Our Staff
Marci Mowery | President
A former high school educator, Marci entered the conservation arena 25 years ago, and has served as the President of the Foundation since 2005. Her passion is to connect people to the outdoors. When not working, Marci enjoys hiking, biking, paddling, reading, cooking, wine tasting and spending time with her family.
Carla Eissing | Outreach & Communication Coordinator
Carla’s first experience with PPFF was as an intern while she was attending Shippensburg University and she just couldn’t stay away! After almost a decade in watershed education and advocacy, she’s back in parks and ready to explore with her rescued & retired greyhound leading the way. Carla’s love of the outdoors and national parks was sparked in middle school during a road trip up the Pacific Coast and since then her wanderlust has never stopped. Outside of work, she loves to travel, hike, kayak, visit all places spooky and weird, spend time with family and friends, and play roller derby with Harrisburg Area Roller Derby (HARD) and Divergence RD.
Bernadette Howard | Bookkeeper
Bernadette comes to us from years of property management and has tons of experience with bookkeeping and accounting. She loves to spend time in the outdoors walking and says “Ricketts Glen is one of my favorite spots for waterfalls. My best vacation ever was in Alaska when there was still snow everywhere. I am a lifelong camper and have passed that love down to my three children that now take their families. I love to garden, and really enjoy cooking, baking and, of course, eating!!”
Nina Kralick | Office & Online Retail Facilitator
My love of nature began years ago, when I ran cross-country through Pennsylvania coal country back in high school. Later, I was a cyclist, criss-crossing the Commonwealth a little faster than when I was a runner. These days, the outdoors, and the park system in particular, feed my artist’s soul and you can often find me, watercolors in hand, putting the natural world around me down on paper. From waterfalls, streams, and lakes to soaring forests, quiet trails, and rocky outcrops, the diversity we have here in Pennsylvania is unmatched. I wanted to work at PPFF to help promote and preserve the beauty I have always benefited from, for the next generation, and the ones after that as well. We need to be faithful stewards and protectors of our precious natural resources, and I invite everyone to join in their own way.
Bryce Kruger | Chapter & Public Engagement Coordinator
Bryce feels most like himself when he’s surrounded by nature. Whether enjoying a vista, studying native flora, or getting dirt under his fingernails, he pursues the lessons of nature with curiosity and awe at every opportunity he gets. With a background including small town main streets, mid-sized agencies, and international organizations, Bryce aims to help others foster mutually beneficial relationships with the natural world around us.
Pam Metzger | Membership Coordinator
Pam came to the nonprofit world in a roundabout way, having worked for 25 years in the legal field. Over 15 years with PPFF have been a lot more fun – and she refuses to ever have a “pantyhose job” again. In addition to wrangling memberships and donations, she writes the weekly “Take Five/Fridays with Pam” eblast. Read a four-issue archive of the newsletter (and subscribe) on the Publications page of the website.
Phoebe | Office Dog
The youngest member of the staff, Phoebe, is a quick learner and we have no doubt that before too long she’ll be writing for the newsletter, managing donations, and mailing passports – making all of the rest of us quite redundant. In the meantime, when she isn’t out in the field exploring, she is diligently protecting PPFF staff by tearing the stuffing out of rogue stuffed office sharks.
Isabella (Izzy) | Office Dog (2009-2022)
The office dog, Izzy greeted visitors and reminded us not to take life too seriously. She was an avid hiker and swimmer, and enjoyed long walks and tummy rubs. She visited many state parks and forests with her humans.
We miss her terribly.