Caroline Alexander Lewis

12915 SW 83 Ct Miami FL 33156
305-431-4942
Caroline@CLEOInstitute.org
www.CLEOInstitute.org

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EDUCATION

• M.S. Barry University, Miami, Florida - Educational Leadership M.S. 1999
• B.Ed. University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada -Teacher Certification: Science, Env Sci B.Ed. 1980
• B.Sc. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - Biology (major), Chemistry, French (minors) B.Sc. 1979

EMPLOYMENT

EDUCATION STRATEGIST, THE CLEO INSTITUTE, Miami, FL - Founder and Director 2010- on-going
• Focusing on teaching, school climate, environmental literacy and civic engagement.
• Building leadership, innovation, education and engagement capacity in individuals and institutions.
• Designing and shaping creative, collaborative programs to increase outreach to diverse audiences.
• Delivering keynote addresses, workshops and presentations - locally, nationally and internationally.
• Implementing and expanding the CLEO Project to amplify public engagement on climate change issues.

FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN, Coral Gables, FL – Director of Education 2003- 2010
• Directed the education department’s staff, budgets, goals and programs engaging more than 70,000 K-12 students, thousands of teachers, and hundreds of volunteers and adult learners.
• Significantly expanded outreach to hundreds of middle and high schools, engaging diverse audiences.
• Refined, shaped and expanded the Fairchild Challenge as an effective, replicable program model, linking public gardens, school and communities in interdisciplinary environmental education.
• Lead Fairchild Challenge workshops for potential satellite sites, training educators from 46 institutions, nationally and internationally, to model this transformative, scalable, and replicable program.
• Collaborated with diverse institutions, foundations, colleges, universities, and community organizations
• Spearheaded diverse fundraising efforts to support and expand programs; partnered with scientists on several NSF grants, disseminating information, challenges and findings as per Broader Impacts.
• Fundraised for and managed an annual budget of $1.2 million and supervised a staff of 21.
• Delivered keynote addresses and presentations to local, national and international audiences on the importance of environmental education and the use of creative interdisciplinary strategies.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, FL - Education Outreach Coordinator 2002-2003
• Created and launched the Fairchild Challenge program that engaged, initially, high school students and teachers in a variety of creative, competitive interdisciplinary challenge options to promote and provoke environmental awareness, scholarship and stewardship.
• Program Director: Green Treasures, a four-year intergenerational ethnobotany program funded by HHMI. Managed all grant requirements, budget analysis, reports, evaluation, etc.

RANSOM EVERGLADES SCHOOL, Miami, FL – Director/Principal of the Upper School 1999-2002

• Directed the 9th-12th grade college preparatory program for 540 students and 75 faculty and staff.
• Led the administrative team of Dean of Students, College Counselors, Director of Student
Activities, Guidance Counselors and Athletic Director; supervised the technology committee.
• Monitored and approved the overall budget and the instructional and capital budgets for academic departments, arts, counseling, student activities, testing, professional development, etc.
• Implemented a leadership workshop pre-requisite for all students interested in running for office
• Continued to teach semester electives, Animal Behavior and Bioethics to 11th and 12th Graders.
• Promoted teacher professional development, evaluations and self-evaluations.

RANSOM EVERGLADES SCHOOL, FL – Academic Dean/Science Teacher 1991-1999

• Served as Academic Dean for the ninth, tenth and then eleventh grade classes
• Created the curriculum for and taught Biology, Animal Behavior and BioEthics (Grades 9-12).
• Founded the Ransom Everglades Children’s Center in 1992, an on campus day-care facility

RENNER REALTY, INC., Miami, FL – Residential Real Estate Agent and Office Manager 1989-1991
FIELDSTON ETHICAL CULTURE SCHOOL, Riverdale, NY – Science Teacher 1988-1989
EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL through Europe, India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, 1987-1988
Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
TRINITY SCHOOL, New York, New York – Science Teacher, Form Master/Dean 1985-1987
RANSOM EVERGLADES SCHOOL, Miami, FL – Science Teacher, coach 1982-1985
HOLY NAME CONVENT SCHOOL, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – Science Teacher 1980-1982

PRESENTATIONS

• 2012 Florida Attractions Association Annual Conference, Miami, FL. Education Outreach: Designing Creative Programs and Meeting State Standards - Panelist
• 2012 Broward County Climate Change Task Force Meeting, Plantation, FL. Outreach and Public Engagement: The CLEO Project - Presenter
• 2012 Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL – Hydrology of the Everglades in the Context of Climate Change. Research to Outreach: Important Considerations from the CLEO Institute - Presenter
• 2012 White House Summit on Women & the Environment, Washington, DC. Conversation on Policy Issues Important to Women - Invited Guest
• 2011 and 2012 Empowering Capable Climate Communicators Workshop Training Series, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Effective Climate Change Communication - Presenter
• 2011 Conference, Florida Council of Independent Schools, Weston, FL. On Motivating and Inspiring Teachers – Speaker
• 2011 Faculty Professional Development, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL – The Power of Teaching - Keynote
• 2011 Longwood’s Garden Educators’ Forum, Newark, DE. Work Smarter, Not Harder: How to analyze, evaluate, collapse, combine, collaborate on, and celebrate our programs and initiatives - Keynote and Forum moderator
• 2011 APGA conference, Philadelphia, PA. Leadership in Action: Showcasing strategy-sharing by visionary leaders who are expanding how gardens define their capacity – Panel Convener and Moderator
• 2011 Communicating Science Workshop, La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Casting wider nets: creating dynamic engagement models to reach broader audiences - Presenter
• 2011 Empowering Capable Climate Communicators Training Series, University of Miami. Effective Climate Change Communication - Presenter and Panelist
• 2011 Golden Lion Tamarin Festival. DuMond Conservancy, Miami, FL. Youth as solution-oriented stewards - Keynote
• 2010 Faculty Professional Development, M-DCPS, Miami, FL. The Power of Teaching - Keynote
• 2010 Tachila Nature Reserve Fundraising Gala, Gabarone, Botswana. The Power of Education - Keynote
• 2009 BGCI’s 7th Annual International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens, Durban South Africa. The New Mandate for Public Gardens’ Education Programs - Keynote
• 2009 NSTA Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA. Engaging Diverse Learners in Science - Presenter
• 2008 Florida AMA Conference, 2008, Miami, FL. Linking Museums, Schools, Communities - Presenter
• 2008 Miami-Dade County Public Schools – Professional Development Workshop, Miami, FL. Teaching as an Interpersonal Process - Presenter
• 2007 APGA conference, Washington, DC. The Fairchild Challenge: Engaging Teenagers - Presenter
• 2007 Science Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet, Coconut Grove, FL. The Power of Teaching - Keynote
• 2007 BGCI’s 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress, Wuhan, China. How Botanic Gardens can effectively address Target 14 of the GSPC: The Fairchild Challenge as a Model - Presenter
• 2006 NAAEE 35th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN. An interdisciplinary approach to Env Education - Presenter
• 2006 BGCI’s 6th Annual International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens Oxford, England. The Fairchild Challenge: Linking public gardens, schools and communities - Presenter
• 2006 American Horticultural Society, National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, St. Louis, MO. Celebrating and Empowering Today’s Youth as Gateways to Communities - Keynote
• 2006 Longwood Gardens Graduate Symposium, “Public Horticulture Matters.” Newark, DE. Linking Public Gardens, Schools, and Communities - Keynote
• 2006 Environmental Education Providers of Miami-Dade County‘s Educators Forum. Miami, FL. The Value of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Environmental Education - Keynote
• 2006 Smithsonian Institute Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring in South Florida. Miami, FL. Novel Approaches to Conservation Education - Presenter

PUBLICATIONS
“Reversing Teenagers’ Disconnect from Nature.” Plant Science, The Botanical Society of America. Vol. 55, No. 3 (Fall 2009): 113-117.
“Your Nature Deficit Disorder ”, Education.com, 2009
“The Fairchild Challenge: Engaging Teenagers, Schools, and Communities.” Roots BGCI Education Review. Vol. 3 Nov. 2, 2006.
“The Latest in Evaluation - Youth Programs: The Fairchild Challenge” Public Garden, the Journal of AABGA Vol. 19 No 2, 2004.

APPOINTMENTS, COMMITTEES, CONFERENCES

• Education Strategist in Residence, Pinecrest Gardens, Pinecrest, FL 2011-on-going
• NSF RCN’s Tropical Forests in a Changing World: Education and Communication Network 2009-on-going
• American Public Garden Association – Board of Directors, Wilmington, DE 2008-on-going
• Maritime and Science Technology (MAST) Academy – Advisory Council, Miami, FL 2006-on-going
• Climate Literacy Network, Consortium of Scientists and Educators 2010-on-going
• National Academy of Sciences, Round Table: Public Understanding of Climate Change, Washington DC 2010
• Miami Dade County Public Schools Executive Board – Science Curriculum and Instruction, Miami, FL 2007-2009
• Conservation Fund Advisory Panel for the National Forum on Children and Nature, DC 2006-2009
• American Horticultural Society – Board of Directors, Alexandria, VA 2006-2010
• Miami-Dade County Community Image Advisory Board (CIAB), FL 2006-2009
• Miami Dade County Public Schools Science Fair Advisory Board, Miami FL 2005-2009
• CICLOS- and ECOS-NSF funded programs: Collaborator with international scientists studying and explaining the effect of temperature change on carbon, nutrient and water cycles in rainforests, Costa Rica 2004-2008
• NSF Citizen’s Science Toolkit Workshop Advisor, Cornell University, NY 2007
• Miami Dade College, North Campus. Focus Group - USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions Ed Grant Program, FL 2006
• US Botanic Garden Partnership for Plant Based Learning Congress, DC 2004
• United States Coalition for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, NY 2004



Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
~ William Butler Yeats ~