for the opportunity to support the diverse community of educators, administrators, and families who make up the Washington Nature Preschool Association.

Meet Our Advisory Board

This dedicated group of nature school leaders bring their passion to WaNPA, representing the needs and goals of outdoor schools across the PNW and facilitating resources for other programs & WaNPA events.  They are the heart & soul of this organization!

Caroline Cook (she/her)

Early Childhood Education Supervisor
Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center
Pacific Science Center
Caroline has been a part of Polliwog Preschool at the Mercer Slough since 2015. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Education from UNC Wilmington, and has taught at camps and parks for over a decade. Caroline loves jumping in mud puddles, holding millipedes, and sharing her love of nature with early learners. She’s especially passionate about nature preschool because she’s seen how time outdoors helps children become more confident, observant, and empathetic.  

Sibyl Maer-Fillo (she/her)

School Director & Teacher
Washington Outdoor School
Sibyl is the Washington Outdoor School Director & Teacher in both Roslyn and Ellensburg branches. Sibyl believes learning should be meaningful and integrated, the Earth and all its inhabitants and ecological systems should be respected, appreciated and cared for and finding ways to nurture and encourage the innate creativity in each person is of the utmost importance. She has a Masters degree with certification in Special Education and has been in Education for over 20 years working with Preschool through High School age students. Creating Washington Outdoor School fulfilled a dream.

Kit Harrington (she/her)

Founder Of WaNPA
Former Director of Fiddleheads Forest School
​Kit is the co-founder and former director of Fiddleheads Forest School. She is an AMS accredited Montessori Early Childhood Educator with a background in perceptual learning and child development. Her work is grounded in her understanding of perceptual learning and early childhood development as well as her passion for helping young children with diverse needs and experiences develop self-regulation and social and emotional skills. Kit is passionate about curriculum development, philosophy, family communication, research, outreach, and developing equitable and culturally responsive policy and procedure. She provides leadership to the nature-based and outdoor preschool movement on a regional and national level through her work with the Council on Nature and Forest Preschools and WaNPA. Kit developed her sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural world during her childhood in the Green Mountains of Vermont, where she spent her days exploring the back woods behind her house.

Rachel Franz (she/her)

Founder
Twig & Thread Consulting
​Rachel is the founder of Twig & Thread Consulting, offering educator training and coaching in nature-based early education across the country. Rachel is also the Family & Education Manager at Fairplay, where she advocates for hands-on play in an increasingly digital world. As a former infant, toddler, and preschool educator and founding lead teacher and former Director of Education at Tiny Trees Preschool, Rachel deeply values childhood and sees outdoor early learning as a leverage point for building an equitable, anti-oppressive society. Rachel has a master's degree in Early Childhood Education, a B.A. in Environmental Studies, a certificate in Sustainable Business, and is a WA State-Approved STARS Trainer, and family coach. Rachel lives in Seattle, WA and really loves napping, jumping in lakes, and collaborative food-making.
Brenda Running (she/her)
Director and Lead Instructor
​Nature Nuts
Brenda is a certified Forest School Teacher, a Native Plant Steward with the Washington Native Plant Society and a Master Naturalist. She's also been trained in Outdoor Leadership with Washington Trails Association and the Art of Mentoring Children in Nature at Wilderness Awareness School. She has 13 years of experience working with children in outdoor educational settings, and Brenda is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Her background includes literacy intervention, working with children with special needs as well as a Family Advocate.