Staff

This year marks my 26th year as director and 27th year here at BOCES. I am very proud of how the program has grown from serving 6,000 students in my first year to 50,000 in recent years. It makes me feel old me when I meet parent chaperones and teachers who tell me they came to Madden as a child and had me as their instructor! How can that be, I still feel 23!

I grew up in the Catskills, but before coming here, I lived in Colorado for a year and a half where I did my graduate work. I loved living in Colorado and had many adventures hiking and camping in the Rocky Mountains!

I have had some wonderful experiences while here at BOCES including working with wolves, swimming with dolphins and manatees, working on 2 whale rescues, traveling to Belize where I learned more about the rainforest, slept on a beach and dove on some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world.

My most favorite part of my job is the Marine Ecology Program I run in Key Largo twice a year. In the fall I take middle school students and in the spring, high school students.  Part of the program includes swimming with the dolphins and sea lions, camping on a mangrove island and spending time in an undersea habitat. 

However, my most memorable experience is still the two weeks I served as an official for the sport of biathlon in the 1980 Winter Olympics.  While there I was chosen to march in the opening ceremonies, cross country skied with the King and Queen of Sweden, hung out with the famous “miracle” hockey champions and met athletes from around the world.   

We have a wonderful staff, incredible programs and an amazing facility so enjoy your experience with us!

Hello Everyone!  My name is Chris Hendershot.  I am happy to say that I have finally taken the plunge and got married to a lovely 4th grade teacher from Mahopac.  The wedding was during the summer and it was great day!  So not only do I have my “BOCES” family I am starting one of my own.

I graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in Recreation Education but my main focus was Outdoor and Environmental Education.  Some previous experience has taken me to other Environmental Education Centers in the Catskills and Long Island. All of these experiences has shaped and molded who I am today.  So now starting my 10th year I have seen many new and exciting changes in the field, which show in the programs that we offer and present. A recent trip to the St. Lucian rainforest has opened doors to new learning experiences to relate to in my classes I teach. 

Our program quality still maintains a high level as we continuously try to offer what is needed.  The wonderful team from the Center for Environmental Education is ready to go! 

Remember take the time and spend it outside, there is something new everyday!

Remember take the time and spend it outside, there is something new everyday!

Hailing from central Pennsylvania, I grew up loving the outdoors. The sights, smells, and sounds…everything about the natural world attracted me to long hikes, mountain bike rides, the rise of a brook trout, but most
importantly the awareness of nature and all of its beauty.

I carried that affection from the field to the classroom, studying Recreation and Park Management with an emphasis in Environmental Science at Penn State University. Throughout college I worked at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center; developing my skills as an environmental educator, performing animal care, counseling residential camps, and leading initiative games. After volunteering at several Pennsylvania State Parks including Black Moshannon and Bald Eagle State Parks, I worked as a program director at New Canaan Nature Center in Connecticut.

As a new staff member of the P/NW BOCES Center for Environmental Education, I am excited work with this great staff, grow from new experiences, and communicate my love and knowledge of the outdoor world on to others.

Hi there! My name is Mary Catherine Graziano and I am very excited about the upcoming year here at BOCES, because I get to do all of my
favorite things: hike, tell stories, watch wildlife, explore, teach and work with kids. My dog, Muir is very happy too; he’s got a whole forest to
run around in, and exciting new animals to meet. (We’ve already had a couple of close calls with skunks. I hope we’ll get through the year stink-free, but I’m not counting on it.)

I am from the Champlain Islands in northern Vermont, very close to the Canadian border. It was at an environmental education center in Vermont that I was turned on to the excitement of being outdoors in the wild. I was six years old, and went to that camp every summer for eight years.

I have a degree in Environment and Development from McGill University up in Montreal, and have recently received my certification in Mediation and Conflict management from Woodbury College.

Before coming to BOCES, I was working as a substitute teacher in elementary/middle schools in my area; even substituting for my mother a couple of times in her classroom! I have also worked at four Vermont State Parks, and loved it. I have several years’ experience in environmental education, at one point creating a program of my own for my town’s parks and recreation department.

I think the BOCES Center for Environmental Education is a phenomenal program, and I feel lucky to be a part of it, doing something I love, working with inspiring co-workers, and, best of all, the opportunity to teach what I have learned.

Rebekah Augustine
ENVIRONMENTAL INSTRUCTOR

Since college, I’ve been educating in the outdoors. I’ve taught at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in PA, at Nature Centers in Delaware and Philadelphia, at a residential environmental education center in Rhode Island, and most recently at Sprout Creek Farm outside Poughkeepsie. Now that I’ve come to Madden, I’m looking forward to the year ahead!

Hi, my name is Patti Pfister.  I joined BOCES and the Center for Environmental Education Program in May 2000.  As I begin my 8th year, I realize that many things have changed with our program over that time (the name, the logo & some staff members to name a few) But the one thing that always remains constant is the quality program and service we provide to the children of our region.

I am based at our Yorktown campus and I am available to answer any questions you may have regarding the program. I process all state aid reimbursement for Environmental field trips and in-school consultants, so please call me with any questions regarding the aid process and filling out the forms.

I have lived in Yorktown Heights for the past 22 years with my husband Tom and son Christopher. My family is complete with Griffen, our adorable 3 year old PBGV puppy.

As always, I look forward to the upcoming school year and working with our great team!!!     

Mary Charbonneau 
(pronounced “SHAR-buh-no”)
ENVIRONMENTAL INSTRUCTOR

Since completing my undergraduate degree in History, I have been fortunate to live and work across the country and also to serve overseas with the U.S. Army.  One of the most significant events in my life was going to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995 as part of the initial NATO peacekeeping force.  This experience eventually led me to a graduate degree in Political Science (International Relations), where I began to see the challenge of natural resources conservation on a global scale—particularly from a public policy perspective.

In 2005, I took a course about Aldo Leopold and his “Ethic for Wildlife and Land.”  I knew from that point on that I would always be working in some sort of environmental education role.  I am honored to be a part of P/NW BOCES for the 2007-2008 school year and I look forward to seeing you in one of our programs!