Terri Siegenthaler, El Ranchito Executive Director

As Executive Director of El Ranchito, Terri Siegenthaler supervises and facilitates camp operations.  She also manages all aspects of preparation, set-up and take-down of the camp, with the help of camp staff and many volunteers.

Terri has more than 30 years experience sharing nature with people of all ages.  She worked with Youth Conservation Corps summer camps in national parks and national forests.  She has developed and managed conservation and education programs in parks and preserves for local non-profits and Travis County, and has camped and backpacked extensively.

Terri's work as Ranch Steward with the Shield Ranch since 2000 includes program development and administration, land management, ecological inventory and monitoring, endangered species monitoring and habitat management, trail design and construction, prescribed burning, and youth and educational programming.  She has worked closely with the ranch owners and our camp partners Westcave Preserve and El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission to realize the visions of this nature-immersion camp for youth.

Suzette Ermler, Nature Discovery Camp Director 2011

Suzette loves the wonder of children and has especially enjoyed working the last 8 years in Austin with immigrant families.  She also works with Austin Youth River Watch, a non-profit celebrating 20 years of sharing environmental education with Austin's high school youth.  She believes that children have much to teach others, and hopes to give back all the gifts taught to her by others.  She teaches Spanish to pre-school age children with the Overton Group in Austin.

Suzette grew up between the bayous of Houston, TX and SW Louisiana, and also embraces her South Texas German roots.  She has enjoyed the complexity of Texas history taught to her by her dad, and loves Elms, Oaks and Pines with equanimity.  Her mom, and Cajun aunt and uncle, taught her to listen to the melodic songs of birds and she feels lucky to live  in the greatest birding spot on Earth.  She has a kayak named "Blue" and believes there is no better birding than from a tranquil float on the water (prefereably the TX Colorado River).

Suzette earned a degree in Latin American Studies at Smith College, and lived several years at the Catholic Worker in New York City.  There she learned to cook and live with others in a house of hospitality.  She embraces non-violence and reconciliation as the most important philosophies in life.  She has also travelled through Latin American and Spain, and can't wait to sleep under the stars at El Ranchito this summer.

Jody Karr-Silaski, Conservation Corps Director 2009 - 2011

Jody enjoys the incredible transformation that happens during the Conservation Corps camp as the Corps members get tuned into the natural world around them, and learn to trust in one another,and in their own strength, to get the work done.

Jody's full-time job is Education Director for Westcave Preserve.  From helping young people find creative avenues of self-expression through her work with Red Salmon Arts (a non-profit literary arts program in Austin), to teaching kayaking and caving through Lake Buchanan Adventures, she has been a passionate advocate for getting kids out into the natural environment.  She has walked many trails backpacking her way through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and has been an avid kayaker for over 15 years.

Jody earned a Bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Prescott College, and a Master's degree in Human Services (specializing in conflict resolution) from St. Edward's University.  She is a certified mediator, and through her work with Conflict Resolution Catalysts, a non-profit international organization promoting the use of non-violent conflict resolution processes, she also co-facilitated workshops at the The Hague Appeal for Peace, an international conference focusing on resolving conflict and creating a culture of peace.

Dianne Folkerth, Registration Director 2009 - 2011

Dianne works with families, community groups, schools, and the public to recruit and register campers for El Ranchito.  She works closely with each family to guide them through the application process and help them prepare for their child's time at camp.

Dianne enjoys finding ways to spark the imaginations of young people about the wonders of science and nature.  For more than 15 years she has workedon behalf of children and the environment.  She has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, a bilingual elementary teacher, a museum educator, and an environmental education program director.  As the first Camp Director for El Ranchito in 2007, Dianne helped develop the programs and policies that lay the foundation for future years of camp.

Dianne has a Bachelor's degree in Museum Science/Wildlife and Fisheries from Texas A&M University and graduate credit in Bilingual/ESL from Texas Women's University.  She has backpacked, camped, and hiked through much of South America and the American Southwest.  She is a freelance educational writer, an avid photographer, and gardener, and spends much of her time sharing nature with her young son.