Maura has been an Environmental Educator with The Conservation Foundation for ten years. She brings a broad background of educational experience to the organization, and a passion for serving individuals with diverse learning needs.

For five years Maura worked as Naturalist at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center where she designed and taught nature programs for all ages. She led community volunteers on monthly restoration workdays, adding to the native plant biodiversity of the 67-acre site. Maura was awarded the City of Elgin Sustainability Honor Roll Award in 2017.

She earned her Interpretive Naturalist Certificate from The Morton Arboretum where she worked as a Naturalist Guide leading school programs from preschool through grade 12. She volunteered as a frog monitor and continues as a volunteer for the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring network at the Morton Arboretum.

Maura holds degrees from UC Berkeley in Development Studies, and a M.S. Ed. from Northern Illinois University in Special Education, K-12. Maura is a National Association of Interpretation Certified Interpretive Guide.

Currently Maura lives in Lisle with her husband, David. When Maura is not working, she enjoys hiking, and birding.