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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

New education director at Wolf Center

Scott Stowell
Posted 4/3/10

Jerritt Johnston first visited Camp du Nord for a winter weekend trip in 1995. He said it was one of Ely’s true winter days when the temperature never rose above 20-below.

But there were other …

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New education director at Wolf Center

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Jerritt Johnston first visited Camp du Nord for a winter weekend trip in 1995. He said it was one of Ely’s true winter days when the temperature never rose above 20-below.

But there were other firsts during the trip, too. He experienced his first sauna. And he stopped by the International Wolf Center. The combination of the three seemed to have him hooked. Now he’s the new education director at the Wolf Center.

Since his first trip, Johnston and his wife Molly have visited Ely many times. He said when the position for educational director became available it seemed like a great opportunity. They have wanted to live in a small north-woods town with their children, seven-year-old son Jasper and three-year-old daughter Rena.

“This is a pretty good combination,” he said.

He added that the center has a good reputation for providing science-based information about wolves. The facility caught his interest as well.

“I was struck by the building and obviously the live animals were amazing,” he said.

Johnston has a wide range of work experience in nonprofit and for-profit management. Most recently he was a teacher in a St. Paul charter school called Skills for Tomorrow High School. He received undergraduate degrees in political science and liberal arts from Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo. He earned his masters in education from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.

Johnston started work at the Wolf Center on March 22. He said his responsibilities will focus on educational efforts for the interpretive center and the organization as a whole. He’s looking forward to enhancing its visibility and making sure the public knows all that is going on there. The center’s 25th anniversary and the remodeled building are all part of the incentive.

“It’s been completed, it looks great and we’re hoping it will increase traffic and improve the visitor experience,” he said.

As for challenges, Johnston said he’s trying to get up to speed in an organization that moves quickly during tourist season. At the local level, he wants to maintain relationships in the community.

“One of my key responsibilities is engaging community members in productive conversations regarding wolves and wolf populations,” he said.

Along with exploring the Boundary Waters with his children, he’s got his sights on several other outdoor activities. His personal favorite is cross-country skiing. But he and Molly enjoy orienteering, trail running and mountain biking. They also participate in a multi-sport known as adventure racing. It incorporates running, paddling and biking while navigating a course.

Jerritt Johnston, International Wolf Center