Kevin Fischer
Operations Manager

Kevin received his Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, in December of 1995.  After graduation, he moved out to the Western United States with his future wife, Cherie.  Over the next seven years he lived in Idaho, Oregon, and Northern California.  While living in Northern California, Kevin took a Mycology course at Sonoma State University, which changed his life.  Although the Mycology course was interesting, that was not what changed his life.  It was a flyer he saw in the hallway at the University.

The flyer was for Fairfield Osborne Preserve, who was looking for volunteer docents for their environmental education program.  This is where Kevin became hooked on Environmental Education.   At Fairfield Osborn Preserve Kevin led day long nature hikes for groups of students, mostly elementary age, and fell in love with it.  “I knew I found what I wanted to do, from that moment on.  I just didn’t know how to get into it as a career.” 

After a year in Northern California, Kevin and Cherie moved to Idaho where they were married and their son Zachary was born.  Kevin got involved in restaurant management, but just was not happy with this as a career path.  Kevin realized that in order to move into education he would have to go back to school.  Kevin and his family moved to the Chicago area, where his parents and siblings lived, and attended National-Louis University.  In June of 2003 Kevin graduated with his Masters of Arts in Teaching Secondary Biological Sciences, with the goal of getting a few years of solid teaching experience under his belt, then pursuing a career in environmental education. 

Kevin got hired at Naperville Central High School for the 03-04 school year, in the western suburbs of Chicago, where he did his student teaching the previous fall.  Kevin taught Biology, Earth Science, and Earth Science integrated with Conceptual Physics for three years.  During this time period Kevin and Cherie’s daughter, Meghan, was born.  During his teaching stint, Kevin got involved with several different district level curriculum development projects.  One of the curriculum development projects was an AP Environmental Science course, which was scheduled to begin in the 06-07 school year, and he was scheduled to teach.

In the spring of 2006 Kevin and Cherie felt led to move to the Asheville, North Carolina area.  They made plans to move, and Kevin began applying for teaching jobs in Western North Carolina, when he came across a job opening at the Pisgah Forest Institute and applied for it.  Kevin was hired at PFI just before the 2006 summer workshop season.

Kevin brings with him his array of work experiences: his management experience, his teaching experience, and his curriculum development experience.  Kevin also brings his passion for nature and the environment, as well as his strong desire to pass this passion on to others.  Kevin feels that the future of the environment and the environmental movement lies in education, and PFI provides him with the opportunity to contribute in a positive and effective way.