Erika Davis. Meet Erika Davis, Muddy Sneakers bookkeeper. Erika Davis joined Muddy Sneakers as a part-time bookkeeper in March 2026, bringing with her extensive financial experience and a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors. Throughout her career, Erika has worked in finance and bookkeeping across nonprofit, government, church, construction, and private-sector organizations. She has also served on numerous nonprofit boards, giving her firsthand insight into the financial responsibilities and unique challenges that come with mission-driven work. Originally from southwestern Ohio, Erika's path to North Carolina included more than a decade in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before eventually bringing her to Southern Pines in 2021. She earned a bachelor's degree in writing from Miami University in Ohio and has experience in grant writing and contributing to equestrian publications. That writing background reflects another major part of Erika's life: horses. An avid equestrian for more than 45 years, she has extensive experience riding, owning, training, and showing horses. Today, she owns four dressage and eventing horses, three of which she bred and raised herself. When she isn't working with numbers, you're likely to find her spending time with her horses and dogs or staying active outdoors. At Muddy Sneakers, Erika is excited to bring together her nonprofit finance experience, writing background, and love of the outdoors to support a mission that helps children learn, explore, and connect with nature. Muddy Sneakers, Inc. is thrilled to have Erika helping keep Muddy Sneakers financially organized behind the scenes (because even outdoor education requires spreadsheets)! Meet its. Staff. Aila Music joins Muddy Sneakers as an intern supporting outdoor Meet Ashley Morris: From Wildlife Biologist to Outdoor Educator Ashley Meet Casey Therrien: Director of Development at Muddy Sneakers Casey Emanuel Aragon Cruz was raised in the Piedmont region of Erica Brown was born in New Jersey and moved to Jaclyn Rodriguez is an accomplished marketing leader dedicated to boosting Katia Griffin-Jakymec joined the Muddy Sneakers team in November 2025 Muddy Sneakers, Inc. is thrilled to introduce LaToya Skinner to the Muddy Sneakers Lucy Carte, a native of the Carolinas, has been exploring Melody Hollinger grew up surrounded by the gorgeous Appalachian Mountains Growing up in a small town in east Texas, Sienna

Muddy Sneakers brings science to life through outdoor learning. May 15, 2026 "Connection to nature is probably the most impactful part of what we do. It helps students care about the world they live in." - Erica Brown, Director of Communications and IT, Muddy Sneakers Discretionary Grant - North Carolina (May 2026) - On a wooded trail in North Carolina, a fifth-grader crouches beside a stream, dip net in hand. He pulls it up, eyes wide. Writhing in the mesh are creatures he's never seen before: crayfish, salamanders, tiny invertebrates that tell the story of the water's health. "We don't have these where I go," he says, breathless with discovery. He'd always considered himself an outdoor kid. He plays in the backyard. He walks to the bus stop. But this... this is something entirely different. For students across North Carolina, experiences like this are exactly what Muddy Sneakers was built to provide. Founded in Brevard in 2007, Muddy Sneakers partners with public schools to bring science curriculum to life outside the classroom. Instead of reading about ecosystems in a textbook or watching experiments on a screen, students step into the lesson itself: hanging bear bags from trees, rolling logs to discover what lives underneath, hiking trails and eating lunch in the open air. Every day begins with an opening circle before heading out into the woods in small groups. "You can learn something from a textbook, you can read it, you can watch a video about it," Brown says. "But when you get out there and you're doing it, it's going to stick with you." With support from the Walters Family Foundation, Muddy Sneakers is expanding this experience into North Carolina's Triangle region of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. It aims to reach hundreds of additional students and lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships with local schools. What begins as a single field experience can grow into ongoing, curriculum-aligned outdoor learning year after year. Working through schools is key. It removes barriers that often stand in the way: transportation, access and even perception. "A lot of people don't think that nature is for them," Brown explains. "We help to normalize that by making it part of the school day, so everyone gets to have that experience." That sense of belonging can be transformative. Annual evaluations from NC State University show that students who participate in repeated outdoor learning experiences demonstrate improved focus, stronger academic performance and better behavior in the classroom. Teachers often see a shift in students who struggle in traditional settings. "When that student is outside," Brown says, "it's a totally different student. They just need that change of environment. This is how they learn." For some students, the impact lasts far beyond a single day. One alumna, now studying birds in North Carolina, traced her path back to a childhood field experience. "Muddy Sneakers is why I do what I do," she said. Another is pursuing graduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill, inspired by the hands-on learning she experienced years earlier. "If it weren't for the support of the Walters Family Foundation," Brown says, "these students would not have these opportunities. We are so incredibly grateful for their support." As Muddy Sneakers takes root in the Triangle, the impact is already beginning to grow: along forest trails, beside quiet streams and in the minds of students discovering, perhaps for the first time, that the natural world is theirs to explore.