Meet Our Authors and Illustrators

Dorna Schroeter retired in 2018 after 37 years as the Coordinator of the Center for Environmental Education at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES. Under her leadership, CEE grew from a small program serving 6,000 students to one that annually served over 40,000 students in schools across 6 Hudson Valley counties. CEE's programs expanded to include student programs at their nature center and local schools; summer science camps; Voyage of the Mimi excursions to Cape Cod, the JASON Project, marine ecology trips to the Florida Keys for middle and high school students, and professional development workshops for teachers. The two marine ecology trips were the favorite part of her job, introducing groups of middle school and high school students to the vibrant tropical marine ecosystem from the Everglades to the coral reefs.

One of Dorna's areas of expertise is biomimicry education. An early adopter, Dorna has been teaching biomimicry programs to students and teachers for over two decades. She has served as an educational advisor to The Biomimicry Institute and was a judge for several years for the Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge (YDC). In 2019, the Rhinebeck team she advised won the middle school division of the YDC. Although she has retired, Dorna continues to inspire young and old alike with her biomimicry programs and trainings.

Dorna began her story-writing journey after a conversation with the BOCES Science Coordinator about the lack of learning stories for the biomimicry units in the new Next Generation Science Standards. This led to her first story, The Story of Velcro, followed by The Story of Eco-Machines. Her latest story, We Are One, is based on Earth's Operating Principles, which she always included in all her programs. Her next story, Because of Storm, was inspired by the 2023-2024 spongy moth outbreak in the Hudson Valley.

In addition to writing stories, Dorna has authored several articles in various scientific and professional publications. As a dedicated member of the community of children's book creators, she actively engages with illustrators for children's books to enhance the visual storytelling of her narratives. When she isn’t writing children’s stories, teaching biomimicry, mentoring youth, and gardening, Dorna can be found biking the country roads around her home in Rhinebeck, NY, preparing for the three multi-day trips she takes each year on one of the many rail trails around the country. To date, she has completed the full Erie Canal and C&O rail trails.

Dorna is also a proud member of Storyteller Academy, SCBWI, and the Independent Book Sellers Association.