Kerry Cook

B.S. Wilderness Ecology, M.A. Environmental Interpretation
My passion for the natural world developed when I was a young child growing up in Boulder, Colorado. My parents took me fishing, camping, hiking and encouraged me to build deep connections with the natural world. In my twenties, I moved to Washington state to pursue a degree in wilderness ecology. In my senior year I did an internship and worked as a park ranger at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northern Arizona. I did field work on the plant ecology and mycology of the canyon, and on southwest raptor ornithology. I spent many years traveling the country working for the National Parks, from Cape Cod to Guam. I also worked at numerous USFWS, USFS, and state park sites creating museum exhibits and writing environmental education curriculums.
My career path has combined my love of nature, art, and environmental education. I worked as a nature guide on Maui and worked for Hawaii Volcanoes, Haleakala, and the USS Arizona Memorial doing museum curation work, developing high school science curriculums, and designing interactive museum exhibits. I moved to Alaska in 2011 to pursue my master’s degree in environmental interpretation. This field of study combines the science of ecology with the use of graphic design and multi-media to interpret science and the natural world for the public. After completing my degree, I moved back to Colorado, finally landing in Summit County. Since 2018 I have been working as an adjunct professor at Colorado Mountain College, teaching ecology, sustainability, and conservation biology. It is a job that weaves together all of my passions in an extraordinary way!
It is immensely rewarding to be teaching the vitally important sciences of ecology and conservation biology and to share my deep passion for the natural world with my students. My goal is to build deeper connections with the Rocky Mountains and Colorado’s amazing and diverse natural habitats. I also aim to encourage activism and hands-on involvement with conservation and sustainability issues in our community.