Scientific outreach permeates all aspects of Dr. Linda S. Rayor’s career. In 1998, Linda started an K-12 informal science education outreach program, the Naturalist Outreach Program which sends Cornell University undergraduate and graduate students into classrooms and community groups to talk about natural history, ecology, and conservation issues. She teaches an innovative interdisciplinary experiential seminar on how to do effective scientific outreach and organize biological outreach events, ‘Naturalist Outreach Practicum’ [Entomology 3350]. The course teaches college students to communicate science with passion and clarity in classrooms, museums, and outreach settings. To date, Dr. Rayor and 324 Cornell students have given over 2800 presentations and reached over 114,000 people. Her outreach program enhances science curricula in Central NY schools and increases engagement in science, while simultaneously inspiring a generation of engaged scientists with enthusiasm for scientific outreach as a form of civic engagement.
In association with NYS 4H/ Cornell Cooperative Extension and Dr. Carol Jennings of Park Media Lab at Ithaca College, Dr. Rayor has been producing interesting and gorgeous 3 to 12-min STEM videos based on the Naturalist Outreach student’s biology presentations that are posted on Youtube (search for naturalistoutreach). Recent topics include winter adaptations, pollination, arthropod predators, arachnid diversity, animal architecture, snakes, and plant defenses.
Linda initiated and been one of the a principle organizers for Cornell University’s Insectapalooza, an annual 1-day Insect Fair for the last 11 years. Insectapalooza attracts ~2,500 people, and is one of the largest science outreach events at Cornell.
Dr. Linda Rayor was one of two on-air scientists on the Discovery Science TV show ‘Monster Bug Wars’ for two seasons. Monster Bug Wars is a quality show about the behavior of predatory arthropods (Monster Bug Wars https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaL6Fn_Exyfe2tzBMI4cHVw). The shows can be viewed on Youtube where she recently discovered herself dubbed into Spanish and Polish. She is a popular lecturer on spider behavior around the country.
Dr. Rayor won the 2015 Animal Behavior Society career teaching award ‘Penny Bernstein Distinguished Teaching Award’ for sustained excellence in animal behavior instruction in Anchorage, Alaska. She also won the Entomology Society of America (Eastern Branch) Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016.
To learn more about Dr. Rayor:
2019. Sharing, Spreading and Supporting Science Is ‘Civic Activism,’ Professor Says. Cornell Daily Sun, 25 March 2019, by Deanna Gonzalez
https://cornellsun.com/2019/03/25/sharing-spreading-and-supporting-science-is-civic-activism-professor-says/
2018. What She Said Innovation Cafe – Women In Science & Technology Interview. ‘Social Spiders with Dr Linda Rayor – What She Said Interview’. https://soundcloud.com/whatshesaidtalk/social-spiders-with-dr-linda-rayor-what-she-said-interview?in=whatshesaidtalk/sets/tech-tuesdays-women-in-science
Linda Rayor discovers passion studying spiders: http://cornellsun.com/2016/02/24/cornell-ecologist-linda-rayor-discovers-passion-studying-spiders/
Sarah Fiorello
Sarah Fiorello ‘98 is the interpretation coordinator for Cornell Botanic Gardens. She is responsible for creating and updating their interpretive master plan as well as planning, writing, and coordinating the design and installation of all interpretive materials, such as outdoor signs, brochures, exhibits, self-guided tours, and more. Prior to joining the Cornell Botanic Gardens team in 2007, she spent nine year working for New York State Parks in the Finger Lakes Region, where she developed her love of interpretation though leading interpretive gorge hikes and family campground programs and training students to develop skills and excitement for interpretive programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in natural resources and a Master of Professional Studies in horticulture from Cornell University.
Lisa Kopp
Lisa Kopp is the Visitor Experience Manager for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Visitor Center. Lisa holds a Masters in Art History and Museum Studies from Georgetown University and has spent nearly two decades at the intersection of the visitor experience and education programming through positions at the Smithsonian, National Building Museum and National Geographic Museum. Most recently Lisa spearheaded the multi-million dollar renovation of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Visitor Center.
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