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Meet the Team! |
Conservation Tales is produced by a diverse team of students and faculty as an Immersive Learning program at Ball State University. The project started in 2016 as a very small team, but continues to grow as we expand the series!
Meet the members of the team on this page! Each "series" in the project has included a variety of illustrators, designers, educators, photographers and scientists, so you can check out each group below!
You can learn more about each of us by clicking the icons linking to social media, websites and email.
You can also see our growing list of content consultants, sponsors and conservation partners, as well!
Meet the members of the team on this page! Each "series" in the project has included a variety of illustrators, designers, educators, photographers and scientists, so you can check out each group below!
You can learn more about each of us by clicking the icons linking to social media, websites and email.
You can also see our growing list of content consultants, sponsors and conservation partners, as well!
Faculty Mentors
Conservation Tales is written by Tom J. McConnell, associate professor of Science Education in the Department of Biology, Ball State University. Dr. McConnell's teaching and research interests focus on inquiry science teaching. He has a lifelong interest in ecology and the environment. He created the Conservation Tales series to share stories of conservation with young readers to help them lean how they can help through local action.
To contact Dr. McConnell or learn more about his work, click one of the icons below.
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Barbara Giorgio Booher, MFA, is the Art Director for the Conservation Tales books. She teaches courses in drawing and Foundations of Art, and supervises the artistic team for the project. Her artistic endeavors feature a wide range of media, including printmaking, glass, and more. She has collaborated with the science community for other creative STEAM projects.
To contact Barb or learn more about her work, click one of the icons below.
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The Midwest Series Team
The Midwest Series includes The Cerulean Warbler, Bats, Bees and Salamanders. These four books were the beginning of the Conservation Tales project, and were developed in 2016 and 2017. Come meet the group that started the project!
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The Gulf Coast Series Team
The Gulf Coast Series is a set of three books, Manatees, Seahorses, and Sea Turtles. These books are the result of an expanded team in 2018, and travel to the Gulf Coast of Florida to work with researchers in two locations. Find out more about this team, click the logo at the left.
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The Africa Series Team
The Africa Series is the latest in the series, with just two books... so far! Elephants and Giraffes were produced in 2019 with help from the Indianapolis Zoo and some researchers in Tanzania. Meet the talented team who created the books!
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The Junior Series Team
In 2018, a small team of early childhood educators create two "Junior" versions of previous books. These books are revised for a younger audience, pre-K through 2nd grade. Meet the team that developed this experiment that has been well-received!
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Olivia Peterson is a Ball State animation student, and has a passion for life in the sea. She helped illustrate the Seahorse book, and hopes to continue with the team on future books as well. |
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Kendra Schemmel has just completed her degree in Visual Communications from Ball State University's, graduating Magna Cum Lauda. She is the graphic designer for the Sea Turtle book. She is also creating promotional materials, educational activities, and a marketing plan for Conservation Tales. |
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Shelby Stallard is an Early Childhood Education Major at Ball State University. She is the Education specialist for the Manatee book. Shelby has grown up on the water her whole life and is so excited to share her knowledge and passions of marine life and children with the rest of the Conservation Tales team. |
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Rebecca Tripp is an Elementary Education Major with a Reading Concentration. She is the Education consultant on the Sea Turtles book. Rebecca has a passion for animal conservation and children and she is so excited to be a part of the Conservation Tales family! |
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Julie Xiao is an illustrator for the Sea Turtle book, and joined the team at the beginning of Spring 2018. She is an Animation major working to get her BFA at Ball State University, and specializes in animation and illustration. Julie takes on freelance work and is currently working on some independent projects.
To see more of Julie's work or to contact her, click one of the icons below.
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Megan Reneker is an Elementary Educator major. Megan helps develop and lead outreach activities and has contributed to the planning of the Elephant and Giraffe books. She is also revising the Salamander book to help start the "Conservation Tales Junior" series for primary grade children. Megan brings an interest in education about the environment and has taken part in some international travel to support education and service missions. |
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Alaina Page is an Early Childhood Education major with a Special Education concentration. She works on the team to develop and facilitate outreach activities and begin the planning of the Giraffe and Elephant books. She has been working on a new experiment in the series, "Conservation Tales Junior: Bats," for primary grade children. Alaina also has a minor in Natural Resources and Environmental Management and has lived in Panama where she helped develop sustainable farming practices.
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Jessica Bockover studies Elementary Education and Special Education. She helps to develop outreach programs and leads education activities with the Conservation Tales Team. She also has been helping to develop the Conservation Tales Junior volume about Bees. Jessica has a strong interest in animals and environmental issues.
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Jacob Agnew is an Animation major who will help develop characters for the Elephants and Giraffes books.
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Alyssa Bloom is a Special Education student at Ball State University, and will help write the stories and activities for the Elephants and Giraffes books.
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Alicia Braun is a graphic designer in the Visual Communications program. Her work will be seen in one of the new books and some educational materials.
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Jaylah Bynm is an Animation major who has experience in animating a film. Her character design will be seen in the upcoming CT books.
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Katie Ewing is a Special Education major who will contribute to the next books in the CT series.
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Emma Fulkerson is studying animation, with a minor in screen writing. She will help illustrate the Elephants book.
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Jim Melton is an Animation major who brings experience with a variety of media. He will contribute to the characters in the African series.
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Alyssa Merkel is in the Visual Communications program, and is the photographer for the CT Team on the first of the books featuring African animals.
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Braeden Raymer is a freelance artist out of Syracuse, NY. He graduated in 2019 from Ball State University School of Art in Muncie, IN with a BFA in Drawing, and is currently pursuing his MFA in Illustration from Syracuse University College of Visual & Performing Arts. His work can be found in the Giraffes book. https://www.braedenraymer.com
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Educational Consultants
The Conservation Tales team is also supported by Educational Consultants who proofread the books and make recommendations to help our books fit the needs of classroom teachers. Here are the Educational Consultants who contribute to our series.
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Caitlin Zonder is an elementary educator from Avon, Indiana. She has taught most recently in Second Grade, and devotes much of her energy to integrating literacy and children's books into her curriculum. She is a member of a team of teachers who created the nErDCamp Indy professional development program to focus on literacy in the classroom. Caitlin has consulted on all of the Conservation Tales books to date.
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Kailee Ross is an elementary educator at Ball State University. She has helped review text for the Bees and Seahorses books. Kailee graduated with her degree in Elementary Education in May 2018, and will be teaching English overseas 2019 as a Fulbright Scholar .
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Conservation Tales receives support in the form of grants and content consulting from many different organizations. To see a list of our sponsors and partners, view our Sponsors page.
Click here to view a complete listing of photo credits for images in the books from third party sources.
Publishing services for the books are provided by Airway Publishing.
Printing services are provide by Amazon KDP.
