CSH2O Partner in Education Award
These awards recognize educators for going above and beyond expectations in supporting our mission through communication, coordination, collaboration and continued interest in our Environmental Education programs. We are so grateful to know and work with these caring individuals who are eager to ensure that the importance of environmental stewardship is transferred to future generations.
2025 Partners in Education
Damara Bond, Teacher, Pasadena Elementary School
For local Pasadena resident, Damara Bond, connecting her passion for the Chesapeake Bay and teaching is personal. She has been an Educator at Pasadena Elementary School for 10 years, where she says that her “favorite part of being an educator is the relationships formed with students and parents as well as seeing first hand the growth that each student makes both academically and socially.”
Damara and her husband, Tim, are both from Pasadena and love raising their two children in the same area where they grew up. Their daughter, Carmen, is a student at Chesapeake High School and their son, Zachary, is at Bodkin Elementary School. This water-loving family, along with their Lab, Scout, enjoy all that the local waterways have to offer and stay active in their community and schools. In the classroom, Damara is recognized as a sweet, competent, caring, thorough, funny, and much-loved first grade teacher.
Damara says she supports bringing CoreShark H2O programs to her school because “living in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, our students are motivated to be stewards of the bay through the CoreShark H2O lessons. The CoreShark H2O vision coincides with my teaching philosophy that children are capable of making a great impact when fueled with the proper knowledge, tools, and inspiration.”
Well-said, Damara! We are so excited to recognize Damara’s dedication with this award as she goes above and beyond in all that she does. Not only does Damara support CSH2O’s programming at her school, but she has also been a dedicated attendee of CSH2O’s former Annual Brunch fundraiser and has attended the past two Bay Bells and Shark Tails fundraisers.
Congratulations, Damara!
Beth Shakan, Principal, Northeast Middle School
Even after 12 years as an Administrator, Beth Shakan is still enthusiastic about her role as Principal and enjoys being at her current school, Northeast Middle School in Pasadena. Beth spent a year as Assistant Principal at Meade Middle School and then at Annapolis Middle School. From there, she was the Principal at Brooklyn Park Middle School for nine years before arriving at Northeast Middle School. She thrives on the energy, the challenges, and the joys that come with working with middle school students. Students were the reason that she entered this profession, and staying grounded in their daily lives — watching them grow, overcome obstacles, and discover who they are — is what keeps her going.
Pasadena has been Beth’s home since 2005 where she and her husband raised the younger three of their four fantastic kids. Beth was born and raised in Hagerstown, MD; and after graduating from St. Mary’s College of Southern MD, she moved to Durango, CO and Phoenix, AZ where her career in education began in 1991. Beth enjoyed the majestic American West for several years before returning to the East Coast in 1995.
As Principal at Northeast, Beth supports bringing CoreShark H2O programs to her school “because our students deserve to see that they have the power to make a difference—right here, right now. Living alongside the Chesapeake Bay comes with a responsibility, and it’s critical that our students understand the importance of protecting it for generations to come.” Beth says that “CoreShark H2O doesn’t just teach lessons; they create experiences that bring about pride, action, and a lifelong respect for our environment. This partnership is more than fitting for our school—it’s personal. As the Blue Crabs, we are named after one of the Chesapeake’s most treasured species. Who better to lead the way in preserving the Bay than our own students?”
Beth didn’t want to miss out on recognizing Lisa Harding, whose passion for environmental stewardship introduced her to CoreShark H2O. “Thanks to Lisa, and to CoreShark H2O, our students are learning that leadership starts with caring for the world around them.”
We couldn’t agree more! Congratulations, Beth, on this well-deserved recognition! It’s because of Administrators like you that we are able to fulfill our mission and educate and engage students.
2024 Partners in Education
Lisa Harding, Department Chair / Teacher, Brooklyn Park Middle School
Lisa Harding has seen a lot in her 22 years as an educator. She has had a diverse teaching career from stints at schools in central Jersey to Philadelphia to McArthur Middle at Fort Meade and now at Brooklyn Park Middle. As a product of the Anne Arundel County school system and native of Pasadena, she returned to live and work in the county and area where she grew up. All these different jobs along the way have given her great perspective and awareness that keeps her grounded in her day-to-day work.
Lisa’s favorite part of being an educator is knowing that her daily work aligns with her core values of helping people grow both academically and personally. Working as a department chair and a classroom teacher allows her to connect with adults and students alike. She wants her students to know that someone believes in them, loves them and will be there for them each day! For the staff she works with, knowing how demanding the job can be, she truly values being able to support, advocate, and work alongside them as they do the oh so important work of empowering young people to go out and do good in the world.
Lisa enjoys the partnership with CoreShark H2O as it means so much to her to bring education and awareness to her students to help them love the Bay and nature as much as she does! If students love and enjoy the Bay, they will value and take care of it. The presentations that CoreShark H2O brings to Brooklyn Park Middle have inspired her as an educator creating cross-curricular projects with their science and arts integration projects. Seeing her students’ eyes light up as they are having these CoreShark H2O programs makes her so grateful that we can make a real difference in so many lives. Lisa couldn’t support Coreshark H2O anymore if she tried – and for that we say THANK YOU
Bonnie Myers, Principal, Bodkin Elementary School
Bonnie Myers is Principal at Bodkin Elementary School where she has been for the last four years. Bonnie actually started her teaching career at Bodkin Elementary School back in 1999. She grew up in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and moved to Maryland after graduation. Bonnie has been a principal for the last 10 years, and prior to Bodkin, she was a principal at Southgate Elementary. Fun fact, Bonnie’s two adult sons are also Bodkin Elementary alums!
Bonnie’s favorite part of being a principal is empowering her staff to create memorable experiences with their students. The more hands-on and real-world experiences they can offer the students the better! Every year she makes it a goal to learn as many student’s names as possible and seeing them grow as learners and citizens is what she really enjoys.
Bonnie enjoys the partnership with CoreShark H2O because of their support of the environmental literacy curriculum through real-world experiences to their students for meaningful extensions and connections. CoreShark H2O brings the outside inside their school, and the passion of our team of educators is palpable as we share lessons about the Chesapeake Bay with the school community.
2023 Partners in Education
Jacki Cockroft, Teacher, Broadneck Elementary School
Jackie Cockroft, the art teacher at Broadneck Elementary School, has been affiliated with CSH2O for the last five years. Our partnership with Jackie extends over five years and two schools. Jackie is a dynamic teacher with an air of positivity while maintaining high expectations for her students. An artist at heart, Jackie grew up watching and creating art alongside her grandmother who shared her love of painting with Jackie. In the classroom, Jackie teaches her young artists with materials and mediums they would not normally use such as oil pastels, clay, and paper mâché.
When Jackie was teaching at Bodkin Elementary School, we brought her the idea of “Upcycled Jellyfish Art” to use as an art lesson. This project combined both a lesson on the role of jellyfish and the use of recycled materials as an art medium. What Jackie did with this project was to take it well beyond our visions and expectations to create an installation that hung in the main building of the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville.
Jackie was able to create magic with her students to hang 120 rainbow inspired jellyfish with her students, and she continues to go above and beyond to make this magic happen in her classroom. Even though you only see each student approximately one hour per week, your dedication extends beyond that time. Jacklyn Cockroft, we thank you for your dedication to the students of AACPS and recognize your efforts to show the importance of Art in STEM that creates the wonderful STEAM! Congratulations for being the 2023 Teacher for “CSH2O’s Partner in Education” Award!
Rebecca Chisholm, Title 1 ESOL Educational Associate, Holabird Academy
In 2021, Rebecca Chisolm reached out to CoreShark H2O in an effort to bring environmental education to her school, Holabird Academy in Baltimore, where she is the Title 1 ESOL Educational Associate. Holabird Academy was a brand new building serving PreK through Grade 8, and there were many new features. Holabird was exploring the option of becoming a Maryland Green School through the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Educators, and they were interested in having CoreShark H2O facilitate environmental programming for the students at Holabird Academy.
At the beginning of our collaboration with Rebecca, we initially visited the early grades; however, Rebecca had the bold idea to facilitate programming to ALL grade levels, and since we had added Jen to our education team, we were able to make her vision a reality visiting TEN grade levels in all. We even had Bryan return to provide programming to over 200 students and their families.
To ensure that we were able to reach every student in every grade it took a great deal of coordination and patience from Rebecca. She was extremely hands on throughout our preliminary planning sessions and worked tirelessly with the school’s Master Calendar scheduling and rescheduling our visits to maximize our class reach, and the work paid off as the students valued the experience of learning through programs such as Who Polluted the Chesapeake, Curious Crab, Oyster 101, Nature Journaling, and Bay Games. Thanks to Rebecca’s perseverance, Jen and Bryan became instant celebrities when they returned to Holabird for additional programming.
Rebecca, you are a true instructional leader as you have gone above and beyond for your students and your school community. We appreciate your commitment to ensuring your students have the ability to have meaningful environmental experiences. Congratulations for being the 2023 Administrator for “CSH2O’s Partner in Education” Award!