Meet our Staff
Emily Butler, Executive Director
Emily has been a Splasher since childhood, when her mother and Splash’s founder, Eva Butler, brought home a tray of vernal pool water. Emily spent hours hovered over the trays watching the critters swim around and eat each other.
David Rosen, Nature in the Neighborhood Coordinator
David has worked as an environmental educator, teacher, park ranger, and naturalist for nearly 30 years. His degree in Biology from the University of Michigan and extensive field experience have given David an intimate understanding of and a deep love for nature and wildlife. David is passionate about sharing outdoor and science experiences with others, especially kids.
Lu-Anne Spencer-Hartle, Critter Keeper
Lu-Anne has always been fascinated with water and the critters that live in it. She became especially fond of salamanders when she was 6 years old and her parents brought home an Eastern Newt to help her recover from having her tonsils removed. She loves all the Splash Critters from the graceful fairy shrimp to the magnificent gopher snake.
Charmaine Boulmay, Secondary Program Coordinator
Charmaine comes to Splash after many years of teaching high school biology and general science and a few years working with elementary and preschool children. Charmaine was raised and attended college in New Orleans, where she earned a B.S. in Biology and a Masters Degree in Education with a Geology focus.
Janet Herrin, Vernal Pool Guide
Janet grew up loving nature and the outdoors. Snakes, lizards, spiders, birds and coyotes were commonly observed in the Southern California desert where she grew up. Her fondest childhood memories are of riding her horse, Lady, through the sagebrush in search of something that would hop, crawl, or slither out of its hiding place.
Lucie Adams, Vernal Pool Guide
Lucie is a biologist whose love of plants and the outdoors resulted in a degree in environmental studies and biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She moved on to a career as a field biologist and botanist for various government agencies and environmental consulting firms.
Nancy Myers, Vernal Pool Guide
Nancy joined Splash in 2004, after retiring from teaching elementary school science for 17 years. One of her favorite Splash jobs is to go out very early in the morning to the vernal pools to scoop up the critters that students view through microscopes in the Splash Education Center. Sometimes she even sees a coyote trotting home after its pre-dawn hunt.
Irene Tuoto, Vernal Pool Guide
Irene joined Splash after retiring from teaching elementary school. Although she grew up in the Los Angeles area, she loved to camp with her family and get away from the city. A move to Missouri as a young woman helped her discover the wide open spaces of rural America.
