DEQ’s Janina Millis Recognized for Earning the State’s Environmental Education Certification

Janina Millis and Lori Davis 

Janina Millis, the NC Air Awareness Program Coordinator for the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Air Quality, was recognized Friday for completing her NC Environmental Education Certification. The award was a full circle moment for Janina and her mentor Lori Davis, who is the Education Coordinator for the NC Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. 

Lori supervised Janina when she was a DEQ intern with the NC Coastal Reserve in 2017. Today Janina is a full-time educator at DEQ participating in one of Lori’s professional development workshops for educators called Teachers on the Estuary at the Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve. “It has been an honor to mentor Janina and watch her grow as an environmental educator,” Lori said. “I’m so proud to call her a friend and a colleague, and to continue working together to promote environmental education in our state.”

“We are so fortunate to have outstanding educators like Lori and Janina teaching students about the importance of our state’s estuaries, clean air and other environmental topics,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “Janina’s success story demonstrates how our internships can create exciting career pathways for students.”

Teachers on the Estuary Workshop participants

As a program coordinator, Janina teaches K-12 students and the public about air quality through school programs and outreach events. Janina also collaborates with educators from other DEQ divisions on teacher training and student outreach. She has created partnerships with other agencies and organizations such as drivers’ education programs, asthma support groups and museums. In her personal time, Janina enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading and dancing. She also loves going home to the Crystal Coast to spend time with her family and dogs.

She says the favorite part of earning her certification was exploring the state. “Though I have lived in North Carolina all my life, I've only just started to explore,” she said. “Going to various regions for workshops and trainings, I have learned to love each part of the state for all its unique qualities. Now, a personal goal of mine is to visit all our state parks, because I have enjoyed exploring so much!”

Janina said the experience in the program that stood out for her was the conferences hosted by Environmental Educators of North Carolina, the state’s professional organization for environmental education. “Getting to be in the same space as folks who have like interests and passions, and an array of content expertise is such a rejuvenating experience,” she said. “Learning from so many wonderful people has made me a better environmental educator. Plus, game nights and campfires are always fun too.” 

For her community partnership project, Janina created a “State of AWE (Air, Water, Earth) workshop” which showcased DEQ’s education programs in the divisions of Coastal Management; Water Resources; Energy, Mineral and Land Resources; Geological Survey; and Air Quality. “The workshops were hosted in underserved areas of the state and educators spent a day learning from DEQ educators using hands-on activities in a variety of subject matter to take back to the classroom,” Janina said. “They gained an understanding of how each element of our environment is connected.” 

DEQ Educators and State of AWE Workshop Facilitators: Rebecca Coppa, Janina Millis, Amy Pitts and Lori Davis

Janina says the program helped her gain a better understanding of her position and what she could improve to make her outreach and education programs successful. She says her biggest take-away was understanding how to teach others how to think and not what to think and making content unique to different audiences so they may take personal interest in the subject. “Telling someone what to expect or what is happening, doesn't allow for them to form their own thoughts or become personally invested,” Janina said. “It is only once they have spent time coming to conclusions themselves and seeing the impacts on their lives that they really start to understand and ask more questions. Then, they can begin to take ownership of their actions that will have impacts on the environment.”