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Meet Caitlin Reilly, NRF’s New Hartsoe Fellow

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Caitlin plants native rainforest trees alongside her students while working as an environmental educator in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Caitlin Reilly has joined our team as the newest National Recreation Foundation (NRF) Charles E. Hartsoe Fellow. Caitlin is a current M.S. student in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University where she studies intergenerational environmental education related to food and agriculture. In 2017 she received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Davidson College and went on to work as a practitioner in outdoor recreation, land conservation, and environmental education for several years before returning to school. Despite her current focus on academic research, Caitlin continues to hone her practitioner skills while in graduate school by working as a student staff member with NC State’s Outdoor Adventures program and as a volunteer coach with Girls on the Run.

Before coming to North Carolina, Caitlin grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia and was lucky enough to be able to play and grow in the Blue Ridge Mountains from an early age. She loves to travel and has lived, worked, and studied in Panama, Ireland, Iceland, and Australia, but will always feel most at home in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Caitlin enjoys staying active and spending time outside and most weekends you can find her running, hiking, or biking in one of North Carolina’s many parks.

Caitlin could not be more excited to be joining the team at NRF. She cares deeply about creating opportunities to connect kids with nature through activities and settings that are meaningful and accessible for everyone. Caitlin is looking forward to bringing her passion for justice-focused youth outdoor recreation and environmental education to her work and to learning from all the amazing people and organizations that make up the NRF community.  

Welcome, Caitlin!