Meet The Team: staff and board
Kestrel is a collaborative learning community. Staff at all levels contribute original ideas, knowledge, and suggestions to help guide the organization. We plan together, work together, and connect with the natural world together. We pay fair wages and provide excellent training to qualified instructors.
Jessica Kagle, Founder & Program Director
Jessica holds a master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and has a lifelong passion for playing in the woods. She has over 20 years of experience as a professional naturalist and educator, and a great love for the wildlife and lands of New England. She is also a certified K-8 science teacher with several years of classroom teaching experience in both public and independent schools. Jessica teaches primarily through asking children to design creations based on real experiences, and by encouraging them to be silly, adventurous, and muddy. She loves nothing more than educating people through relationships with wildlife. Jessica can often be found bicycling around New England or standing out in the rain watching frogs and salamanders. Jessica is certified in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and is a certified Lifeguard..
Mat Schjetne, program instructor
Mat grew up in San Clemente, California, and earned his B.S. in Biology & Environmental Science from Gordon College and a Graduate Certificate in Geographical Information Technology from Northeastern University. He later completed his Master’s in Teaching at the University of Southern California. With over a decade of experience as a science educator, Mat designs hands-on, inquiry-based programs that invite students to think like scientists and explore like naturalists.
Having lived and worked in California, New England, and even on a small farm in Costa Rica, Mat brings a wide lens to outdoor education. He loves helping young people connect big scientific ideas to the living world right in front of them. Whether turning over rocks, wading into tide pools, or just noticing seasonal wildlife change, Mat believes the best learning happens outside—with muddy boots and curious minds.
Leila atallahbenson
Leila has always had a deep love for the ocean. As a child, she spent nearly every weekend on the beaches of Rhode Island, exploring marshes and searching for marine creatures. This passion eventually led her from her native mountains of Upstate New York to Boston, where she earned a degree in Marine Biology from Northeastern University. A lifelong learner, Leila continued to pursue hands-on experience after graduating, spending time in Roatan, Honduras working toward her Divemaster certification and in Bimini, Bahamas conducting shark research. She later joined the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami, where she earned her master’s degree.
Leila spent two years teaching 7th grade science, but missing the outdoors, she joined Kestrel to help educate the next generation through immersive, hands-on experiences in nature. Leila is passionate about sharing her enthusiasm for the natural world and encourages learners of all ages to get their hands dirty, be inquisitive, and not to be afraid of the unknown.
katherine foss, program instructor
Kat grew up in Beverly, Massachusetts; a true local who attended North Beverly Elementary School and Essex Tech High School. She holds a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Conservation with a concentration in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, her professors used experiential field learning to inspire Kat and her classmates to understand conservation work. She has gained passion for outreach and getting both kids and adults interested in their outdoor environment through hands-on learning. She believes very strongly that people can have an impact on wildlife even on the individual level, so facilitating positive interactions as much as possible is crucial. When she’s not teaching, she loves to be outdoors hiking, biking, kayaking, or even playing a sport with friends. She has an academic background in tracking, mapping, and deciphering population dynamics for different species.
Anne brady, program instructor
Anne grew up in the Hudson River Valley exploring her family’s land and nearby natural wonders in all seasons. She and her sister and cousins ran free all day long exploring her home’s surrounding woods and wetlands and going into the nearby mountains on hikes. She loves nothing more than sharing her sense of wonder about nature with children and helping them discover all that they can. Anne received her B.S. from Cornell University in Human Development and Family Studies and her Ph.D. from Tufts in Applied Child Development. She has had a career as a researcher and most recently as a special education teacher with summer work in a local camp where she helps with behavior management and most loves helping children to gain comfort with the natural environment. Anne has lived on the North Shore for almost 27 years and has raised two outdoorsy sons here.
mara goldberg, program volunteer
Mara was raised by parents who let her run around in the woods and do science experiments on her own. She has had many adventures and traveled the world from Hong Kong to Papa New Guinea and Australia to Amsterdam. She grew up to be a social worker, with a private practice here in Beverly. Now she volunteers running around in the woods. Mara takes care of our Head Start turtles, and co-instructs many of our after school classes. She appreciates the full circle her life has made from outdoor immersion in childhood to facilitating children’s outdoor experiences and connections with wildlife.
amber espar, Substitute program instructor
Amber has worked as an environmental educator and community organizer for over 18 years. She has taught programs for ages preschool through high school with Kestrel, Groundwork Somerville, Mass Audubon, the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, and the Cambridge School of Weston. Amber is part of the True Story Theater company, performing improvisation that celebrates human connection and promotes healing of divides. She has worked for Kestrel as an instructor on and off for over ten years, and especially enjoys bringing improvisation and storytelling into our science programs.
Tracy Bowen, Bookkeeper
Tracy is grateful to have grown up in a place and a time where she was free to roam unsupervised in the Great Sippewissett Marsh and play with the animals at neighboring Sacconnesset Farm on Cape Cod. She's a great believer in giving kids time to explore nature, and in Kestrel's mission; she's hopelessly drawn to working in non-profits. Plus, she enjoys an on-going argument with Jessica about whether cats or dogs are better (cats are).
Emma Kagle, canine staff
Emma helps out at our Woodland Seekers Camp and Conservation Club, along with making brief appearances at some of our school and other programs upon request. If you’re having a hard day, she gives out hugs and leans. She loves meeting all people, especially children, and likes pets and shaking hands for treats. She will bring you a toy. When not working at Kestrel, Emma loves swimming and more swimming, cuddling, belly rubs, and retrieving balls and toys,
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors consists of a lively mix of teachers, administrators, parents, field scientists, writers and an accountant!
Our board is highly active and involved in our operations.
Board Members and Affiliations
Anna DiPerna (Landmark School)
Bethany Ericson (Writer/Artist)
Caitlin Featherstone (Essex Elementary School)
Mark Maitland (Maitland Financial Group)
Deirdre Mulligan (Landmark School)
Justin Freedman