Meet our staff

Henryk Teraszkiewicz - Executive Director -

Henryk Teraszkiewicz has been the Executive Director of WNC since 2004, having been promoted from his four year position as Curriculum Director and Summer Camp Director.  Henryk did his undergraduate work in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Natural Resources at Binghamton University, after which he continued his post graduate studies in glacial geology at UCONN, Storrs, while working as a naturalist at Teatown Lake Reservation and Environmental Education Center in Ossining, NY and Director of Nature Studies at Camp Kiwi in Mahopac, NY.  Previous to his employment at WNC, Henryk was the Assistant Director of The Nature of Things, an outreach based environmental education program in North Salem, NY.  Originally a geologist, Henryk discovered his love for teaching at his first summer camp position, where he also discovered his wife, with whom he now has a family that lives in a 1795 colonial farmhouse, barn, and apple orchard in Newtown, CT.

Since joining WNC, Henryk has had the pleasure of presiding over the organization’s largest growth since its inception in 1972.  Compared to the 22 classes that were taught in 1999, the 250 plus classes that are currently taught speak to the fantastic growth of the environmental education initiative at WNC, an initiative centered on re-introducing children and their families to the nature that surrounds them.  A believer in the “No Child Left Inside” movement, Henryk has sought to grow WNC as an area leader in inquiry based, experiential outdoor learning through the Junior Naturalist and Adventure Camp summer programs; school, scout, and public programming; and most recently, the creation of WNC’s very own nature based preschool program, Natural Worlds Preschool.  Having increased and renovated some of the teaching facilities at the Center, Henryk’s next challenge is aimed at furthering recreation and education opportunities at WNC through the creation of the Floating Boardwalk Project, an expansion of the center’s trail system through multiple low impact floating boardwalks.  The new system would double the size of WNC’s trails, as well as giving limited access to some of the most interesting environments within the preserve.

Allison Ericson - Senior Naturalist; Curriculum Coordinator; Summer Camp Director / Waterfront Director

Allison, a native of Georgia, majored in Biology at Georgia Tech.  Before moving up north and joining the WNC in 2004, she taught high school science for three years and was honored as Teacher of the Year.  Allison then worked at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Atlanta as a camp counselor, and was promoted to full-time Naturalist, and later to School Programs Manager.  As Woodcock Nature Center has grown through the years, Allison’s roles have included office manager, naturalist, assistant camp director and animal care coordinator. Currently, during the school year Allison researches, develops and teaches educational programs for the Nature Center.  She is the coordinator for Woodcock’s special events, such as the Wreath Festival and Un-Haunted Halloween Hike. During the summer, she is the Summer Camp Director, hiring and mentoring the camp counselors, and coordinating the curriculum that sets WNC apart from other local camps. She recently received certification in canoeing and lifesaving and during summer camp acts as the Waterfront Director.

Sarah Breznen - staff naturalist, assistant camp director

Sarah Breznen is the newest addition to Woodcock Nature Center. She recently graduated Cum Laude from SUNY Purchase with a degree in Environmental Studies, along with a minor degree in oil painting. Throughout her undergraduate study she was interested in the overlap and influence of sciences within the arts, and based her thesis on exploring the importance of fine arts in environmental awareness. Her own artwork can be seen here at the Nature Center, in the brightly painted cedar trees suspended from the ceiling as you enter, and the enthusiastic birch trees along the brick wall in the Exotic Animals room, as well as native bird portraits peeking out in the Pre-school classroom. She is excited to have the Nature Center as a constant source of inspiration for future artwork. In the past five years, Sarah has been active in many research and volunteer programs, both local and abroad. She has studied and monitored the population growth of the invasive Asian shore crab along Long Island Sound and its impacts on the native Green Crab. She has traveled to Croatia to volunteer in the reintroduction and rehabilitation of the endangered Eurasion Griffon vulture along the coasts and islands of the Adriatic Sea. For the past 3 years she has assisted in teaching the Human Ecology course offered at SUNY Purchase which explores the reciprocal relationships between society, culture and the environment throughout human history. Most recently, she traveled with her mom to the north-eastern coast of Scotland to volunteer in researching the social behavior among bottlenose dolphins, using photography and dorsal fin markings to identify individuals and keep track of their distribution.

Julie Henderson - Operations Coordinator

Julie Henderson has been at Woodcock Nature Center since 2006 after 12 years of public school teaching. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Albright College where she majored in English and Psychology and Brown University where she earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching. She lives with her family in Ridgefield in a solar powered house, and is active in the community through the schools and other organizations. She loves hiking, animals of all kinds, cooking, and traveling. Her role at WNC is that of operations coordinator, where she handles program scheduling, billing, camp registration and the day to day operations that go hand in hand with a small nature center: being  outside in the rain, the snow, the ice, the dark….

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