Michael Antico
Michael is originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts and holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has been an actor, teacher, and musician for various theater companies throughout the Northeast, as well as Virginia and Pennsylvania, and has also toured nationally. Learn More…
Ron Kay
Geologists, biologists, and naturalists from around the world seek Ron’s recognized expertise in the geology, flora, fauna and human history of the desert southwest. Ron teaches courses for the Dixie State College Elderhostel program, is a guest lecturer for Zion Canyon Field Institute, and provides programs to visitors as a seasonal park ranger at Zion National Park. Learn More…
Michele Crane
A native New Englander and former news broadcaster, Michele Crane jumped at the chance to narrate the NaturePod about Cape Cod’s beaches and wildlife. Michele has always appreciated the beauty of New England’s rugged and picturesque coastline. Learn More…
Julie Forkner
Julie Forkner first fell in love with wildflowers trailing along behind her father as he called out “trillium, trillium” on spring hikes in the mountains of Tennessee. Earning a bachelor’s degree at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC, Julie learned to identify and love native wildflowers. Learn More…
Nancy Condon
Nancy was fortunate enough to grow up in an outdoor-loving family. She fondly remembers leisurely hikes in which Dad would pause to take beautiful photographs and Mom would give a name to everything they saw. The fun was trying to figure out if Mom was telling the truth or not. Gosh darn if the bird book actually showed a yellow-bellied sapsucker! Learn More…
Ann and Rob Simpson
Ann and Rob Simpson are well known and highly sought after nature and wildlife photographers and writers. Long known for their stunning images of the natural world their work has been widely published in magazines such as National Geographic, Time Magazine and Ranger Rick as well as many calendars, postcards and books including Birds of Shenandoah National Park. Learn More…
Beth Ann Rothermel
Beth Ann Rothermel is a professor of writing and rhetoric at Westfield State College. Although now living in western Massachusetts, she first became acquainted with Shenandoah National Park when her family moved to Virginia in the 1980s. Learn More…
Stewart Aitchison
Stewart Aitchison is a zoologist and geologist by training and a naturalist by passion. He has been exploring, photographing, teaching, and writing about the Colorado Plateau for more than forty years, ten of those as a field biologist for the Museum of Northern Arizona. Learn More…
Jody Anastasio
Jody Anastasio lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts and works for Cape Cod National Seashore. She enjoys the diversity of habitat and rich cultural history of the Cape. Learn More…
Bridget Macdonald
Bridget Macdonald spent her first summer on Cape Cod just weeks after she was born, and has returned every year, working for the past six as an interpretive ranger at Cape Cod National Seashore. Learn More…
Thomas Condon
Thomas Condon is the co-founder of NaturePods, a middle school science teacher, and a former seasonal park ranger for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tom was stationed in Cades Cove from 1990 to 1997, where he developed a love for the incredible valley and a respect for the people who once lived there. Learn More…
Dr. Mike Pelton, Black Bear Authority
Dr. Mike Pelton is perhaps the foremost authority on black bears in the eastern US. Mike has spent 40 years studying bears as a professor at the University of Tennessee. The work that he and his graduate students have done in the Great Smoky Mountains has helped visitors and managers better understand the significance of black bears in any ecosystem, whether in the Smokies or in your backyard. Learn More…
Bob Thayer, Author, Narrator & Photographer
A native of Maine, Bob received his BS from the University of Maine and a Master’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. He taught high school science in Massachusetts for 30 years and has been a seasonal naturalist for the national park service at Acadia National Park since 1982. Learn More…