Mark L. Eastburn

Mark Eastburn grew up in and around Philadelphia, where he discovered a love for nature at the Philadelphia Zoo, Briar Bush Nature Center, and Baederwood Park. After attending The William Penn Charter School, he learned Spanish while studying abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico, and graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a major in biology and a minor in Spanish. He then spent the next two years in Panama, serving in the United States Peace Corps, where he taught rural farmers in a remote mountain village how to grow vegetables, conserve soil, and ranch iguanas for eggs and meat. Panama is where Mark also met his wife, and they now have two children.

Upon his return to the United States, Mark taught Spanish to elementary school children, before switching to science and technology education (robots and computers are cool). In addition to writing, and teaching, he has continued scientific research, pursuing a master's degree from Villanova University studying vegetarian spiders in Central America (yes, they do exist!). He is also conducting an ongoing population genetics study of Eastern box turtles, which can be viewed at http://www.teacherturtles.com.