Staff Directory

Dr. McFarland serves as the Director/Principal of Outdoor Environmental Education for Waskowitz Outdoor Programs since 1997. An innovator and educational entrepreneur she leads her staff in developing programs that motivate students to find the ‘magic’ by engaging on a diversity journey of people and nature. Her favorite place at Waskowitz is finding a warm rock by the south fork of the Snoqualmie River near the campfire amphitheater.

Roberta served for 35 years as a residential outdoor environmental educator. Starting in a tent with students and currently in an office with a fireplace. College degrees from the east coast (Springfield College) to the west coast (City University of Seattle) and several in-between (Sam Houston and Stephen F Austin). Educational Doctorate in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  Proudly admits to being a naturalized Northwesterner as a coffee aficionado and hiking enthusiast. Her career started with the Houston TX Outdoor Education Center programs in 1979; however, some argue she started year one- as the youngest staff at the Boy Scout Camp Mohican. 

Email: roberta.mcfarland@highlineschools.org

Meredith von Trapp received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Education from Western Washington University in 2000. She then worked a variety of jobs in the field like SCA volunteer Ranger in Katmai National Park and Waskowitz Naturalist! After working as a Naturalist she earned her Master’s in Teaching from City University in Bellevue. For the next ten years, she taught 5^th grade at North Bend Elementary and infused her passion for the environment by creating and facilitating staff and student green teams, taking her students on walking field trips to the Snoqualmie River and leading the 5^th graders on their annual trip to outdoor school. She has returned to Waskowitz as a National Board Certified Teacher to support teachers in their magical journey helping students explore the diversity of people and nature. She hopes to inspire students to be life-long learners and responsible stewards of their community and the planet as a whole. In her spare time, she can be found exploring the forest with her family, baking or reading a good book!

Email: meredith.vontrapp@highlineschools.org

April Roe's passion for clean water and healthy ecosystems led her to earn a bachelor of science degree in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State. After graduation, she moved to Washington to accept an AmeriCorps position with Thurston County Stream Team. Immediately falling in love with the Pacific Northwest, she enjoyed spending her days outside with inquisitive students and volunteers. April continued her career as the Education Director for Nisqually Reach Nature Center. She discovered an affinity for residential outdoor programming while developing summer camps. She is ecstatic to now work at a facility dedicated to residential outdoor education and embraces the abundant magic nature provides for all.

Email: April.Roe@highlineschools.org

Jacob has worked in the and Outdoor Education field since 2011, and earned his M.Ed in Environmental Education from WWU in 2013.  He has instructed and coordinated for a wide range of programs, and has helped bring the natural world into focus for all sorts of people, from the Eastern Washington shrub-steppe, to the chaparral and coastal environments of Southern California, to the temperate rain forests of Western Washington. He loves working in a field that can offer equal appeal to almost everyone, regardless of age, background, or ability.

Email: jacob.belsher@highlineschools.org

Tyler was born and raised in Texas, as a child he connected with nature by playing outdoor games and going on adventures with family and friends.  Tyler discovered his passion for education while attending Texas Tech University for Wildlife Biology.  He has worked as an educator at a wildlife rehabilitation center, science museum, and multiple outdoor schools around the country.  Before Waskowitz he was the Lead Teacher Naturalist at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.  He is excited to coordinate with the Waskowitz Environmental Leadership and Service (WELS) program and to support our students' leadership goals. Tyler enjoys backpacking, ice hockey, board games, cooking, and birding.

Email: Tyler.Gonzales@highlineschools.org

Aziza earned her degrees in Sociology and Political Science in 2019 from Pacific Lutheran University. She is dedicated to using speculative fiction to innovated within communities of color, particularly in education. Diving into the magic of the outdoors alongside students is Aziza's favorite part of the job, as she was once a sixth grader at Camp Waskowitz. Returning to Waskowitz, she aims to utilize her skills as a sociologist and an organizer to uplift the Waskowitz missions of exploring the diversity of people and nature.

Email: aziza.ahmed@highlineschools.org

Codi was born and raised in Michigan but moved to Washington state in 2010, where he attended and graduated from Vashon Island High school. n 2014 he came up to Waskowitz as a high school leader which opened him up to the world of outdoor education and leadership. Since then he has been a part of many of the programs Waskowitz has to offer such as college intern, leadership staff, LIT camp, and summer celebration to name a few. With this newfound love for bringing others outdoors and showing the amazing things nature has to offer he attended Colorado Mountain College in Leadville Colorado where he earned degrees in Outdoor Recreation Leadership, and Outdoor Education. While in Colorado he learned to backpack in the mountains, canyoner, and sea kayak which he still enjoys doing today.

Email: Codi.Williams@highlineschools.org

Eldridge grew up moving around south Seattle, WA. He graduated from Highline Big Picture High School in 2017. The first time he ever came to Waskowitz, he participated in the first ever credit retrieval camp for tenth graders. Since then, Waskowitz has been a large part of his life; helping him learn how to navigate the world of education to better his mentoring skills. Programs he has actively done include ROOTS, Literacy Camp, Summer Celebration, Training Weekends, and fundraising for the Waskowitz Foundation. These experiences, and many more, have cultivated his belief in embodying a lifelong learner. This, along with a love for nature and community, is what he hopes to pass on to the variety of students that come to Waskowitz. Eldridge enjoys spending time with loved ones, reading, creating artwork, and gaming in the hours that he’s not exploring nature. 

Email: eldridge.lilecole@highlineschools.org

 Lizbeth has been apart of Waskowitz since she started as a high school leader in Fall 2012. She was a WELS student her Junior/Senior year and is a proud alumnus of the first WELS Puget Sound High School graduating class of 2015. Lizbeth has served in multiple programs throughout and after high school whether that's volunteering, leadership staff, mentorship through ROOTS programs, and Waskowitz Summer Celebration support. Since high school, she has been very appreciative of the outdoors and the importance of social and emotional learning. Lizbeth's thrilled to be apart of the full Waskowitz team to continue expanding her knowledge, experience, and magic to make this place special for every student as it is for her.

Email: Lizbeth.Perez-Valdez@highlineschools.org