Johnna Austin (NPS Ranger)

Ranger Johnna is from Minneapolis and grew up exploring the Mississippi River. She went to Winona State University and spent her college years boating and fishing in the Mississippi River. She loves working with students and sharing her excitement for the river and all of the organisms that call it home.

Cathy Eiss (MPC River Educator)

Cathy Eiss has 27 years of teaching experience as an elementary educator,  most of it in the Bloomington Public Schools. Upon retiring in 2019, she began working as an educator on the Mississippi River. She is happy to be able to continue working with kids. Cathy has completed the Nexus STEM Equity training at the Science Museum of Minnesota.  She had the experience of a lifetime, participating in the Morpho Institute’s teacher professional development program in the Peruvian Amazon. There, she worked with teachers from all over the country on inquiry-based science education in the rain forest.

Abigail ‘Abby’ Olson (NPS Ranger)

Ranger Abby has been in love with water all her life; lakes, streams, ponds, rivers, and especially waterfalls. Over the last decade as a ranger, she has learned a lot about how the water of the mighty Mississippi interacts with the land, animals, plants, and people around it. She's excited to share her stories and knowledge with your students about the geology and otters of the Mississippi River or take a deeper look into the job of a Park Ranger at any National Park.

Stephen Walker (NPS Ranger)

Ranger Stephen was born in Minnesota, and spent much of his youth exploring the Northwoods of the state, where the Mississippi River has its headwaters. Says Ranger Stephen: “I swam in the Mississippi countless times as a kid, I’ve camped on islands in the middle of the river, and I’ve walked across it frozen in the winter– it has generally weaved its way around most of my life. In 2022, I saw all 2,340 miles of the Mississippi River, when I took a canoe and paddled from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. That took me 97 days!” Ranger Stephen has also worked at Crater Lake National Park, in Oregon. Ranger Stephen is so excited to share his enthusiasm for the Mississippi River, and its history, geology, and ecology with curious minds.

Image credit: NPS/Kurt Moses