Meet Our Staff

Administrative Staff

Nicole dragging a tree in the snow
Nicole Stafford (she/her)
Director

Our noble leader has been the ELC director since the summer of 2016. Growing up, Nicole lived in many different places. Since she has now lived in Fort Collins longer than anywhere else, we’ll let her claim it as her hometown. Nicole has degrees in Parks and Protected Area Management and Environmental Communications and finds solace, adventure, escape, and more in nature. She cares deeply about the natural world and wanted to ‘save the environment.’ While she still wants to save the world, a part of that has morphed into helping to grow good humans (her words). Her favorite programs are those that allow participants to discover nature on their own terms through semi-structured exploration, when participants do the most learning and growing. Nicole hopes program participants leave the ELC feeling comfortable and confident in the local environment and that the student staff finds in the ELC a positive place to learn and grow. Like any good leader, Nicole brings the 30,000 foot view. She keeps the ELC’s mission and goals in mind through all of the work we do and all the decisions we make. Her personal values of growth, adventure, and connection are embodied in her work at the ELC. She brings idealism and, at the same time, pragmatism. When she’s not making big decisions, Nicole enjoys trail running, rafting, SUPing, crafting, exploring new places, learning, romping around outside, and snowboarding.

Fun Fact – Nicole has two secret talents: a mean raptor walk and a pretty decent crab imitation.

Jules Woolums (she/her)
Program Coordinator, B.A. Studio Art (2013), B.S. Fish, Conservation, and Wildlife Biology (2024)

Jules joined the ELC as a summer camp instructor in 2024 before moving into the Program Coordinator role. After earning her first degree in studio art from CSU in 2013, she spent five wonderful summers at Colvig Silver Camps in Durango, Colorado where she learned first-hand the importance of playing in the mud, running in the rain, and living a little bit of life in the wild (sharing showers with lizards and peeking out cabin holes at mountain lions.) She returned to CSU to complete a second degree in fish, conservation and wildlife biology so that she could keep doing such things. When she is not staring at animals, she is doodling devoutly, treasuring hunting at the antique mall, and rearranging the couch pillows to give her dog, Camper, a better view of rabbits in the front yard.

Student Staff

Lucy Blair (she/her)
Forest Managment

Lucy is originally from Iowa City, IA. She found her passion for education through the AmeriCorps program City Year Baton Rouge where she worked in 5th and 6th classrooms over two years. Her love of teaching and the outdoors met when she was a day camp counselor in the South Louisiana swamps. Today she is in her third year studying Forest and Rangeland Stewardship and is excited to get back into education and help shape the next generation of environmental stewards.

John Chandonais (he/him)
2nd year, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

John is a United States Air Force veteran from Clinton Township, MI. He discovered his passion for environmental education while working as a environmental education intern with the National Park Service. His favorite animal is the North American Beaver because of their environmental engineering and industriousness. His hobbies include birdwatching, hiking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He is a dog owner to an Australian Shepherd named Roland who serves as his chief hiking companion. He is most excited to pass the torch of envronmental stewardship to the next generation. And his girlfirend, Sam helped him write this.

Payton DeGroote (she/her)
2nd year, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, minor in Ecological Restoration

Payton DeGroote (she/her) is a second-year student studying Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, minoring in Ecological Restoration. Originally from San Diego, CA, Payton did lots of camping, hiking, and swimming at the beach! At the ELC, Payton hopes to educate younger generations about the importance of conserving and caring for our planet while she herself learns to nurture our home back to health. After completing her first year at CSU, Payton enjoys rock climbing, hiking around Northern Colorado, reading, and walking around Old Town.

Fun Fact: Payton watched a documentary in her 7th grade science class about the farm industry and livestock production that changed her way of thinking about food consumption. Since then, she has followed a Vegetarian diet.

Kayla smiling and holding a plant in front of trees
Kayla Finley (she/her)
Master’s Student, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability

Kayla is a Colorado native, who grew up camping, hiking, and spending lots of warm days on a lake. She is super excited to have found a way to combine her passion of working with kids with her passion for the environment. At the ELC, she hopes to help kids form a connection with nature and help teach them about how incredible the natural world is. In her free time, Kayla loves to hike, camp, ski, paddleboard, and swim! You can also find her taking care of her many, many house plants (probably getting close to 50 now) or reading a book outside. If Kayla could be any animal, she would want to be a Moose living in Rocky Mountain National Park, so she could be super big, run really fast, and be a great swimmer in one of the most beautiful places in Colorado.

Jack in a selfie with mountains behind him
Jack Hagenbuch (he/him)
3rd year, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability

Jack is a third-year student from Palatine, Illinois studying Ecosystem Science and Sustainability. He had people in his life who inspired him to pursue his interest in the environment and he hopes that by working at the ELC he can inspire others to do as well. Jack brings positivity and creativity to the ELC team and is looking forward to lesson planning and teaching groups of students! If he could have any animal adaptation, he would have gills so that he could breathe underwater. Jack is secretly really good at finding cool clothes in thrift stores and in his free time enjoys making music, hiking, climbing, camping, and creative writing.

Elena standing on a trail smiling at the camera
Elena Henderson (she/her)
3rd year, Natural Resources Management

Elena Henderson is a third year student at CSU studying natural resource management with a minor in conservation biology. She is from Monument Colorado and where she loves to ski, hike, and rock climb. Elena has been working with kids for almost four years now and loves that she have the opportunity to have a positive impact in their lives. Her favorite part about working with the ELC is getting to see the kids find their own personal connections with nature and have fun being outdoors!

Emma Kucera (they/them)
4th year, Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Forest Fire Sciences

Emma is a 4th year student at CSU studying Forest and Rangeland Stewardship with a concentration in Forest Fire Science. They are originally from Los Angeles, California and always found a way to get out of the city into nature. Emma love to hike, camp, fish, rock climb, and frolic through the woods! Emma is our Site Maintenance and Volunteer Coordinator at the ELC and focuses on maintaining trails, invasive species removal, and more. They hope to learn more about land management through this position and teach others about it too!

Melanie stands in front of a waterfall and smiles at camera
Melanie Matthews (she/her)
3rd year, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources

Melanie is a 3rd year student from Lakewood, Colorado. In addition to her major, Melanie is minoring in Spanish, and this is her 7th year studying the language. In her free time, you can find Melanie exploring nature, hiking, crocheting, playing with her dog, and watching movies! She is passionate about creativity and hands-on learning for both kids and kids-at-heart. Melanie is excited to work with the Northern Colorado community and help inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. Her favorite animal is a river otter because their playful, family-oriented, and curious nature is similar to her own! In her future, Melanie hopes to work as an education and interpretation ranger with the National Park Service.

Cory smiles at the camera in front of a tree
Cory Milligan (he/him)
4th year, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Cory is a fourth-year student at CSU studying Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation biology with an emphasis in conservation biology. He is from Newbury Park, California and is an avid baseball fan. Cory works for the ELC because he loves to teach and believes that one of the biggest things he can do to have an impact on the environment is to pass on his knowledge to future generations. Cory hopes to foster a good relationship between the youth he works with and the Earth so that they can show others what it means to respect our planet. Cory’s favorite ice cream flavor is anything with chocolate chips, and the animal he relates most to is a giraffe because of its height.

Karli Pfaffl (she/her)
3rd year, Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology
Karli is a third-year student at CSU studying Wildlife Biology and minoring in Zoology and Restoration Ecology. Karli is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Colorado to pursue her passion with wildlife and to be by the mountains! She loves spending time with family and friends, hiking, and painting in her free time. Karli is looking forward to continuing to advocate and spread awareness for wildlife & environmental conservation while connecting people with nature. If Karli could be any animal, she would be a jaguar or a cheetah because those are 2 of her favorite animals!
Gaia Poneta (she/her)
4th year, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Conservation Biology

Gaia, a fourth-year student at CSU studying Human Dimensions of Natural Recourses and Conservation Biology, loves to be outside every moment she gets. If she is not outside exploring and frolicking or discovering nature’s gifts you can find her dancing, writing music, or reading. Gaia is committed to living an eco-friendly and wholistic lifestyle meaning that she eats mostly plant based, composts food waste and tries her best to consume ethically. Gaia cares about mitigating climate change and educating others about sustainable habits.

Lydia Princ (she/her)
3rd year, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
Lydia is a third-year student from Kansas City, Missouri studying Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. You can find Lydia outside, whether hiking in the mountains, on the field at marching band practice, or having a picnic at a park with her friends! She spends her summers working as a camp counselor, which is what sparked her love and interest in environmental education. By working at the ELC, she hopes to connect her local community, especially kids, with the natural world around them and inspire them to be stewards of their environment!
Jill smiling at the camera in front of Horsetooth Reservoir
Jill Smith (she/her)
3rd year, Natural Resources Management

Jill is a third year Natural Resources Management major, minoring in GIS. She is originally from Snoqualmie, WA where she gained a love for the outdoors; growing up she spent every weekend somewhere in the Cascade mountains. Jill loves hiking, swimming, camping, paddle boarding, and exploring the local environment. It’s extremely important to her to preserve our ecosystems and conserve our natural resources, which is why she is so passionate about teaching others how to be the best earthlings we can be! Jill loves Colorado, and is so excited to show the ELC kids how amazing our local ecosystems are.
Fun fact- Jill has an album out and is the lead singer in a local band! She looooves music!!