Executive Director of North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier, Vermont
Naomi Heindel is the Executive Director of North Branch Nature Center, a hub for nature-connection, education, conservation, and recreation located in Montpelier, Vermont. Under Naomi's leadership, NBNC has grown into its fourth decade with a staff of more than 20, diversified and accessible year-round programming for all ages, forest and field trails that are always open to the public, and a renewed dedication to environmental stewardship.
Naomi's career spans two decades of leadership in environmental education across the country, including at Teton Science Schools, Chewonki, and NatureBridge Yosemite. Living and teaching in national parks and working for residential outdoor learning centers formed the backbone of Naomi's place-based education and conservation experience, and was how she first learned about ANCA. Naomi also has an extensive background in wilderness trip leading, and often says that she learned everything she knows about leadership, risk management, and group dynamics from the back of a canoe on trips with teens throughout northern New England and northeastern Canada.
Naomi earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Dartmouth College and her Master’s Degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Naomi is a former board member of her high school alma mater, Vermont Commons School, and a current board member of the Vermont Biodiversity Alliance and the Northeast Environmental Resilience Collaborative.