Nicole Ardoin

Nicole Ardoin is a consultant with expertise in environmental education, exhibition development, and program evaluation. As a consultant, Nicole has worked for groups including World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-US, WWF International, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Project WILD, the Charles Darwin Foundation, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Sundance, the Center for a New American Dream, and the Goldman Prize Fund. Previously, Nicole worked as an exhibition and education specialist for World Wildlife Fund, overseeing a 3,000-square-foot, NSF-funded traveling exhibition on biodiversity. She has also worked in education and exhibits at Grand Canyon National Park, Discovery Creek Children's Museum of Washington, the Central Wisconsin Children's Museum, and the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education.

In addition to consulting, Nicole is a Ph.D. candidate in social ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Her research focuses on the role of environmental education within ecoregion conservation initiatives. Specifically, Nicole is exploring whether people develop connections with places on an ecoregional scale and how those place connections link with environmentally responsible behaviors. Nicole is using interviews and surveys to develop three ecoregional case studies (the Galapagos Islands, the Klamath-Siskiyou area [northern California/southern Oregon], and the Chesapeake Bay).

Nicole completed undergraduate studies in International Business, French, and Art History at James Madison University, and holds an M.S. in Natural Resource Management (Environmental Education and Interpretation) from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.