The Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) has appointed Krista Hodges as the new Director of Environmental Education. Hodges served as the Education Outreach Manager for DRBA for the last nine years. Before that, she was the Education Outreach Coordinator for four years.
“We are thrilled to name Krista Hodges as DRBA’s first Director of Environmental Education. Krista has a deep understanding of environmental education and unparalleled determination and proven success in providing education programs to thousands of youth in the Dan River basin. Combine all of that with her dedication to the natural world and her commitment to our organization’s mission and she is the perfect choice for this new position,” said Tiffany Haworth, executive director of the Dan River Basin Association.
DRBA’s menu of environmental education programs and requests to provide them to schools have grown exponentially since Hodges started in 2011. The menu started with the award-winning Trout in the Classroom (TIC) in 2008 started by Dr. David Jones of Jones & DeShon Orthodontics. The TIC program now includes nearly a dozen other offerings including Green Schoolyards, Monarch Waystations, Streamside Trees in the Classroom, Forest School, Epic River Experiences, and many other classroom presentations and programs because of Hodges energy and hard work.
“I am incredibly honored to serve as the Director of Environmental Education, and to lead DRBA’s education programs into the future, “said Hodges. “The Dan River Basin has so many amazing watershed-based learning experiences to offer teachers, that compliment what the teachers are doing in the classroom, and I look forward to making them available to all youth in the basin.”
A project that was especially meaningful to Hodges was the development of the DRBA Volunteer Environmental Educators program in 2023. Through this project and the help of DRBA’s education staff, DRBA has expanded the reach of education programs, and plans to further those efforts to the far corners of the Dan River basin, that were not previously reached consistently. Because of Hodges, today DRBA has two dozen dedicated and knowledgeable trained volunteers that will provide the vehicle to help make that goal happen.
Hodges has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with a focus in Ecology and a minor in English/Literature from Averett University. She also has a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University and a certificate in Natural Resources Leadership from Virginia Tech and University of Virginia. Hodges was awarded the RISE Award from the VA Association of Science Teachers in 2024 and the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science Education Award in 2022 from the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
The mission of the Dan River Basin Association is to promote and protect the natural and cultural resources of the Dan River Basin through education, recreation, and stewardship. DRBA works to fulfill that mission by building river accesses and trails, educating people of all ages about protecting our natural resources, and protecting our water resources through water quality monitoring, cleanups and master planning. The Dan River basin is 3,300 square miles including sixteen counties throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
