Massachusetts Hall of Fame for Science Educators

Cleti Cervoni (1997)

Cleti Cervoni received her bachelor's degree in Biology from Salem State College. She taught high school biology for two years before pursuing her Masters of Education degree at the University of New Hampshire. She has studied Marine biology at Bowdoin, Mountain Leadership with the Appalachian Mountain Club, and Learning Styles with Bernice McCarthy. She is currently studying at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She has taught science and mathematics at Salem State College and continues to teach courses for teachers through the Northeast consortium, a program of the State Department of Education and Salem State College.

Cleti has been involved with designing and teaching education programs for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for twenty years. Among her responsibilities in her current position as Director of Education are: the development of programs on environmental education, training and staff development for over 30 educators at 18 Society-staffed sanctuaries, and management of the Society's Education Department. The Education Department includes a Publications Office, a Curriculum and Natural History Library, a Curriculum and Professional Development Coordinator, a summer residential camp, the Society's Master Naturalist, and the Attleboro Environmental Education Program.

Cleti's interest in teacher training and improving science education for children has lead to strong school programs that offer quality education in line with the state's new curriculum frameworks. Under her leadership, Massachusetts Audubon has become a leader in science and natural history education throughout the state.

Cleti is on the advisory boards of many organizations including the Secretary of Environmental Affairs Advisory Group on Environmental Education, the Coalition for the Advancement of Science, and Project WILD in Massachusetts. She is co-author of Beyond the Classroom: Exploration of Schoolground and Backyard, editor of On the Brink, and creator of two identification keys, Key to Selected Trees by Their Leaves, and Key to Trees in Winter Conditions.

Special Honors:

• Inducted into the Massachusetts Hall of Fame for Science Educators in 1997
• Received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, to be used in the Watershed Education program in 1997 and 1998
• Recipient of the Eisenhower Professional Development Program Grant, to be used for the Environmental Frameworks project
• Recipient of a Veryfine Corporation Grant, to be used for the Year of the Endangered Species program and the publication of On the Brink
• Received a Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities Grant, to be used in the Beyond the Classroom program

Last Modified: August 13, 2004