Academic Director

We are privileged to have Brian Cassie on board as the Academic Director for "The Plight of the Thai Elephant". Mr. Cassie is a naturalist with over thirty years of experience studying, teaching, and writing about wildlife.

Currently, during the school year, Brian is a science teacher at The Park School, an independent school in Brookline, MA where Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Royal Princess of Thailand, attended school.

He has served as the head of The Park School’s summer nature program for the past eight years, and this year he will be leading our science program in Chiang Mai.

Mr. Cassie has led over 50 nature tours in the last 30 years in countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Canada, India, South Africa, Scotland and Australia for the Audubon Society and independently, and is well versed in the nuances of planning long-term nature excursions outside of the US.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program. Books he has written or co-authored include:

• National Audubon Society Regional Guide to New England
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Middle Atlantic States
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeast
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Rocky Mountains
• Tornadoes
• The Butterfly Alphabet Book
• Say It Again
• A World of Butterflies
• Checklist & English Names of North American Butterflies
• National Audubon Society First Field Guide to Shells
• National Audubon Society First Field Guide to Amphibians
• National Audubon Society First Field Guide to Trees

As a published author and scientific content editor on birds, shells, reptiles and amphibians, lichens and mushrooms, wildflowers, and countless other topics, Brian has demonstrated a knowledge of wildlife that is both broad and deep. Specifically, Mr. Cassie’s areas of natural history expertise are butterflies, birds, marine mollusks, orchids, trees, tropical ecology, and mammals.

Brian served as president of the Nuttall Ornithological Club for 3 years, and on the board of directors of the North American Butterfly Association for 14 years. He also worked on the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee for 5 years, and now serves as an administrator of the William Wharton Environment Trust.

His curriculum focuses on studying the ecology of Northern Thailand by understanding the different climates and habitats that exist in the area, how they are caused and how they evolve, and how they have been affected by interaction with humans. Through visits to each habitat, some for days at a time, he will guide students in learning about the biodiversity of each region by observing the wildlife present there. Students will learn to record their observations, which they will use to create and publish a database about the biodiversity of Northern Thailand, which will be accessible online to scholars, conservation organizations, and the public at large.