Our staff team for 2023 will be developing over the coming months. New team members will be posted here as well as announced on our social media platforms as hires are made.
David joined the Museum staff in 2013. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelors degree in geology in 2007. He also worked as a teaching assistant in the Zoology department at Oklahoma State University from 2010 to 2013, where he graduated with a Master’s of Science. Before coming to the Sternberg, David spent seven summers working in the youth science camp industry. He also worked three summers with the National Park Service at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Idaho. There, he carried out paleontology field and lab work and worked with kids showing them geology and paleontology. He is a published researcher, collaborating with professional academics on work focusing on mammal paleobiology and mechanics. David manages the entire camps program, and oversees program logistics and curriculum design.
Kathryn Gatlin - Program Assistant
Undergraduate - Fort Hays State University
Kathryn is an FHSU Geoscience+Biology major currently in her freshman year. Kathryn has been involved with our program since 2015 when she was 11 years old! She has been with us every summer since, as a student then staff member. Her interests in paleontology revolve around mammal fossils and paleoecology. Kathryn is one of our Wilderness First Responder-certified staff members, and one of our two Program Assistants who help with both logistics management as well as teaching responsibilities.
Eury Speir - Program Assistant
Graduate Student – University of Missouri
Eury is a Ph.D. student in Geological Sciences at the University of Missouri, where they study paleontology and geoscience education. Their paleontology research focuses on the environmental conditions that enhance the preservation of small shelly fossils from the early Cambrian, while their geoscience education research focuses on the use of virtual field experiences in geology courses. Eury received their B.S. in Geology from Missouri State University and their M.S. in Geology from the University of Missouri. Eury has experience as a teaching assistant with the University of Missouri Geology Field Camp based in Wyoming and is excited to spend the summer with the Sterberg Camps. Outside of geology, Eury enjoys hiking, watching TV, and working on jigsaw puzzles.
Jessie McCraw - Instructor
Graduate Student - University of Alabama
Jessie is a Ph.D. student in Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama, where she studies the paleobiology and paleoecology of the extinct cephalopods, ammonites. Her research focuses on the ammonites of the Late Cretaceous from the ancient Western Interior Seaway of North America, and uses the geochemistry of their shells to reconstruct their environment and lives! Jessie received her B.S. in Geoscience from the University of Arizona, and her M.S. in Earth Science from Syracuse University, and started at Alabama after working for the National Park Service at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. When not in the lab working with her beloved ammonites, Jessie can be found camping and hiking in the field, visiting her home in California, or curled up on the couch with tea, a thrilling novel and her two kitties.
Maggie Wolf - Instructor
Graduate student - UC Boulder
Maggie is a second year graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Museum and Field Studies program. She graduated from the University of Evansville in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Biology, where she conducted research on gecko calling phenology. She attended camps from 2015-2018, when she joined the staff as a counselor. Since that point, she has taken on several different roles and is excited to return for her first year as an instructor! Maggie is most interested in ornithology and museum visitor studies, and is passionate about making conservation education inclusive and accessible.
Marjie Cone - Instructor
Master's of Science, University of Georgia
Marjie Cone just completed her master's degree in Geology at the University of Georgia where her research focused on Carboniferous plant fossils. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in Geology where she studied brachiopod morphologies. She began her journey in paleontology when she participated in a field paleontology camp with the Sternberg Camps in 2015. Marjie is passionate about education outreach and encouraging inclusivity in scientific field experiences. She is excited to be co-instructing a camp this summer with her best friend, Maggie Wolf, who she met at the Sternberg Camps!
Bethany Stephens - Teaching Assistant
Undergraduate - Smith College
Bethany is a sophomore at Smith College studying Geobiology. Her research is currently focused on quantifying the abundance and diversity of marine invertebrates in the early Triassic. Bethany attended the Field Paleontology Kansas camp as a student in 2019 which kicked off her love of field work. Since then she has done field work in Maryland and the Death Valley region, and has returned to Sternberg camps as a staff member! Other than rocks Bethany loves books, cooking, and her cat, Olivine
Josh Ludtke - Instructor
Graduate student - University of Calgary
Josh grew up in Chicagoland, interested in paleontology and evolutionary biology from a young age thanks to the amazing museums and zoos of Chicago. He started researching taxonomic questions about hoofed mammals from the Eocene during his undergraduate studies at Occidental College, he continued researching those questions as a Masters student at San Diego State University, and then at the University of Calgary. Informal educational opportunities with Insights El Paso Science Center, City of Las Cruces museums, and the Sternberg Museum allowed him to refocus as an all-ages STEM educator, and for the last three years he's been mostly working as an adjunct Biology professor for community colleges. When not educating, Josh engages in photography, tabletop role-playing games, hiking, and insisting on seeing every animal at the zoo.
Michaela Sielaff - Instructor
Master's of Science, Fort Hays State University
Michaela will be working with our Museum Explorers elementary camp this summer. Michaela graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology in 2021. She then went on to pursue her Master’s of Science in Biology at FHSU from 2021 to 2023. During her Master’s, her research focused on bat populations in the Wichita, KS area, looking into their activity on the McConnell Airforce Base and in the urban parks. This was funded by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Her interests in biology include urban ecology, bats, wildlife acoustics, behavioral ecology, and population ecology. She also enjoys reading books, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, and going on long walks with her dog, Sis, when not tending to her two cats at home.
David Levering – Camps Director, Instructor
Camps Director, Science Educator, Paleobiologist
Phone: 785-639-5249
Email: DALevering@FHSU.edu
David joined the Museum staff in 2013. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelors degree in geology in 2007. He also worked as a teaching assistant in the Zoology department at Oklahoma State University from 2010 to 2013, where he graduated with a Master’s of Science. Before coming to the Sternberg, David spent seven summers working in the youth science camp industry. He also worked three summers with the National Park Service at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Idaho. There, he carried out paleontology field and lab work and worked with kids showing them geology and paleontology. He is a published researcher, collaborating with professional academics on work focusing on mammal paleobiology and mechanics. David manages the entire camps program, and oversees program logistics and curriculum design.
Kathryn Gatlin - Program Assistant
Undergraduate - Fort Hays State University
Kathryn is an FHSU Geoscience+Biology major currently in her freshman year. Kathryn has been involved with our program since 2015 when she was 11 years old! She has been with us every summer since, as a student then staff member. Her interests in paleontology revolve around mammal fossils and paleoecology. Kathryn is one of our Wilderness First Responder-certified staff members, and one of our two Program Assistants who help with both logistics management as well as teaching responsibilities.
Eury Speir - Program Assistant
Graduate Student – University of Missouri
Eury is a Ph.D. student in Geological Sciences at the University of Missouri, where they study paleontology and geoscience education. Their paleontology research focuses on the environmental conditions that enhance the preservation of small shelly fossils from the early Cambrian, while their geoscience education research focuses on the use of virtual field experiences in geology courses. Eury received their B.S. in Geology from Missouri State University and their M.S. in Geology from the University of Missouri. Eury has experience as a teaching assistant with the University of Missouri Geology Field Camp based in Wyoming and is excited to spend the summer with the Sterberg Camps. Outside of geology, Eury enjoys hiking, watching TV, and working on jigsaw puzzles.
Jessie McCraw - Instructor
Graduate Student - University of Alabama
Jessie is a Ph.D. student in Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama, where she studies the paleobiology and paleoecology of the extinct cephalopods, ammonites. Her research focuses on the ammonites of the Late Cretaceous from the ancient Western Interior Seaway of North America, and uses the geochemistry of their shells to reconstruct their environment and lives! Jessie received her B.S. in Geoscience from the University of Arizona, and her M.S. in Earth Science from Syracuse University, and started at Alabama after working for the National Park Service at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. When not in the lab working with her beloved ammonites, Jessie can be found camping and hiking in the field, visiting her home in California, or curled up on the couch with tea, a thrilling novel and her two kitties.
Maggie Wolf - Instructor
Graduate student - UC Boulder
Maggie is a second year graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Museum and Field Studies program. She graduated from the University of Evansville in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Biology, where she conducted research on gecko calling phenology. She attended camps from 2015-2018, when she joined the staff as a counselor. Since that point, she has taken on several different roles and is excited to return for her first year as an instructor! Maggie is most interested in ornithology and museum visitor studies, and is passionate about making conservation education inclusive and accessible.
Marjie Cone - Instructor
Master's of Science, University of Georgia
Marjie Cone just completed her master's degree in Geology at the University of Georgia where her research focused on Carboniferous plant fossils. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in Geology where she studied brachiopod morphologies. She began her journey in paleontology when she participated in a field paleontology camp with the Sternberg Camps in 2015. Marjie is passionate about education outreach and encouraging inclusivity in scientific field experiences. She is excited to be co-instructing a camp this summer with her best friend, Maggie Wolf, who she met at the Sternberg Camps!
Bethany Stephens - Teaching Assistant
Undergraduate - Smith College
Bethany is a sophomore at Smith College studying Geobiology. Her research is currently focused on quantifying the abundance and diversity of marine invertebrates in the early Triassic. Bethany attended the Field Paleontology Kansas camp as a student in 2019 which kicked off her love of field work. Since then she has done field work in Maryland and the Death Valley region, and has returned to Sternberg camps as a staff member! Other than rocks Bethany loves books, cooking, and her cat, Olivine
Josh Ludtke - Instructor
Graduate student - University of Calgary
Josh grew up in Chicagoland, interested in paleontology and evolutionary biology from a young age thanks to the amazing museums and zoos of Chicago. He started researching taxonomic questions about hoofed mammals from the Eocene during his undergraduate studies at Occidental College, he continued researching those questions as a Masters student at San Diego State University, and then at the University of Calgary. Informal educational opportunities with Insights El Paso Science Center, City of Las Cruces museums, and the Sternberg Museum allowed him to refocus as an all-ages STEM educator, and for the last three years he's been mostly working as an adjunct Biology professor for community colleges. When not educating, Josh engages in photography, tabletop role-playing games, hiking, and insisting on seeing every animal at the zoo.
Michaela Sielaff - Instructor
Master's of Science, Fort Hays State University
Michaela will be working with our Museum Explorers elementary camp this summer. Michaela graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology in 2021. She then went on to pursue her Master’s of Science in Biology at FHSU from 2021 to 2023. During her Master’s, her research focused on bat populations in the Wichita, KS area, looking into their activity on the McConnell Airforce Base and in the urban parks. This was funded by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Her interests in biology include urban ecology, bats, wildlife acoustics, behavioral ecology, and population ecology. She also enjoys reading books, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, and going on long walks with her dog, Sis, when not tending to her two cats at home.