Ginny Carlton joined Wisconsin Sea Grant as its new part-time education outreach specialist on March 11, 2019. Carlton, who has a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction and environmental resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will work out of the Sea Grant Office in Madison.
Ginny Carlton
Carlton has a depth of experience in the educational field and will keep her other part-time job as a training coordinator for the UW-Madison Division of Extension. In that position, she oversees planning and development of a dozen online professional development courses offered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The courses are designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of conservation planners. She has also worked as an environmental education instructor for UW-Stevens Point and was on the staff of the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.
“Ginny brings a wealth of experience together with a passion for environmental education to our program,” said David Hart, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s assistant director for extension. “We have a wide range of educational activities – from Grandparents University to collaborations with other Sea Grant programs on Great Lakes literacy. We are excited to have Ginny on board.”
Carlton, who fills the position vacated by Kathy Kline last year, will help with teacher training programs such as those aboard the schooner Denis Sullivan, and she will work closely on outreach programs with Wisconsin Water Librarian and Education Coordinator Anne Moser.
Carlton began her academic career in the natural resources field and then combined that with education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in forest biology for the State University of New York and her master’s in natural resources from UW-Stevens Point.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with colleagues across the state who are doing important work in water education,” Carlton said. “The opportunity to work with teachers in K-12 settings as well as in informal education settings like nature centers and parks attracted me to this position as well as the opportunity to include cutting-edge education research that others are doing and sharing.”
Carlton enjoys swimming and canoeing. She has taught education classes centered around water in the past and is thankful to live in Wisconsin, with its rich water resources.
You can contact her on Mondays and Wednesdays (all day) or Friday mornings at either glcarlton@aqua.wisc.edu or 608-262-0645.
