Courtney Dwyer   
Environmental Education Resource Teacher

Courtney Dwyer has served as an Environmental Education Resource Teacher in Lee County since January of 2006. Prior to accepting this position, Dwyer was a graduate assistant in the College of Professional Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.

Dwyer is currently a graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program at FGCU. Dwyer will graduate with her MPA in the spring of 2007. Dwyer has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from FGCU and plans to complete her second master’s degree in Early Elementary Education in the fall of 2007.

Among Dwyer’s highest achievements was being named a National Academic All-American Tennis player for FGCU and competing in the National Tournament as a sophomore. Dwyer was also honored as the 2004 FGCU Student of the Year.

In addition to teaching the Aquatics Systems/Mosquito Education Program, Dwyer also serves as a liaison between the Lee County Mosquito Control District and the School District of Lee County. Dwyer’s professional interests include learning about innovative and exciting teaching methods, staying abreast of disease surveillance and vector control issues, as well as issues surrounding ecological sustainability. 

Dwyer is currently a member of the FGCU University Lecture Series Committee that has brought prominent leaders such as Dr. Maya Angelou and Mikhail Gorbachev to FGCU.

239-275-3033
courtneywd@leeschools.net

Brian Murphy   
Environmental Education Resource Teacher

Brian Murphy has been a teacher in Lee County since 1987.  He taught high school biology and marine biology for several years and has served as an Environmental Education Resource Teacher since 1989.

 Murphy attended Wheaton College in Illinois and received an undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in cross cultural communication and Third World development. He later earned a master’s degree in educational leadership. He moved to Lee County to work as an intern for one year at Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO), an agricultural developmental station promoting underexploited food crops around the world.  After his term at ECHO, he began teaching in the Lee County School District. His interest in environmental education began after moving to South Florida as he learned the ecology of the area and became interested in sharing this knowledge with others.

Murphy has many diverse interests related to biology.  Early in his career, Murphy developed an interest in marine biology and spent several summers at the Keys Marine Lab instructing teachers in marine science and providing them with curricular materials for use in the classroom.  He also enjoys learning and teaching about insects and entomology and regularly does presentations on birds and birding, another of his interests. 

Along with his responsibilities related to the mosquito education program, Murphy has also assisted the Lee County School District’s Environmental Education Program in a variety of ways including writing curriculum, teaching the high school seminar class “the Monday Group”, working with field trips and coordinating the grant program for landscape matching funds within the District.

In addition to working for the School District, Murphy has been an adjunct instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University for five years.  He has taught a non-majors Environmental Biology course and an upper level required course on environmental sustainability.

239-337-8625
brianrmu@leeschools.net

Neil Wilkinson   FGCU Instructor

Neil Wilkinson is an instructor in the Environmental Studies Program at Florida Gulf Coast University. He has an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in educational leadership. He is an environmental educator with extensive classroom and field teaching experience at the elementary, middle, high, and university levels. He spends about half of his time teaching the aquatic systems/mosquito education outreach program to students in Lee County, Florida.

Wilkinson acts as a liaison between FGCU, the Lee County School District’s Environmental Education Program, and the Lee County Mosquito Control District facilitating interagency cooperative and collaborative efforts among students, faculty, and staff. At FGCU he teaches a non-science majors field-based course, environmental biology and an upper level required course on environmental sustainability. Additionally Wilkinson is active on a variety of university and community committees. In 2006 he received the FGCU Student Government’s McTarnaghan Teaching Award for “outstanding service and commitment to the student body at FGCU.”

 Wilkinson’s professional interests include exploring methods and practices that make science relevant to students, staying current with Florida ecological issues, mosquito biology and related vector control issues, and promoting local and global sustainable initiatives.  

239-590-7255
nwilkins@fgcu.edu