Leslie King

Rivers Institute Coordinator
Staff
College of Arts and Sciences: Fitz Center

Profile

Leslie King, Coordinator of the Rivers Institute, supervises several undergraduate interns and a graduate assistant as they carry out the daily operations of the Institute and the River Stewards program, the student component which currently consisting of 38 undergraduates representing over 25 different majors. Leslie brings a degree in environmental protection (College of Agriculture and Forestry, WVU) and over ten years of experience in experiential-based education, environmental programming and outdoor leadership to her current position. A native of Montgomery County, Leslie is excited about the opportunity to build awareness around our largest natural resource and be directly engaged in conversations within the community regarding our local rivers. Some of the projects keeping the Rivers Institute and Leslie busy are the annual River Summit, the interdisciplinary River Leadership curriculum development, facilitating the River Stewards mini-course and the constant campus/community-wide river education and outreach. UD's motto of Learn, Lead and Serve comes natural to Leslie, as she spent several years working with Outward Bound which includes similar educational outcomes into their mission, and she has felt right at home at UD since her start in July 2009.

The Staff Perspective

I am excited about sharing local waterway knowledge with UD students, engaging them in the Dayton area, and collaborating with the community to make the Rivers Institute's vision, of reuniting Dayton and its rivers, a reality. With the Rivers Institute being a rather new initiative at UD, I am looking forward to being involved while it continues to grow and growing with it, while I pursue graduate school. In the warmer months, if you can't find me in the office, I am out paddling and challenge you to explore our rivers and help build community around our region's greatest asset.