Rebecca Segal

Educator

For Rebecca, the journey into environmental education started simply: frolicking in the
forest behind her Grand Rapids home and studying birds with her Nana. After graduating
from Western Michigan University, she gained valuable experience at the DNR, various
nature centers, and Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Minnesota. But the
Midwest couldn’t hold her forever—the mountains were calling!

The call was answered in 1998 when she took her dream job as an Educator at the Aspen
Center for Environmental Studies. She witnessed exciting growth firsthand, including the
strawbale build at Aspen Elementary and the purchase of Rock Bottom Ranch! Her passion
for play-based education deepened over the next 13 years as she developed curriculum and
taught at a respected Forest Preschool in Carbondale.

Today, Rebecca brings a wealth of experience, combining her deep roots in environmental
education with her commitment to social-emotional learning. She works part-time with
FocusedKids, a non-profit dedicated to teaching brain-based emotional skills, and is
delighted to return to the ACES community, teaching in the nature that first captured her
heart. When she’s not in the classroom or forest, you can find Rebecca enjoying the
outdoors—hiking, biking, or skiing—with her family and dog, or curled up inside knitting,
practicing yoga, or playing a lively game of Euchre.