Kellogg FIELD School Staff

Steve Rubinstein is the Director of APU’s Graduate Program in Outdoor and Environmental Education. He received his M.S. in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University, a B.S. in Psychology from Guilford College and a Certificate of Outdoor Leadership from Seljord Fork College. Steve has extensive experience in the field teaching and directing programs since 1987, including his work as Faculty and Program Director in Outdoor Education at MT Hood Community College in Oregon, Program Director at Northwest Earth Institute and Education Coordinator & Asst. Director at Northwest Service Academy.

Lauren Singmaster Wieland is a born and raised Coloradoan. From camping, hiking, and fishing, to trail maintenance and fire mitigation, she has always loved being outside, and environmental stewardship.  Lauren received a BA in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado. (Go Bears!)  She taught for four years as a second-grade teacher in her hometown, Colorado Springs, until her husband was accepted into the Geology Master’s program at UAA. Lauren then taught second and then third grade in Anchorage for two years. She is so excited to be expanding her experiences and combining some of her favorite things (teaching, being outside, and environmental efficacy) at Kellogg FIELD School!

Katie Skinner earned a BA in Classical Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies from Connecticut College where she enjoyed playing rugby and taking advantage of the school’s arboretum. Katie spent her previous summers throughout school, working at a residential summer camp in the Adirondacks, NY where she started as a cabin counselor and worked her way up to Program Coordinator. During her time there she primarily worked with the teen leadership program and led them on overnight camping trips. When she wasn’t teaching sailing, she was leading rafting and canoeing trips. While there, she discovered her passion for not only the outdoors but also for working with young people and helping them to discover what they love too. After college, Katie worked for the YMCA of Greater Boston as the Aquatics Coordinator where she had the privilege of being a swim instructor to preschoolers for the year. When Katie got the chance to leave Boston, she spent her time exploring the outdoors as much as possible, hiking and kayaking with her dog all over New England. These passions have now brought Katie, and the dog, to APU for the next chapter of her life.

Priscilla Hunt holds a bachelor’s degree in Music from Asbury University in Kentucky and worked after college as a fiddle teacher, Suzuki violin teacher, and dance musician in her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Priscilla has a lifelong love for hiking and backpacking, and when she landed a summer job at Colvig Silver Camps in Colorado, she began to consider outdoor education as a possible career direction as well. Many applications later, Priscilla was offered an internship with the Colorado Outward Bound School. She has worked for Colorado Outward Bound since 2010, where she serves as a field instructor, course director, and staff trainer. Leading teenagers and young adults on wilderness trips is fascinating and rewarding, and Priscilla believes it is more and more needed in a time when walls and screens sometimes make genuine human connection more difficult. She is passionate about teaching communication skills and emotional awareness alongside more tangible outdoor skills such as knots and navigation. During the school year, between seasons at Outward Bound, Priscilla works for NOLS Wilderness Medicine teaching Wilderness First Responder courses. For the past four years, she has taught at Warren Wilson College and Montreat College in North Carolina, teaching courses including challenge course facilitation and management, backcountry skills, and introductory backpacking classes. n Priscilla’s free time, you’ll find her tromping through the woods searching for mushrooms and berries, trail running, cooking, and hanging out with her seven nieces and nephews.

After graduating from university in Mexico, in 2015, Jimel López-Montoya started work as a field instructor for Ecology Project International in Mexico. She first learned about EPI by taking one of their field courses on whale research in the Gulf of California and she was hooked. She worked her way up from volunteer to field instructor, eventually leading multi-day trips for local and visiting teenagers, with a focus on conservation and sustainability. For her first year of graduate studies, Jimel attended Teton Science Schools Graduate Program. She completed her Master’s of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education at APU in the winter of 2020. Since then, Jimel has become a NOLS Instructors, leading both hiking and kayaking expeditions across the US and in Mexico. Jimel is excited to continue to share her love of the environment with others. When she is not teaching, you will find her exploring the area, hiking,birdwatching or doing art projects. 

Melissa Ferguson was born and raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho. In 2010 she joined the United States Army and was later stationed in 2014 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson where she quickly fell in love with AK. In 2017 she made the transition to the Alaska Army National Guard (AKARNG) where she is currently serving. Melissa earned her B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science at Alaska Pacific University in 2019. She worked as a biological technician for salmon monitoring, coastal erosion on Oahu, bald eagle productivity, and moose browse habitat enhancement. Melissa has spent the last three years as the wellness and fitness instructor for the AKARNG. She is an avid fisher-woman, snowmachine rider, and gardener. She is married to her husband Matt and has two stepchildren and a couple of fury and feathered friends.