SCA Massachusetts

Bryan Blankenstein is in his third year as a program staff member, his second as Program Director. He has worked with SCA in many capacities over the past 10 years, including 7 years as a staff member with the Adirondack AmeriCorps Program, 1 year with the Idaho Residential Program and a few summers as a high school program crew leader. As Program Director Bryan oversees program budgets and assures that the program is meeting all SCA, partner, and AmeriCorps guidelines and expectations. Prior to SCA he worked as a carpenter for several years, and led backpacking, canoeing, climbing, and mountaineering trips for multiple organizations and private companies. Additional passions include writing, photography, cooking, reading and other creative outlets.

Melissa Patterson coordinates conservation training and the conservation service season. This is Melissa's fourth full year with the program. She was a crew leader for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps and has worked for SCA as a Corps Member, Project Leader, Work Skills Instructor and Assistant Conservation Co¬ordinator prior to her current position. She has also worked as an educator and holds a teaching certificate. She received a B.A. in environmental studies from Allegheny College.

Chris Berry is originally from a very small town in the North Shore called Wenham, MA. In 2010, he graduated from Roger Williams University where he studied Psychology and Marketing in scenic Bristol, RI. This past year, he was an AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region Corps Member where he spent 10-months working and living with ten other unique individuals committing ourselves to serving communities in various states on the west coast. During his time with AmeriCorps NCCC, he learned that he has a strong love for both working in the great outdoors as well as with elementary school aged children in a school setting. He had the great pleasure of working as a teacher’s assistant for two completely different Kindergarten classes in Sacramento, CA. This was an incredibly challenging, yet humbling and rewarding experience. He is excited to continue growing as an educator and is thrilled about this opportunity.

Anna Wilkie originates from Wilmington, NC, where she spent most of her life. After graduating from Appalachian State University in 2010 with a degree in Geography, she spent 5 months in Oregon working with AmeriCorps in the Mt. Hood National Forest. She is a recent Alumnus of the SCA Massachusetts 5 month program and is very excited about the opportunity to teach the youth of this wonderful region. She is passionate about the rich cultural and geologic history of New England and hopes to encourage further exploration of these topics with our future leaders.

Sarah Holmes is a recent graduate from Marist College where she earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English writing. She is an avid reader and writer of science (both fiction and nonfiction) and hopes to publish in both genres. When not reading or writing she loves hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, and would love to make rock climbing and white water rafting part of her usual activities. Her last seven summers she has been employed as a lifeguard and swim teacher and during the school year she tutored in science and English. Starting in fall 2010 through spring 2011, she interned at Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg, New York helping out in the lab and mucking along the Hudson River. She also helped with Citizen Science: American Eel research in nearby tributaries along with local high school students and Girl Scout troops. She wants to continue educating the community through the SCA as she hopes to use these skills in her future career. These experiences as well as her recent scuba diving certification she plans to use at graduate school for marine sciences starting next fall. She hopes to spread the word about conservation and science through her writing.

Elijah Fry was born and raised in Ohio, but has lived off and on in the Hudson Valley of New York for the last four years. In the summer of 2010, he worked on a six month SCA trail crew in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. This time proved to be a huge growing time in his life, and after moving back to New York for the better part of 2011, he decided that he wanted to do something more worthwhile, which has come in the form of joining the SCA Massachusetts. He is now very excited to get into the schools to help educate the local youth and teach them just how amazing and interesting the natural world can be.

Jillian Begin, raised in Los Gatos, CA, has traveled 3,000 miles to the Berkshires to follow her dream of teaching environmental education. As an Environmental Studies major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Jill taught children and young adults with Life Lab Science Program. While there she was a primary contributor to Life Lab’s publication, Sowing the Seeds of Wonder: Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education. Having found comfort as a youth in the redwoods of Northern California, Jill strongly believes in the healing power of curiosity and a sense of place. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, exploring with her field journal and spending time with her niece and nephew.

Patrick O’Brien is originally from Holden, Massachusetts. He has most recently been travelling and working in different areas while also trying to pursue a career in environmental conservation. Before his current position with the SCA, he worked with the National Parks doing grounds and buildings preservation at three historic sites in the Boston area. As a snowboard instructor, he gained experience teaching children in the outdoors and is excited to continue sharing his love of the environment with a younger generation.

Joey is from Gainesville, Florida and studied Materials Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Florida. His became interested in conservation when his parents took him on road trips around the United States to visit national parks. He has worked for the past three summers for the Forest Service in Idaho and hopes to go back after the program. He is excited to be working with kids for the first time and hopes to create great experiences helping the community.