Meet Our Team

Our Founder and Executive Director Lisa spent her early childhood roaming the foothills of Los Angeles, climbing backyard fruit trees, and hunting for ants in her family’s garden. She comes from a long line of farmers and naturalists but only rediscovered her love of birds, insects, and trees as an early educator. Before launching the Acorn School in 2023, she spent a decade in Reggio-inspired and DCPS schools teaching children ages two to five. She holds an MA in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Certificate in Early Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is also a certified Pollinator Stewart and Master Naturalist. She has spent many hours hiking, camping, and exploring with her husband and two children, and is a novice beekeeper, amateur photographer, obsessive gardener, and avid collector of natural specimens.​

Leddy is originally from Charleston, South Carolina and spent his childhood going to the beach and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He currently attends the George Washington University, double majoring in Public Health and Women’s and Gender Studies. After graduating, he plans to pursue an MPH in Maternal and Child Health. Leddy loves working with children, especially in the realms of outdoor access and food justice. He has previously worked as a summer camp counselor, a classroom assistant, and a youth mentor at an urban garden. He also enjoys playing guitar, doing arts and crafts, and going to vintage markets. This summer, he is looking forward to fostering kids’ connections to the natural world and to each other.

Katherine is a mom of two and an early childhood educator. After spending a decade in pre-k classrooms in Washington, DC, she shifted to a chapter of adventuring with her little family. With a passion for child development and Masters in education and literacy instruction, Katherine loves to find places with her kids that encourage and inspire creativity, imagination, challenge, and exploration. She feels deeply that even the smallest outdoor adventures can yield the biggest benefits. Her favorite spots for learning experiences are nature centers, libraries and cozy cafes.

Haley loves to climb every boulder, catch every frog, and play every game she sees! She has a background in Anthropology and years of experience Teaching English as a Second Language and after school program coordinating.

Instructor José, an Ecuadorian environmental conservationist with 13 years of experience, has dedicated his career to protecting natural spaces and fostering connections between people and nature. His expertise spans environmental interpretation, protected area management, and conservation project development, with a particular emphasis on integrating Indigenous communities in preservation efforts. Before relocating to the United States, José served as manager of Yasuni National Park, Ecuador’s second-largest national park in the Amazon, renowned as one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. He holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree in environmental Conservation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied the intersection of social and humanitarian sciences to address environmental challenges. José has collaborated with governments and leading NGOs—including Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International (CI), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—to develop conservation initiatives rooted in community engagement. Currently, he works as an environmental interpreter for Montgomery Parks, MD, leading nature programs and camping workshops for children and adults. Through environmental interpretation, José combines his passion for illustrating nature with conservation education, using nature journals as a tool to inspire curiosity, artistic expression, and a deeper connection to the land.

Instructor Toshima grew up as part of a large family with deep roots in Arnold, Maryland on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. She loved spending time climbing trees, imagining immaculate kingdoms in woodlands, and playing with tadpoles in the streams of her community. Her fascination with nature led her to study Biology at Morgan State University. Her journey working with youth also started at Morgan, as she began tutoring elementary aged youth. She worked in biology and chemistry labs after graduation, then went fully into education as a Teachers Assistant, Certified Science Teacher, and Afterschool STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math), Jewelry Making and Art Instructor. Toshima is Co-Founder, a Sound Healer and a Hike Guide with WOCO (Women of Color Outdoors) Hike and Sound Healing where exploration and connection to nature in community takes center stage. She has learned Social Emotional Learning practices, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Positive Behavioral Strategies and other modalities that help her to create safe spaces for people of all ages to profoundly explore themselves and the world around them.

Instructor Abby is a Virginia native who recently spent five years in Atlanta pursuing videography and environmental work. Her interest in the outdoors—and more specifically, environmental justice—sparked while she was creating a video about the climate strikes in Washington, DC. After completing a B.A. in Film and Media from Emory University, Abby jumped into environmental education. Her most recent endeavor involved teaching high school students about the environment while maintaining trails and preserving wildlife habitats at Arabia Mountain in Georgia. Abby is passionate about gardening, birding, and all things animals, especially dogs and cats! In her free time, she volunteers at local gardens and animal shelters. She also enjoys playing outdoor sports with her friends, including basketball and flag football. Abby spent so much of her childhood climbing up trees that she convinced her father to help build a treehouse for her and her siblings. As the eldest daughter of six, family is incredibly important to her. She wants to help create a healthier planet for her younger siblings and the children of today.

Sophia is a rising senior and psychology major at Fordham University. She grew up on Capitol Hill after spending the first five years of her life on a houseboat in Southwest D.C. Sophia believes nothing is more peaceful than being on the water and loves boating, swimming, snorkeling, hiking, and anything that involves being outside and experiencing nature. One of her favorite things is to camp at Assateague national seashore, where horses run wild! Despite her love of nature, Sophia is a city girl at heart and enjoys exploring in her hometown of Washington, D.C., as well as in her adopted hometown of the Bronx.