Dr. Bob Coulter
Director
Bob draws on 35 years of teaching experience to support Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC) programs which connect people to the natural world and build citizenship. He is also an active volunteer, meeting with students each week who participate in the regional Equations program sponsored by the Gifted Resource Council. He has written two books: No More Robots: Building Kids’ Character, Competence, and Sense of Place and Building Kids’ Citizenship Through Community Engagement, as well as a dozen chapters and more than 100 journal articles on teaching and learning. Before joining the Garden in 1998, Bob was an award-winning elementary science and mathematics teacher.
Leslie Memula
School Partnership Coordinator
Leslie joined the staff in June 2008. Prior to joining LREC, Leslie worked in the classroom as a middle school science teacher. Leslie received her B.A. in Biology from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and her M.A. in Education from Fontbonne University in St. Louis.
She enjoys collaborating with teachers to plan meaningful outdoor learning experiences for students of all ages. Leslie also appreciates working alongside the team of dedicated and talented volunteers at the ecology center.
Julie Radin
School Partnership Coordinator
Julie is excited to join the team at LREC after 29 years teaching kindergarten through second grade. As a teacher she always made outdoor education a priority, which led her to become an LREC teacher partner in 2015. As a partner, she met many enthusiastic outdoor educators, classroom teachers and volunteers who helped her learn new ways to build students’ excitement and help connect them with nature. Julie enjoyed planning place-based learning experiences at her school extending what her kindergartners learned at LREC, and is now looking forward to supporting teachers in creating similar experiences for their students. She is also excited to learn from and work with the amazing team of volunteers at LREC. Julie has a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree from Missouri Baptist University.
Susan Baron
AIP and Adult Programs Coordinator
Susan Baron joined the LREC staff in February of 2013. She coordinates the Advanced Inquiry Program, which is an online master’s degree program through Miami University with experiential learning at the Missouri Botanical Garden. She also has the pleasure of working with all the volunteers and interns who make the programs at Litzsinger possible.
Originally from Michigan, Susan has a B.A. in Sociology from Beloit College and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. In her free time, Susan enjoys gardening, taking walks, and exploring Forest Park.
Martha Schermann
Ecology Center Coordinator
In 1998 Martha Schermann began volunteering in the Horticulture and Education Divisions of the Missouri Botanical Garden and also became a Master Ecologist volunteer at Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. In December 1999 Martha was hired full time as Ecology Center Assistant at LREC. She is currently Ecology Center Coordinator, and she also serves on the Green Team committee of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Emma Crisman
Education Program Specialist
Emma joins the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center after working in youth programming in libraries and schools, and is passionate about engaging youth with the outdoors. Emma enjoys spending time in nature caring for community cats with St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach, hiking, and exploring local creeks. Emma graduated from the University of Denver with a B.A. in Psychology.
Adam Rembert
Supervisor, Ecological Restoration
Adam joined LREC in 2018 after working with the Shaw Nature Reserve volunteer restoration crew and with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development.
He also serves as a board member for the Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region and is an active member of Missouri Stream Team and several local plant societies.
Adam has a degree in Biology from Western Illinois University, with a focus on plant ecology and conservation. Outside of work, he enjoys backpacking, gardening at home, spending time with his cats, and volunteering on local stream cleanup and restoration projects.
Deanna Deterding
Restoration Coordinator
Deanna Deterding joined the LREC team in 2022. She became interested in restoring native habitats while she was researching plant and pollinator relationships at Shaw Nature Reserve during her undergrad at Maryville University. At LREC she will working to remove invasive species to support a thriving natural community for students and educators to learn from.
Deanna has a B.S. in Environmental Science from Maryville University and a M.S. in Biology with a focus in Ecology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In her free time Deanna volunteers with the Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves and Clifftop and also enjoys hiking, making pens, and hanging out with friends and family.
Caity Sims
Restoration Coordinator – Project Clear
Caity joined the LREC team in 2023. She will be working on habitat reconstruction after the Project Clear destruction to establish healthy and functional wildlife habitats for education and research.
She completed her B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Southeast Missouri State University in 2019. Soon after, she started as a summer intern at the LREC. During her internship, her passion and appreciation for native plants grew and encouraged her to pursue a career focused on botany. In 2023, she completed her M.S. in Biology at Arkansas State University where she conducted floras (vascular plant inventories), assessed plant diversity, and tracked the phenology of plants on Lower Mississippi River islands. In her free time, she enjoys cuddling her cat, Jackie, collecting houseplants, drawing, reading, and hanging out with friends.
Allison Azmy
Horticulture Programs Coordinator
Allison joined the LREC team in 2021. She will be focusing on plant propagation for schools, restoration, and landscaping as well as designing and maintaining the formal landscape areas found on site.
Allison was an intern with LREC in the spring and fall of 2019 and has done volunteer work at Shaw Nature Reserve in both horticulture and restoration. She has an A.S. in Horticulture from St. Louis Community College as well as a B.A. in Business Administration for Westminster College. In her free time she can be found outside hiking, camping, or working in the garden.
Jennifer Krause
Webmaster
A long-time employee of Missouri Botanical Garden, Jennifer started out developing hands-on science and math kits for teachers. Later she branched out into graphic design and web design projects for both the Garden and Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. Along with managing communications for LREC and being the LREC webmaster, Jennifer also works on the Garden’s main website.