GFP graduate Shannon Conner '20 of Monterey, California, has been busy building the success of the Watershed Guardians Program at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. This student-community science program works with local students to develop connections with nature while analyzing the water quality of two major watersheds in Monterey County, California. Conner has redesigned the curriculum to help build student agency, empowering them to realize their potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and presented her research to the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) and the American Geophysical Union. In March 2024, she will present to the California Association of Museums (CAM) and accept the Excellence in Museum Education award—along with her colleague, Hannah Sarver, who runs the Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students (LiMPETS)—from CAM in partnership with the California Superintendent of Education.

Conner earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Biology from Miami through Project Dragonfly‘s GFP while working as the Education Program Coordinator at Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.