Janet is a biogeographer living in the northwoods of Minnesota, USA, among the 'Sky-Blue Waters' of her home state's legendary 10,000 lakes and on the ancestral lands of the woodland Sioux and Anishinabe peoples.
In addition to doing survey work and research for various natural resource agencies over the years, she is also certified as a Minnesota Master Naturalist and National Geographic educator, a consultant and teacher-trainer for the Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education, and a naturalist/instructor with the Wild Wonder Foundation.
She has served as a Scout leader and Outdoor Skills Trainer for the local Girl Scout Council, as well as leading Young Explorers and Young Naturalists programs. Most recently she has joined the National Park Classroom collaborative as a 'Teacher-Ranger' and is a new regional mentor for the North American 'Take Me Outside' Outdoor Learning Project.
Aside from her scientific and educational work, she has also made forays into the creative realm. She has become a cinematic storyteller, and is in the process of creating several documentaries and programs about expeditions of famous explorers and natural scientists of the past. As a burgeoning geo-artist, she also has a passion for creating illustrated maps using historic cartographic techniques, as well as crafting handbound expedition journals which she fills with place-based poetry, maps and nature sketches.
In her free time, she loves to go camping with her family and explore new places with her adventurous Geo-Dog. She is thrilled to have been invited to join the Royal Geographic Society as a Fellow, and looks forward to working with the RGS 'Art of Exploration' Collective.
