Staff Spotlight: Taylor Franklin (Instructional Guide)

I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and while growing up in Georgia, I developed a love for animals and playing outside. I studied animal science at Tuskegee University in Alabama, earning my bachelor's degree there in 2018. The following fall, I began my graduate studies just up the road at Auburn University. There, I focused my studies on the human dimensions of natural resources, earning a master's degree in natural resources in 2020. As the Educational Outreach Specialist for the Kiawah Conservancy, I coordinated and facilitated educational opportunities for adults as well as children. In my positions at the Ruth Mott Foundation and For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, I have had the pleasure of doing the same work in the Flint community. As an educator at the Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium, I enjoyed teaching children science and social studies and guiding them to their light bulb moment! I look forward to the opportunity the Johnson Nature Center has given me to return to outdoor education!