Meet the man who helped make Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys a household name for K-12 science education in the region – Eaton Dunkelberger has been the CEO for Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys since 2012, taking the reins from founder Jonathan Mueller who started the nonprofit in 2006. Dunkelberger began his career in the U.S. Marines, ultimately being tasked to start and manage a private security company of 1,500 Iraqi veterans before leaving the service. He later joined U.S. Fortune 15 company McKesson, leading the laboratory business for their Advanced Diagnostics Management group. For his next career move, Dunkelberger was surprised to find that moving to Reno to grow the small (at the time) nonprofit Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys fit him like a glove. Since then, Dunkelberger has expanded Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys to a mid-sized nonprofit reaching over 35,000 K-12 students in 2019.
Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys’ mission is to “deliver innovative, outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship.” These science topics can be difficult to teach, so Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys offers a wide range of specialized programs for schools that range from in-the-classroom, to field studies, to week-long programs at their camp depending on the students’ ages. “Essentially what we’re doing in all of our programs is allowing kids to be scientists and engineers. We’re presenting them with problems, and they’re working collaboratively to solve these problems in a way where they are building their own learning,” says Dunkelberger. For example, one of Dunkelberger’s favorite programs is having fifth graders form hypotheses about the health of the Truckee River watershed, come up with experiments to test those hypotheses, then walk down to the Truckee River to perform these experiments.
Accessibility to these programs is a deep commitment of Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys. Of the 35,000 kids served in 2019, 60% were youth of color, more than 50% were on free or reduced lunch, and 15% were living with disabilities. Dunkelberger says serving kids with low access to high quality science and nature experiences – an ethos fully supported by donors to Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys – will continue to be core to their work.
At the start of the pandemic, the Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys team immediately went virtual and served 15,000 students and 8,000 families with online STEM programming through the spring. Looking forward, Dunkelberger is in strategic planning mode, working to position Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys to ensure the youth of this region continue to have access to high impact STEM and environmental education. The organization’s recent purchase of the Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola, California, their long-time mountain home for summer programs, overnight retreats and week-long camps, will be critical as they find creative ways to reach students and families in a socially distanced manner.
To learn more about, or become a supporter of Sierra Â鶹ӳ» Journeys, visit . Or, start a conversation with Dunkelberger on .
