Name: |
Laura Venner |
Works For: |
Meadowlands Environmental Center
Lyndhurst, NJ |
Email: |
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Biography:
Laura worked in the financial industry from 1986 until May of 2001 when she graduated from Bergen Community College with an Associate in Science degree in General Science. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in 2006 from Columbia University focusing her studies on the areas of Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution with a concentration on polar bears and invasive species.
She has been a volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City since 2000 and serves as an Earth and Space Explainer, a Hayden Planetarium lecturer, and the stage manager for the AMNH annual Isaac Asimov debate. Laura has been a member of the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors Program since 2003 and has also been participating as a Project Astro visiting astronomer since 2009.
Laura works at the Meadowlands Environment Center (MEC) and William D. McDowell Observatory in Lyndhurst, NJ where she is the Astronomy Educator and Observatory Specialist. She is proud to be part of a team that creates astronomy programs for individuals with disabilities. Laura is also an Environmental educator at the MEC facility and enjoys teaching visitors about the beautiful marsh environment of the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Laura is currently working on a book series that will focus on teaching astronomy to all individuals and plans to continue her education in the area of Geophysics focusing on extremophile research which she hopes to apply to the search for life in the universe.
Quote: I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
