Our Team
Christie McKelvie
Co-founder & Director
Christie has education in her blood. Raised in central Pennsylvania by two career elementary teachers, from the start her parents instilled in her the value of life-long learning. Christie went on to graduate with honors from Penn State University with a B.S. in Elementary and Kindergarten Education and immediately began teaching 3rd grade in her home school district. During her years teaching 3rd and 4th grade she also earned an M.Ed. in Science Education from Lebanon Valley College. Her classroom was always a place of curiosity, energy, and positive relationships. She was known for going above and beyond to create authentic learning opportunities for students, and became proficient at writing grants and networking in order to build student and staff capacity for science and environmental education.
After transitioning to staying home full-time with her four children, she realized the incredible power of individualized learning opportunities and especially the power of unstructured experiences in nature. Christie began to envision creating a school that provided something very different than what many children experience. Through that lens, she sought out opportunities to study the positive effects of nature-based education. She embarked on a mission to learn what made the difference and how she could foster in children strong social, emotional, and problem solving skills along with positive experiences in nature. Her desire is to see children ROOTED in nature and FREE to learn!
Sally Schach
Lead Teacher : Nature PreK
Sally has enjoyed the wide-eyed wonder of the pre-kindergarten set since she helped in a pre-k classroom as a high school student. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Penn State University and quickly chose a classroom without walls after graduation. Following her love of all things aquatic, she spent most of her education career as an educator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, teaching students and adults about the importance of rivers, streams, estuaries, and the lands that surround them. Along the way she received her masters in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. She recognized the important role outdoor play and exploration had on the physical, emotional, and social development of her own children. She was hooked on exploring and looking at the natural world through that wide-eyed lens she had first experienced in high school. She began leading groups of toddlers into the woods at the Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick. She is now looking forward to learning, and growing, with the students and teachers at the Rooted and Free Nature School. When not playing in boats on rivers and streams you can find her adventuring with her family, gardening, learning (and forgetting) the names of all the forest flowers.
Elizabeth Holzman
Forest Friday Leader
Nature Preschool Teacher
Lead Teacher: K - 2nd grade
Elizabeth grew up with a love for animals and nature, and a desire to travel and explore the world. Growing up with a mom who worked as a zookeeper, she loved learning about how so many things in the world are connected to one another, and the numerous ways that we can support both our planet and all the creatures within it. This led to a deeper love for the outdoors and developed into a desire to travel and see all the natural beauty that the earth holds.
As she grew, she also gained a love for working with children through assisting with summer camps, babysitting, and interacting with them in different settings such as when she would shadow teachers and assist in classrooms. This ultimately led to a degree in Elementary Education from Penn State University, with her focus being on Pre-K through 4th grade. After graduation, Elizabeth has continued to pursue both her love of the outdoors and working with children whenever possible, and she loves getting to see children develop a love for learning and a passion for the outdoors.
Nate McKelvie
Co-Founder
Nate has been involved in formal and non-formal environmental education for over 20 years. He is a PA certified teacher who holds a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, an M.Ed. in Environmental Education, and currently teaches middle school science. He is a licensed bird bander and actively involved in regional raptor conservation efforts. Nate is an avid birder and enjoys all seasons and the hunting, fishing, and other outdoor adventures that each one provides. His passion continues to be connecting people to the enticing, beautiful, and unifying power of nature. He finds pure joy in marriage and parenting and seeing their four amazing kiddos blossom as they embark on every natural adventure.
Alex Koegler
Student Intern
Alex is a senior at Hershey High School and was given the wonderful chance to intern with Rooted & Free each morning. She has always grown up with a deep love for all things nature, especially animals. She discovered her passion for the outdoors during many family camping and hiking trips to Maine and visiting local zoos every summer. Aside from being outside, Alex also loves to paint, play the guitar, and hang with her two dogs! She has grown her love and interest in wildlife and the environment through many opportunities at Hershey’s ZooAmerica and her school’s environmental club. She plans to attend the University of Vermont in the fall of 2024 to study Wildlife & Fisheries Biology. Alex has loved becoming a part of the Rooted & Free family and getting to know each of our students and staff members. She is very grateful to have received the opportunity to incorporate her love of nature, art, and working with kids through this internship and grow her knowledge and leadership experience in environmental education. Alex hopes to use the skills and opportunities she has gained at Rooted & Free to pursue further education and work as a field wildlife biologist and research population conservation. She loves seeing each Rooted & Free student grow in their fascination with the natural world and discover its immense importance and beauty just as she did as a kid.
Jessie Boddy
Forest Friday Leader
Nature Preschool Teacher
Jessie has enjoyed homeschooling her 3 daughters through early childhood into their middle school years. One of their favorite elementary past-times has been exploring nature with friends, and making nature-sourced creations in their small city yard, a pretty wild place. Growing up, Jessie enjoyed birdwatching with her parents, and this is an interest she has shared with her family and friends. In high school, she selected electives including ecology, advanced bio, and participated in the Envirothon. Jessie chose a different path for her bachelor’s degree, but found herself walking through the woods and finding quiet places to study in the natural environment surrounding her college in Clarks Summit, PA. When she is not overseeing her children’s studies, she can be found in her garden, or in a cozy corner of her home reading a good book.
Alexis Book Wright
Explore Together Leader
Alexis grew up in a house in the woods and remembers spending hours outdoors with her sisters and cousins exploring, building forts, and playing in the creek. Her love for the natural world led her to pursue a BS in Chemistry from Allegheny College followed by a Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, after which she taught high school and middle school science in Pittsburgh for 13 years. As a parent in an urban setting, she quickly realized the importance of pursuing outdoor play experiences for her children and became involved with Free Forest School and Tinkergarten. When her family moved to Hershey in 2020, they were delighted to connect with Rooted & Free as a preschool option for their son. Alexis loves reading, learning and going on adventures with her husband and two young children.
Sarah Fritz
Explore Together Leader
Whether it is camping, hiking or exploring - the outdoors have always been a special part of Sarah's life. After her daughter was born, she started to think about the importance of the outdoors in education and looked into nature preschools. In 2021, Sarah moved to a house in the woods in Cornwall with her husband and daughter. After moving to the region, she found Rooted & Free and attended all of the sessions of Explore Together!
Sarah is a certified yoga teacher and began teaching a class for kids and their caregivers in 2022. Sarah has a Master of Arts from American University in Peace and Conflict Resolution, which will certainly be put to use in working with toddlers and preschoolers!
Samantha Sollenberger
Nature Preschool Teacher
Forest Fridays Leader
Samantha spent much of her childhood exploring what she considered her own personal woods in her family's backyard in North Annville. Taking that love of exploration to another level, Samantha obtained a Bachelor of the Arts in Anthropology, focusing in Archaeology and minoring in Native Studies at Ithaca College in upstate New York. It was through her studies and a dig at a 500 AD Haudenosaunee Indian site that she began to feel a strong connection with the Native people's perspective of the earth and our place within it. After college, Samantha returned to central Pennsylvania and discovered her true passion for gardening in her few summers spent as a gardener at the Hershey Gardens. Almost a decade later, now on her husband's grandparent's farm in South Annville, she was able to continue and evolve this passion into a small flower farm business. In December of 2021, Samantha and her husband welcomed their first son, Ezra. The flower farm has temporarily been placed on hold, at least until Ezra can help pull some weeds. Samantha is excited to inspire other young ones to explore and learn from the wonderful outdoors.
Laurie Rhoads
Nature Preschool Teacher
Laurie moved back to her hometown, Hershey, in 2022 after 18 years of living in Colorado and was delighted to find Rooted & Free Nature School! She has worked in a variety of elementary and preschool settings over the years, most recently at New Horizons, a bilingual (English/Spanish) arts- and nature-focused preschool in Boulder, Colorado, where all three of her children attended. Laurie enjoys connecting with the spontaneity, curiosity, and creativity of the littlest learners. Her other interests include traveling, cooking, crocheting, and most recently, beekeeping.