Nikki Elkins
Director and Founder
Hi my name is Nikki Elkins. I developed the GeoJourney program at Bowling Green State University when I moved to Bowling Green, OH in 2002. I am the current director of GeoJourney. I have spent over 20 seasons in the field, teaching students from the University of Georgia and BGSU on GeoJourney. I graduated in 1998 with a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and in 2002 with a Masters degree in Geology from the University of Georgia. I teach courses on campus and in the field in geology, American culture studies, and environmental studies.
Outside of GeoJourney I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, trying new and unusual varieties of beer, and exploring places I’ve never been.
For more information about GeoJourney contact me at Nikki@GeoJourney.org
Ian Rodgers
Assistant Director
Hi my name is Ian Rodgers, I was a student on GeoJourney in 2004 and have been a staff member since 2007. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in Outdoor Recreation and a minor in Geology from Bowling Green State University. In 2009 I was certified as a Wilderness EMT-B and today I act as the Assistant Director of GeoJourney. When I’m not in the field I can be found pursuing my Masters of Education here as BGSU or hard at work in the GeoJourney office.
My hobbies include SCUBA diving, rock climbing, backpacking, rappelling, skiing, and Mt biking. I also enjoy continuing to be an active part of BaseCampus, hanging out with good friends, sitting atop Angels Landing in Zion NP and of course working for GeoJourney
For more information about GeoJourney contact me at Ian@GeoJourney.org
Jessica Lawrence
Instructor
Hi my name is Jessica Lawrence; I went to Ohio Wesleyan University for my Bachelor’s degree in Geology and Bowling Green State University for my Master’s Degree in Geology. I was a TA on the trip in 2008 and liked it so much I joined the staff as an instructor on the fall 2010 trip. I have lots of experience in the field including; a high school backpacking trip to Alaska for 33 days, was enrolled in BGSU’s field camp in 2007 and was then a camp manager in 2008, and was also a field geologist for PSI Engineering for almost 2 years.
While on campus I teach introductory geology courses.
My passions are vertebrate paleontology, fossil preparation and marine reptiles. My thesis was on the phylogeny of derived ichthyosaurs. I also enjoy reading, knitting and rappelling.
Corinn Ducat
Head Cook
Hi my name is Corinn Ducat. After attending Bowling Green State University for three years and realizing that I wanted to be and Archaeological Anthropologist, I decided to move to New Mexico to be closer to that type of work, to Native American ruins, and mountains. Currently, I work in a health food store called Vitamin Cottage which is located in Albuquerque. I was a student on GeoJourney during the fall of 2008 which gave me my thirst for travel. Now, I am ecstatic so say I will be the assistant cook this summer and head cook this fall.
In my spare time, I love to hike the Sandia Mountains and Jemez Mountains, watch movies, listen to good music, play with my dog Charlie, and cook!
Tyler Brown
Teaching Assistant and Photographer
Hi my name is Tyler Brown. I am tremendously excited to be on GeoJourney for the first time as a staff position. In the fall of 2008, I was an incoming freshman to Bowling Green State University and had decided to attend only because of the excitement I had for this rare opportunity to travel throughout the United States and learn on a multi-disciplinary level about its environments. The ‘experience your education’ part was an understatement: I experienced so much on the trip that I also learned a great deal about the person that I have grown to become. Now into my senior year at BGSU, and majoring in Ecology and Conservation Biology, I am bringing along my skills in conservation and lifestyle photography and knowledge on collaborative environmental projects in hopes that future students will have just as great of an experience as I did.
My interests are varied but I am particularly passionate about my photography. Over the past several years I have exhibited my work in several major museum galleries including the Toledo Museum of Art, Butler Institute of American Art, and National Center for Nature Photography, and have published my first conservation photo-essay in Nature’s Best Photography for Students Magazine. I can almost always be found outside, exploring nature preserves, working in the garden, or road tripping to explore regional cultures, landscapes, and art across the country.
Liz Longacre
Vidographer
Hi! My name is Elizabeth Longacre, and I am a professional Camera Operator. I recently graduated from Bowling Green State University with my Bachelor’s in Film Production with a Minor in Telecommunications. I love to travel and experience new adventures each day, which is why I love working in documentary film and television. I have worked on television programs and short documentaries aired on WGTE-PBS including Deadline Now, The International Boxing Club, and Robinwood House. I am currently interning for Docuality Network on the feature-length documentary film, Baldemar. I am also employed as a Production Assistant on the feature-length documentary A Whole Lott More.
GeoJourney was an amazing experience for me as a student, and I am now extremely excited to say that I am working for the program as the videographer and assistant cook.
Some of my hobbies include filmmaking, photography, cooking new foods, watching movies, playing outside with my dog, and reading autobiographies.
Jim Whitney
Guest Faculty
Hi. My name is Jim Whitney. I started the University of Georgia Summer Field Program which is the ancestor of Geojourney more than 20 years ago while I was Head of the Geology Department. Currently I am Professor Emeritus of Geology having retired from full time work nearly 8 years ago. This year I have been teaching in the Franklin College Spring Semester in Costa Rica for two months, and with the Southern Pacific study abroad program in New Zealand.
I received my B.S. and M.S. degrees from MIT in 1969 and a PhD from Stanford University in 1972. From 1972 until 2002 I was employed by the University of Georgia, moving through the ranks to Professor and Department Head in 1983. After 8 years as Head I became an Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs in charge of Curriculum and led the University’s transition to the semester system. Finally, I was Acting Head of Anthropology for two years, a field in which I had never taken a course, but that is another story.
I helped lead my first travel study program in 1975. Our first attempts were a couple of weeks between terms. While I was Department Head we started the first extended summer travel program, first involving only Geology and later incorporating Anthropology and Ecology. It was here that we developed the concept of an integrated, interdisciplinary, experiential, field-based program.
Since retiring from full time work I have taught with Semester at Sea, and been involved in a number of study abroad experiential programs, including most of the previous Geojourney trips.
