Travis Perry, Ph.D.

President - Board of Directors

Travis thrives on engaged teaching, giving students first-hand experience in the subject matter. He believes that these are the academic experiences, more than any others, that change lives. He has introduced students to the wilderness of New Mexico, the South African bush, the tropical forests of Costa Rica, and the natural environments of South Carolina. Dr. Perry feels his greatest professional achievement as an educator has been the design and implementation of Furman's Wild Semester.

Megan Perry, M.S.

CEO

Megan has developed her lifelong love of wild things and places into a career as a wildlife biologist and educator. She has been the co-director for the Wild Semester Study Away Program since 2011. She received her B.S. in Biology from Furman University where she was a student on the first Wild Semester program. She received her M.S. in Wildlife Biology from Clemson University studying mountain lion populations in southern New Mexico. Since then she has worked as a contract wildlife biologist and continues to volunteer for the Furman Cougar Project managing data and supervising undergraduate students in the field.

Jesse Woodsmith, M.S.

Secretary - Board of Directors

Jesse is a wildlife biologist who most enjoys working with conservation non-profit organizations to protect and improve special landscapes. In the land trust space, she has helped to conserve tens of thousands of acres of valuable habitat and water resources and to steward tens of thousands more. Through an AmeriCorps program with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, she provided boots on the ground service to educate the public, improve trails and waterways, and enforce private land conservation easements. Jesse looks for ways to connect research to practitioners and build more effective conservation partnerships between public and private entities. She has analyzed USFS data for SC Audubon, informed landowners on avian-friendly forest management practices using USDA-NRCS funds, and written on conservation in the age of anthromes. She currently serves as the Director of Conservation & Stewardship at the Southern Conservation Trust, a land trust dedicated to connecting people to nature and providing environmental education. Jesse holds a M.S. in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a B.S. in biology from Furman University. She is a Wild Semester Alumna. Jesse lives in Georgia with husband, son, and Carolina dingo.

Keenan Adams, Ph.D.

Board of Directors

Keenan was a military brat, however South Carolina is considered home. Adams attended Furman University where he took Research & Analysis course with Dr. Travis Perry, which inspired him to switch his major from Pre-Med to a Natural Resource focused B.S. in Biology. After Furman, he attended Clemson University and was awarded his M.S. degree in Forest Resources (avian and disturbance ecology) and PhD in Wildlife Biology with a concentration in human dimensions.

He has spent the last 19 years working as a land manager and scientist for several agencies in many parts of the country. Now he is working in Puerto Rico at the intersection of sustainable eco-tourism, community well-being and land management. He is serving on the board in his personal capacity and not as a representative of the government. He runs a cacao farm in his “spare” time.

Tricia Kazemi, M.S.

Wilderness Stewardship Director

An avid hiker and naturalist, Tricia Kazemi received her Bachelor's in Biology and Health & Exercise Sciences at Furman University ('12) and is an alumna of Furman's 2011 Wild Semester class. She dabbled in Wildlife Research, Environmental Education, and trail building/Conservation Corps life before returning to academia for her Master's degree in Wildlife Science from New Mexico State University ('19). While at NMSU, she helped to establish their Girls on Adventures for Leadership and Science Program and served in the University's Outdoor Leadership Program, often teaching Wilderness First Aid courses. Experiential and immersive education remain among her greatest passions, which in recent years she has shared with guests at Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve; students at Colorado Outdoor Education Center; and the next generation of conservationists at Natural Curiosity's Hermosa Field Station. She is currently working on Natural Curiosity's behalf amid a multi-organizational effort to restore the trail network in the 2021 Black Fire burn scar.

Jenn Summers, Ph.D.

Acting Treasurer - Board of Directors

Jennifer (Jenn) Summers works with the Department of Treasury Office of Gulf Coast Restoration. Previously she was a Program Officer at the National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program. Before joining the GRP, Summers was an NAS Science Policy Fellow with the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restore Council (RESTORE) where she worked on grant management for restoration projects focused on Gulf coast restoration after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Prior to that she earned her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her dissertation work examined the impacts of sea level rise on rapid evolution in a foundational coastal marsh plant. This research involved collaboration with and training from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Oak Ridge National Lab, and the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center along with driven and talented students and researchers at both UTK and Tulane University, where she started her degree. Summers earned her Bachelor’s in Biology and French from Furman University in South Carolina.

Sophia Schaffer, B.A.

Program Assistant

Sophia Schaffer is a South Carolinian at heart, but currently resides at our Hermosa Field Station. Sophia got her undergraduate degree at Furman University in Arts and Sciences Integration for Environmental Advocacy with a focus in conservation biology and photography and a minor in Environmental Sciences. As a student, she first came to Hermosa for the Wilderness May-x course and soon fell in love with the Southwest. Since graduation, she has focused her career on outdoor education. Sophia worked with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, teaching high school students sustainable farming practices, taught special needs students in an elementary school, and managed a lavender farm in addition to teaching plant care practices in Michigan. Sophia has completed multiple art projects centered around environmental advocacy, teaches yoga and mindfulness practices, and spends every opportunity soaking up the great outdoors! She recently enrolled in a graduate degree program at Prescott College and is working towards a Master of Science in Environmental Studies and Sustainability.

Rachel Sallese, B.A.

Development Coordinator

Rachel Sallese grew up in New Jersey and attended Endicott College receiving her degree in Environmental Science and International Studies. Since graduating, Rachel went on to work with various research and conservation organizations in New England including Boston Aquarium doing sea turtle rescue, the Earthwatch Institute, and Boston's Conservation Commission. She also worked for 4 years for a small sustainable development nonprofit based in Kenya. Most recently she worked in Boston at Education First in their International Tours department, working with teachers to plan trips abroad with their students. On a road trip across the country she fell in love with New Mexico and soon after decided to move here with her husband Mike. They have since built a straw bale home completely off grid where they now live with their son, Miles, and dog, Memphis!

Steve de Albuquerque M.S.

Board of Directors

Steve de Albuquerque brings over three decades of leadership in health, safety, and environmental stewardship across complex global operations. Throughout his career, he has championed public-private conservation initiatives in the western U.S. and Alaska. As Vice President of Health, Safety & Environment for ConocoPhillips Australia and ConocoPhillips’ Global Chief of Health & Safety Assurance, Steve led programs in environmental stewardship, safety assurance, and community engagement. Appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, he served on the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Resource Advisory Council (2001–2010) and on the Board of the Alaska SeaLife Center. He also served on the Board of the Intermountain West Joint Venture (2001–2010), a partnership dedicated to migratory waterfowl and wildlife habitat restoration across 11 western states. Now retired from the corporate sector, Steve advises organizations on safety, environmental performance, and building resilient learning cultures. He is passionate about applying his experience to conservation and environmental education and is committed to helping Natural Curiosity inspire and equip communities and the next generation of conservation leaders in stewarding New Mexico’s natural heritage.

Ethan Pretsch B.S.

Board of Directors

Ethan is a Furman graduate (Class of '19), an alum of the '17 Wild Semester, and served as a teaching assistant for the '19 Wild Semester. Ethan deeply believes in experiential education, valuing how programs like the Wild Semester build personal strength, confidence, and a deep appreciation for the natural world. Drawing from his experience on research farms and ranches—gathering data, packing mules and wrangling horses—Ethan brings practical outdoor skills and enthusiasm to the team. In 2024, Ethan and his wife embarked on an adventure camping across the Australian Outback, fulfilling his passion for outdoor experience and education. Currently, he is the president of a robotics company dedicated to developing robotic firefighting systems. Ethan spends his free time with his wife fishing, hunting, cooking, and immersing himself in the outdoors of Wyoming.

Linda Brewer

Board of Directors

Linda Brewer grew up on a farm in southern Ohio. Her life has been defined by land and animals since the beginning. She has had a long career as a potter who specializes in animal sculpture. Thirty years ago, Linda moved to New Mexico with her partner, John Rohovec, a native New Mexican. She immediately bought a horse to explore the area. She found she was living in the best horse country imaginable. She and John opened Blue Dome Gallery, then 10 years ago, with a group, bought Bear Mountain Lodge in Silver City. They expanded the Bear Mountain Lodge to include a cafe, gallery, outside sculpture walk, and opened the trails to the public. They have horses, cows, chickens, and dogs in addition to all the wildlife on the property that borders the Gila National Forest. Her other passion is Mongolia (can’t go wrong with a country where the animals outnumber the people.) New Mexico and Mongolia face many of the same issues of land use, population, and tourism.