Cass Pastorelle

Program Director

Cass received her B.A. in Spanish Language & Literature and Environmental Studies from Tufts University in 2012. She won a scholarship to participate in a four-year civic engagement and leadership training program, the Tisch Citizenship & Public Service Scholars, where she received training in community engagement, cultural competency, critical race theory, and more. After studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, she was matched with Eagle Eye Institute, a small nonprofit in Somerville, MA, connecting young people from Boston neighborhoods with nature. She worked with Eagle Eye for two years, helping coordinate after-school and summer programs and engage Tufts students in Eagle Eye's work. Through the Tisch Scholars program, she completed capstone work in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, assisting a community organization with education and outreach around local marine conservation.

After graduating, Cass worked in the environmental nonprofit sector, including the Connecticut Audubon Society and Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston. She fell in love with food and began a journey reconnecting with food sources and traditions. Cass completed a full-season apprenticeship at a community farm in Boston dedicated to food access, then moved to Vermont and continued working seasonal jobs in sustainable agriculture and food production. For three years, she taught Spanish for middle and high school student athletes at Mount Snow Academy. 

In 2016, Cass returned to Eagle Eye on a part-time basis to help grow the organization's work in Western Mass. As Program Coordinator, Program Manager, then Program Director, she has learned and grown an incredible amount through her work with Eagle Eye. Cass has built relationships and strategic partnerships with individuals and organizations across the Connecticut River Valley, establishing Eagle Eye in a new city and region and making lifelong friends and lasting memories. She is deeply humbled by her role facilitating transformational outdoor experiences for youth and adults - and has been equally transformed by the work.

Cass is a literature and language enthusiast, writer and poet, music lover, dancer, and introvert who loves people. She can be found outside most days of the year for contemplative walks, cross country skiing, hiking, and swimming, or indoors with a book and her nine-year-old feline, Lucy.