the elevation Science institute Staff
Every member of our exceptional, experienced staff is dedicated to, and personally invested in, fulfilling the Elevation Science’s mission. We have worked together as both a team and as a family for several years, building the organization into what it is today.
We believe that science is an adventure!
Jason P. Schein
Executive Director
Jason Schein is a paleontologist who founded Elevation Science Institute (formerly known as the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute) in 2017 and the organization has thrived under his leadership ever since. In his extensive professional experience, including ten years as Assistant Curator of Natural History at the New Jersey State Museum, he has developed a diverse slate of engaging educational programming in the fields of natural history, geology, and paleontology for audiences of all ages, specializing in creating unique, hands-on experiences to help people experience the power of science.
His scientific research projects have led him across the globe, from Alabama to Montana and even to Argentinian Patagonia, to study an array of fascinating creatures, including modern echinoderms, ancient foraminifera, fish and turtles, mosasaurs, and of course dinosaurs! Jason’s love of our planet’s history continually leads him to explore a vast range of subjects, including Mesozoic (primarily Jurassic and Cretaceous) vertebrate marine and terrestrial faunas, paleoecology, paleobiogeography, faunistics, taphonomy, biostratigraphy, functional morphology, sedimentology, and general natural history.
Jason is also a writer, Master Naturalist (Montana), and outdoorsman. When he isn’t working, you can find Jason exploring his current city, Philadelphia, or hiking, hunting, fishing, and generally sharing his love of the natural world with his family.
Read more about Jason Schein’s background, research, and professional experience.
JSchein(at)ElevationScience.org
Devon Francis
Director of Development
(she/her)
Devon Francis has a passion for building creative solutions to meet unusual problems. She began her career in corporate marketing and, while she loved applying her passion to create and produce marketing campaigns, she found that it lacked the fulfillment of making a positive impact on the world. She shifted gears and began work as an Outreach and Fundraising Coordinator in animal welfare. After launching education workshops, developing shelter training for better outcomes, establishing a rescue transportation network, and planning fundraising galas, she decided it was time to switch gears again and focus on another area that has always been important to her: access to education. As a dinosaur-lover herself, she’s a perfect fit for the Elevation Science Institute.
Please contact Devon today to find out how you can advance science and education.
DFrancis(at)ElevationScience.org
Katie Hunt
Manager, Paleo Prep Lab
(she/her)
Katie Hunt came to Elevation Science Institute from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where she worked as a fossil preparator puzzling together fossils from the Jurassic Morrison and Cretaceous Hell Creek formations. Prior to her experience in the paleo lab, Katie was a museum educator who wore many hats. She managed a museum-based Out-of-School Time program for K-12th grade students, designing and leading hands-on STEAM activities and project-based learning experiences. Museum education is her passion, and she thrives on meeting with the public and sharing her love of science!
Before making her way to paleontology, Katie focused her research on archaeology, and studied the Paleoindian time period and human interactions with Ice Age megafauna. She honed her excavation skills at Big Bone Lick State Park with the University of Cincinnati, then went on to Northern Arizona University where she worked in a zooarchaeology lab contributing to research on fauna of all sizes from across the Southwest.
Katie lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Evan, and her cats, Squid and Shrimp. She is digging in on tons of fossils excavated in prior years by Elevation Science Institute’s crew; you can observe Katie and volunteers preparing fossils at the Paleo Prep Lab in the Dinosaur Hall of the Cincinnati Museum Center, so be sure to follow her at @katewhoexcavates on Instagram for sneak peeks of lab projects and cat photos!
Check out Katie’s curriculum vitae here.
KHunt(at)ElevationScience.org
Image by A. Armagno
Skye Walker
Field Technician, Science Communication Manager
(she/her)
Skye Walker is a field paleontologist and science communication extraordinaire. She came to the Elevation Science team in 2022, where her childhood dreams of digging up dinosaurs came true. While earning her B.S. in Geology from Auburn University, her studies were heavily focused on paleontology. Her undergraduate career was spent voraciously gaining experience in fossil preparation, field work, museum collections, research, and education.
Most of all, she enjoys working hands-on with fossils. Fossil preparation at the Auburn University Museum of Natural History and field work in various parts of the U.S. has allowed her to work with marine reptiles, sharks, pterosaurs, giant ammonites, and dinosaurs. You’ll never see her happier than when she’s covered in sweat, dirt, and plaster!
When she isn’t in the field or the dinosaur hall of a museum, you can usually find her curled up with a fiction novel, tending to her plants, or spending time with her pets. Read more about Skye’s background and professional experience here.
Follow her @thedinomancer on most socials for extra dinosaur content, outreach programs, and field season fun!
SWalker(at)ElevationScience.org
Image by S. Walker
Jason C. Poole
Field Expedition Crew Chief, Paleontological Anatomy Specialist, Educator
(he/him)
Jason Poole is the Elevation Science Institute’s Fossil Preparation Consultant, Field Crew Chief, and resident Paleo-artist, and has helped lead our annual Field Expeditions since Elevation Science Institute’s founding. Jason was the Manager of Dinosaur Hall and head Fossil Preparator at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for 27 years. It is here that he honed his teaching skills, developing and leading countless natural history and live animal classes, and eventually became an Adjunct Professor for Drexel University, teaching Dinosaurs and Their World.
Jason provides expertise in many diverse fields to the Elevation Science Institute. He was educated at the Antonelli Institute of Commercial Art and Photography. His art has been featured in numerous publications, including National Geographic, as well as several documentaries and scientific publications. His teaching, art, and scientific interests have led him around the globe, from Patagonia to Egypt and Mongolia, and gave him the opportunity to work on three dinosaurs that were new to science: Paralititan, Dreadnoughtus, and Suuwassea.
Jason was born and raised in Philadelphia but has relocated to Montana, where he primarily teaches art throughout the off season. You can read more about Jason Poole’s background, research, and professional experience.
JPoole(at)ElevationScience.org
Dr. Richard Schmidt
Director of Educational Programming
(he/him)
Dr. Rick Schmidt studied education and geoscience from Penn State University, and eventually earned an Ed.D. from Drexel University. He has excelled in his career, becoming a nationally renowned innovator and leader in the field of geoscience education. He has taught in the Upper Dublin School District in suburban Philadelphia for more than 20 years, and has been a leader within the Elevation Science Institute's field teams since 2013. Dr. Schmidt is also the primary professor for our GEOL 491 Field Paleontology course.
Read more about Rick here.
RSchmidt(at)ElevationScience.org
Image by J. Bugos
Daniel R. Dunfee
Field Technician
(he/him)
Daniel Dunfee is a returning member of Elevation Science’s field crew, starting out as a 2022 intern and returning in 2023 as a field technician. He graduated in 2022 from the Honors Tutorial College of Ohio University with a degree in Geological Sciences, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and a minor in paleontology. He worked on his undergraduate honors thesis in WitmerLab under the mentorship of Dr. Lawrence Witmer, and used complex 3D visualization software to study the change with growth in the skulls of a small herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah called Dryosaurus elderae. He is currently completing a master’s program in Geological Sciences at Ohio University, expanding on his undergraduate work on Dryosaurus elderae in WitmerLab.
When not in the lab, Daniel enjoys spending time with his wife and two cats, reading fantasy, playing video games, hiking, fishing, fossil hunting, and all things outdoors.