Nairobi , Kenya ( CNN ) -- An American woman who was trampled to death by an elephant in Kenya , where she lived with her family , was a librarian who was determined to see that schools and libraries be built in poor villages , a former boss said Wednesday . Before moving with her husband to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in 2006 , Sharon Brown was a reference librarian at Antioch University New England in Keene , New Hampshire , said library director Marcy Leversee , who hired Brown in 2005 . Brown and her toddler daughter , who also died in the incident , were on a guided forest hike Monday near the Castle Forest Lodge , about 65 miles north of Nairobi , when the incident occurred , said lodge spokeswoman Melia Van Leer . Van Leer speculated the elephant was in a herd of about 20 that were spotted later in the day with their calves . Elephants can be particularly defensive when they are sheltering their young , she said . In Nairobi , Brown was a librarian at the International School of Kenya , according to a security guard at the school . Her husband , Jeff , worked there as a fifth-grade teacher , according to the school 's Web site . Sharon Brown only spent a year at Antioch , Leversee said , because when she got the opportunity to work in Kenya , she felt it was a chance that was too good to pass up . At Antioch , she worked with graduate students in environmental sciences and clinical psychology . `` Sharon was a quiet , open person . Very present , '' Leversee said . `` She believed that every exchange was a mutual learning . She opened the exchange by listening . `` She was a cherished colleague , '' Leversee said . `` To me , she was a citizen of the world in the finest sense . '' The Browns became passionate about Africa after serving in the Peace Corps , Leversee said . That was where Sharon Brown became committed to promoting education . Leversee said she did n't know where they served , but Sharon Brown `` had an affinity for Africa . '' Brown had said that while in the Peace Corps , she totally immersed herself in the culture of the villagers , even asking the women to teach her how they washed clothes . A Peace Corps supervisor told Leversee that Brown provided the women and children with their very first books . Leversee said she did n't know the name of the village . According to Van Leer , the property around the lodge is full of elephants , but encounters with humans `` do n't normally end in tragedy . '' There have been no tragic incidents with elephants in the area since 2001 , she said . `` This area has wild animals , and I always warn my clients and everyone else to be aware of the danger , '' she said . `` But from now we wo n't allow children out anymore . The young child could have been saved . '' The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi refused comment Wednesday . CNN 's David McKenzie , Melissa Gray and Deb Krajnak contributed to this report .
Sharon Brown worked in the office of the Forest School of Kenya . Mother and baby were on guided forest hike , wildlife conservation spokeswoman says . Elephant encounters with ' ` ` do n't normally end in tragedy , '' she says . Last tragic incident with elephants in the park was in September .