Rebecca Bernard serves as the Director of Innovation at The Teaching Well. She is a creative thinker and strategist with a proven track record in the areas of global business, non-profit management, and cradle to career education Her expertise includes entrepreneurship, global marketing and communications, interdisciplinary strategy and entrepreneurship, DEIJ and SEL for youth and adults, arts education and youth program design. She is a skillful facilitator and community builder with an ability to unite teams and inspire meaningful collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in the globalization services industry as a trusted advisor and project manager for multinational corporations in the tech start-up, gaming and mobile industries. She has since held executive management positions in the small business and non-profit space. Her love and commitment to education runs deep, as teaching and school building has been a part of her ancestral lineage for at least three generations. Over the last decade, Rebecca has worked in various capacities in Early Education, K-12 and Out-of-school-time Learning. With the intention of bringing high quality, child-led, dual-language programming to her community in South Los Angeles, Rebecca helped to found two schools–a progressive bilingual play-based early education center and a dual-language public elementary school. She has managed youth programs for hundreds of children through her non-profit work, consulted for a variety of education organizations, and designed place-based summer learning programs in countries around the globe through her travel company Family Go Global. Rebecca holds a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, a Masters in Communication Management from USC, and a Master's in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rebecca is passionate about uplifting future generations and reimagining systems for learning around the globe.

Lindsey Fuller serves as the Executive Director of The Teaching Well and is an unapologetic and passionate advocate for scholars, educators, and marginalized communities. A paradigm-shifting leader and Restorative Practitioner, she is the embodiment of Angela Davis’ statement, “We must always attempt to lift as we climb.” Lindsey leads through genuine relationships and humor. She has an unmatched ability to see others’ innate gifts and reflect them back in ways that make room for each staff member and client to show up as their most favorite selves in service to their students, communities, and loved ones. 

Prior to joining The Teaching Well, Lindsey served as both a teacher and school administrator and also held the role of Regional Director of Student Services for a school network in California. In that role, she supported 11 Bay Area schools and led all non-academic initiatives, including mental health programming, behavioral supports, socio-emotional learning, and crisis management. Lindsey was the co-founder and leader of the network’s first affinity group in 2016, which has now scaled to over 20 affinity spaces across the organization. She also co-founded the inaugural Black Leadership Advocacy Council (B.L.A.C.), endeavoring to amplify the voices of community stakeholders to improve outcomes for Black scholars. Lindsey is highly skilled in navigating complex systems, with an eye towards strategic change management and communication cascades. Lindsey believes that in order to reach collective liberation, we must find ways to sustain adults in our schools to ensure trauma-sensitive continuity of care. With her fierce advocacy for folks on the margins, she builds human-centered, anti-racist systems to inform strong adult school climates. She holds a B.A, California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Occidental College, her California Preliminary Administrative Credential, as well as serving as a trainer of Restorative Practices (IIRP), and a state-certified Mediator (CCEJ).

José G. González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors and Co-Founder of the Outdoorist Oath, along with a former partner at the Avarna Group. He is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. As a Partner in the Avarna Group and through his own consulting, his work focused on Equity & Inclusion frameworks and practices in the environmental, outdoor, and conservation fields. He is also an illustrator and science communicator. He currently serves as the inaugural Equity Officer for the East Bay Regional Park District.

He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment. His teaching coursework was at the Bilingual, Multicultural, Education Department at Sacramento State.
He serves on the boards for Parks California and Resource Media, along with being a Commissioner for the California Boating & Waterways Commission. 
You can connect with him on social media @JoseBilingue. Puns welcomed. 

Kelley Lê has been in the educational field for over a decade as a high school science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader. She is currently the executive director of the UC–CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs), former director of the UC Irvine Science Project, Friends of the Planet NCSE Award recipient (2022), and author of Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS (2021, Coming Soon 2024). She also serves as a CLEAN advisory board member, and a Climate Reality Corps mentor.

Naehee Kwun served as a math teacher, instructional coach, mentor, curriculum designer, and consultant. She designs professional learning experiences for teachers. She speaks at and organizes conferences to elevate teachers in their commitments to make education relevant for all learners and foster student agency to fight for justice. Her portfolio can be found at www.mathingforequity.org  Naehee is a first generation Korean American, a wife and mother, and an avid baker.

Lilly Lopez is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies and a minor in Conservation Biology. She has since worked as a naturalist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, where she has helped implement educational outreach programs and helped manage their two nature centers. In addition, she has also collaborated in various community-based research projects and internships that have focused on the ecological composition of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas. Lilly currently supports ECCLPs and the UC Irvine Science Project as a program coordinator.

Dr. Ramanathan discovered the greenhouse effect of CFCs (cholorofluorocarbons; belongs to family of halocarbons) in 1975 and showed that a ton each of CFC-11 and CFC-12 has more global warming effect than 10000 tons of CO2.   This discovery established the now accepted fact that non-CO2 gases are a major contributor to planet warming and also enabled the Montreal protocol to become the first successful climate mitigation policy. For this work, he was awarded the Tyler Prize by Nobel Laureate Sherwood Rowland in 2009. In 1980, Madden and Ramanathan were the first to make a statistical prediction that global warming will be detected above the background noise by 2000, a prediction which was verified by the IPCC-UN experts in 2001. He led a NASA study with its climate satellite to show that clouds had a net cooling effect on the planet and quantified the radiation interactions with water vapor and its amplification of the CO2 warming. He led international field campaigns, developed unmanned aircraft platforms for tracking brown clouds  pollution worldwide.  His work has led to numerous policies including the formation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition by the United Nations.

He founded, designed, and leads Project Surya along with daughters Nithya Ramanathan and Tara Ramanathan; an extended effort to characterize and mitigate climate and health impacts of cooking with solid biomass as a way to protect the bottom three billion from climate change. He is now leading a University of California climate solutions effort which has launched a course on climate solutions that is expected to reach a million students or more.

He was honored as the science advisor to Pope Francis’ holy see delegation to the historic 2015 Paris climate summit and in addition advises California Governor Jerry Brown. He was named the UN Climate Champion in 2013; has been elected to the US National Academy and the Royal Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel prizes. Foreign Policy named him a thought leader in 2014 and in 2018, he (with James Hansen) was named the Tang Laureate for sustainability science.  He is currently the Edward A. Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability.

Okhee Lee is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She is widely known for advancing research, policy, and practice that simultaneously promote science and language learning for all students, particularly multilingual learners. Lee was a member of the NGSS writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She also was a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. Her research involves integrating science, language, and computational thinking with a focus on multilingual learners. Her latest work addresses justice-centered STEM education with multilingual learners by integrating multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to address pressing societal challenges using the case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee brings research and policy to practice. Her team developed a yearlong fifth-grade science curriculum called Science And Integrated Language, or SAIL, that translates contemporary science standards into classroom practice with multilingual learners. The curriculum is in a field trial at New York City Public Schools with funding from the National Science Foundation. Using the SAIL curriculum, Lee’s team published teacher resources in collaboration with the New York State Education Department. In addition, her team published teacher resources in collaboration with the National Science Teaching Association and made them available nationally.

Estefanía is originally from Costa Rica and has worked in sustainability and transformative education since her mid twenties. She founded and operated a K–12 school for students from low-income families focused on delivering high quality bilingual education that merged social justice and environmental stewardship. Through this role Estefanía worked alongside educators from over a dozen countries creating an evolving dually accredited program of studies that merged international academic standards with sustainability learning principles. The school grew into a model of an institution operating under Education for Sustainable Development and consequently Estefanía was invited as the first research fellow at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University (CSU). There she published one of the few toolkits available for developing project-based learning at low-budget schools operating in the tropics. Estefanía completed her M.B.A. at CSU in social entrepreneurship focusing on the curricular structure and operations of schools categorized as examples of whole-school sustainability. This experience took her to Bali and Sumatra where she researched schools and education projects developed to provide climate social justice environmental justice and environmental stewardship education. In 2018 Estefanía founded the Hahami Organization in California a social enterprise that specializes in supporting government institutions schools and NGOs that are seeking to adopt and align their education offers with education for sustainable development as part of their efforts to provide youth with climate social justice and environmental education. With Hahami Estefanía collaborates with experts from sustainability education curricular design sustainability corporate governance conservation educational policies and educational technologies in a myriad of projects both in the US and internationally. Currently Estefanía is completing her PhD at the Gevirtz Graduate School of education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on evidence-based pedagogies and design methods to integrate content conducive for learning about and for sustainability challenges within K–12 subject matter content and official curricula. In addition she researches the best methods to train pre-service and in-service teachers in sustainability education including climate social justice and environmental education. Estefanía has published and participated with leading institutions such as UNESCO-IBE ICSS and FAO.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Andy, with a remarkable entrepreneurial journey spanning over four decades, has been a pivotal figure in blending visual storytelling, technology, and design. This unique intersection has been the foundation of his work in both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Throughout his career, Andy has co-founded and successfully led eight organizations, showcasing his versatile leadership and innovative mindset.

His commitment extends beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, as evidenced by his role as a board member for several notable organizations. He has contributed his insights and expertise to Mother Jones magazine, actively participated in the preservation of Tibetan culture through Richard Gere's Foundation, supported Streetwise in empowering underrepresented, unhoused voices, and engaged in advancing the understanding of human sexuality at the Kinsey Institute.

Currently, Andy is at the helm of his newest venture, Flywheel. This innovative initiative is dedicated to reshaping the narrative around climate change. Through Flywheel, Andy continues to demonstrate his unwavering dedication to creating meaningful impact and fostering positive change in critical global issues.

Chris Rainier is a National Geographic Society Explorer and documentary photographer/filmmaker - who is highly respected for his documentation of endangered cultures and traditional languages around the globe. In 2002, he was awarded the Lowell Thomas Award by the Explorers Club for his efforts on cultural preservation, and in 2014 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society of London/UK - specializing in cultural preservation He is the Director of The Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation – a global program focused on preserving Biodiversity and Traditional Cultural Knowledge.

During his continued tenure with the National Geographic Society as a Fellow he has been the co-founder and co-director of both the Enduring Voices Language Project and Director of the All Roads Photography Program, designed to support indigenous groups with modern technology desiring to document their traditional culture. As well as roving Cultural Editor for NG Traveler magazine.

In the early 1980’s Rainier was Ansel Adams' last photographic assistant. During his tenure with the noted photographer Rainier helped Ansel Adams with the use of his photography to help conserve many of the National Parks in North America Rainier went on to collaborate with UNESCO and IUCN on a Global Project using photography to preserve endangered wilderness areas around the world.

Rainier has completed expeditions on all seven continents documenting pristine wilderness areas and traditional tribes, including a 1990 expedition to the North Pole, and a high-altitude skydiving expedition over Mt. Everest setting the record for a skydive over the highest mountain in the world. Rainier has lectured for such Institutions as: The Explorers Club, The United Nations, UNESCO, National Geographic, International Center of Photography in New York, TED Global: Africa & India, Aspen Ideas Festival, Apple, Google, Samsung, Xposure Festival, Dubai, The Royal Geographic Society in London & Hong Kong, Banff Film Festival, Harvard, Brown and Stanford University.

Mimi Chakarova grew up in a village in southwest Bulgaria. When Communism collapsed, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. Chakarova picked up her first camera in Baltimore – no one back home believed the harsh reality of poverty in America. By 8th grade, Chakarova was working three jobs that didn’t require English. Four years later, she graduated early from high school and, at 17, moved to San Francisco. She rented a tiny studio in the Tenderloin for $525 a month and enrolled at City College of San Francisco. Without the resources to study filmmaking, she chose documentary photography instead. Chakarova eventually found her way to making films and hasn’t stopped since.

As an independent filmmaker, Mimi Chakarova covered global issues examining conflict, corruption and the sex trade. Her first film “The Price of Sex,” a feature-length documentary on the trafficking of women, was awarded the Nestor Almendros Award for courage in filmmaking at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York. She was also the winner of the prestigious Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting and a Dart Awards Finalist for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma.

Chakarova went on to direct, shoot and produce five other feature-length documentaries and over 30 award-winning short films, completed by her own production company, A Moment in Time Productions. "Men: A Love Story" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival; “Letters,” a collaboration with Grammy-winning artist Kris Davis, premiered at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. Chakarova is the founder and creative director of "Still I Rise Films," a documentary series about resilience and rising above the odds. In 2021, she set up a fellowship program for women filmmakers and visual artists in need of support and mentorship.

Mimi Chakarova is the recipient of the Dorothea Lange Fellowship for outstanding work in documentary photography and the Magnum Photos Inge Morath Award for her work on sex trafficking. Other awards include a People's Voice Webby and a nomination for a News and Documentary Emmy Award.

Chakarova's work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, London, CBS News' "60 Minutes," CNN World, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, The Atlantic Monthly, Ms., PBS' FRONTLINE/World and the Center for Investigative Reporting among others.

Capitalism, God, And A Good Cigar: Cuba Enters The Twenty-first Century, published by Duke University Press, features over 75 of Chakarova's documentary photographs of Cuba.

Mimi Chakarova taught visual storytelling at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism for 14 years. She also taught reporting classes at Stanford University's African and African American Studies and Comparative Studies for Race and Ethnicity and has lectured extensively in universities throughout the world.

Mimi Chakarova received her BFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MA in Visual Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District, located in the Los Angeles South Bay and Harbor Area.  A champion for public education, Muratsuchi serves as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Funding.  He is also fighting climate change as former Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, authoring landmark legislation for California to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2045.  Muratsuchi has written laws to fight for education, jobs and the economy, clean energy and environmental justice, public safety, veterans, and small businesses.   He has helped deliver billions in increased funding for California public schools and for universal high-speed internet access to close the digital divide. 

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris proudly represents California’s 73rd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Tustin.

Cottie Petrie-Norris is a businesswoman, mom, and community leader who was elected to the State Assembly in 2018. In the Assembly, Cottie has worked to secure millions of dollars in funding for projects across Orange County and has passed important legislation to protect the California coast, improve access to healthcare, keep our children and communities safe, and help local veterans and small businesses.

Cottie serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Energy and the Select Committee on Green Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Additionally, she serves on the Assembly’s Committees on Banking & Finance; Insurance; and, Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.

Cottie and her husband, Colin are the proud parents of two sons, Dylan and Hayden, and their rescue dog, Flounder.

Dr. James M. “Jim” Limbaugh has been president of West Los Angeles College (WLAC), a diverse urban dual-purpose college of 10,000 students, since October 2016. During his tenure, the college has established two baccalaureate degree programs (dental hygiene and avionics), developed an associate degree in climate change studies (the only such program in California), and created the California Center for Climate Change Education, designed to support California’s 116 community colleges in curricula design, workforce development, and advocacy initiatives, with a collective focus on social justice.

Within the California community college system, Jimalso served as president of Oxnard College. He previously held leadership positions in master’s level institutions, including the presidency of Montana State University-Northern, vice president and provost at Angelo State University (Texas), and associate vice president at Frostburg State University (Maryland).

Jim received a bachelor’s and a master’s from Texas A&M-Commerce and a doctorate from the University of Maryland focusing on higher education leadership, with an emphasis on curricula and law. 

Tamara Wallace is the sustainability programs manager with the California State University, Office of the Chancellor. During her 10-year career in sustainability, she has passionately championed the strategic vision of sustainability in higher education with its unique opportunities for driving organizational change through innovative solutions to tackle today’s challenges of a changing climate. Tamara is the project lead for the development of CSU’s Climate Resilient Infrastructure Guidelines and Framework and represents the CSU with the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation. Tamara is an elected member and current chair of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Steering Committee, and successfully advocated for systemwide participation in comprehensive university sustainability benchmarking using the STARS reporting platform. Additionally, she is the co-founder and co-editor for the CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change. Tamara is a double-alumna from Cal State Fullerton, a certified change management professional, and a LEED Green Associate.

Dr. Branden Brough is the Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), as well as the Assistant Director for Nanotechnology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He serves as the national spokesperson and central point of contact for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). In this role, Dr. Brough provides technical and advisory support for Federal nanotechnology research and development, and facilitates interagency communication and coordination across the 20+ Federal Departments and Agencies of the NNI. Previously, Dr. Brough served as the Deputy Director of the Molecular Foundry, a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded nanoscale science research center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) that provides users from around the world with access to cutting-edge expertise and instrumentation. There, he helped guide the organization’s scientific plans and initiatives, while also managing the center’s operations. Before joining the Molecular Foundry, Dr. Brough worked at the NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), where he led strategic policy and planning activities, as well as Congressional and public outreach efforts. Dr. Brough received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering – focusing on the integration of synthetic motor molecules and natural self-assembling proteins into micro/nanotechnologies – from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), before becoming a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in 2007.

Candice Dickens-Russell is is the President & CEO of Friends of the LA River and a passionate leader in sustainability, education, environmental literacy, and environmental justice. With nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit environmental sector, Candice has worked with schools, school districts, government agencies, utilities, and municipalities to develop and deliver high quality sustainability and environmental education programs. She has led large teams and multi-million dollar contracts creating innovative environmental education resources. Candice served as the regional director for environmental education for the State of California Department of Education for 12 years, representing all of Los Angeles County. There she built a strong and vibrant network of L.A. based environmental organizations. In 2015 Candice was selected as one of 47 people statewide to serve on the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy Taskforce for the state and continues to serve on the implementation committee, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative as the Equity Innovation Hub Chair. An equity thought leader with a passion for environmental justice, Candice is also certified in Diversity & Inclusion and Micro-aggressions. She has led organizations in equity strategic planning and organizational development for over five years.

Candice serves on several boards and advisory councils for environmental organizations such as Ten Strands, Friends of the Los Angeles River and USC Sea Grant. She majored in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Sustainability & Social Justice at San Francisco State University.

Jazzari Taylor (Jazz-err-ee) was born in Los Angeles County and raised there and in the San Gabriel Valley. Jazz’s multicultural and racial background helps her bring a unique perspective to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. She has been a community participant and volunteer with Latino Outdoors since 2016 and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside in Liberal Studies and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Having started volunteering in her community at 12 years old, Jazzari has had a lifelong passion to advocate for her gente. Her advocacy accomplishments include advocacy at the California State Capital on behalf of higher education funding, securing and implementing a Proposition 68 Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program for the City of Baldwin Park, and supporting Latino Outdoors’ ongoing Monumentos public lands protection campaign.

In addition to involvement and participation as an elected California Democratic Party Assembly District Delegate as a representative for assembly district 48, Jazz lends her support towards a solution and action-based efforts for comunidades, Tribal Nations, and various different demographic groups; no matter a person’s economic status or background. As the Advocate For Equity and the Outdoors, Jazzari understands that advocacy starts with community and relationship building. She looks forward to continuing her growing understanding of the landscapes, people, native species, and cultures that utilize green spaces. Jazzari will lead with heart, passion, and the highest moral and ethical principles to support the Latino Community and the public’s needs

Tina Cho is the author of Rice from Heaven: The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans (Little Bee Books 2018), Korean Celebrations (Tuttle 2019), My Breakfast with Jesus: Worshipping God around the World (Harvest House 2020), The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story (Kokila/Penguin Random House 2020), and God’s Little Astronomer (Waterbrook 2024) & God’s Little Oceanographer 2025. Her lyrical middle grade graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow, debuts from Harper Alley in 2024. After living in South Korea for ten years and meeting North Koreans, Tina, her husband, and two kids reside in Iowa where Tina also teaches kindergarten.

Dr. Cao has been in the educational field for over a decade as a middle school science teacher educational technology coach and educational leader.  She is passionate with working in schools to support culturally and ethnically diverse students. Previously she served as the Associate Director of UCISP and was an instructor and supervisor in the CalTeach program at University of California Irvine (UCI). She is a proud UCI alumni and holds a B.S. in Biological Science as well as a Master of Art in Teaching. Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal State University of Fullerton and her dissertation publication focused on culturally relevant pedagogy on Latinx student engagement and content mastery in physics science which supports her facilitation and program design vision. She loves being active outdoors and traveling the world!

Sabrina is a liberatory design strategist, change alchemist, and the founder of Pause and Effect. Her work aims to dismantle coloniality within the institutions of design and research, by relying on technologies of relationality and care. Sabrina is the descendant of ancestors, who moved through repeated cycles of loss and survival - and brings their lessons of collective care and responsibility into her vision for flourishing futures. Living on stolen Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh land, as the daughter of refugee and immigrant parents, she uses her work and her voice to engage in reparative practices which revitalize non-Eurocentric ways of knowing and being.

Kelley Lê has been in the educational field for over a decade as a high school science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader. She is currently the executive director of the UC–CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs), former director of the UC Irvine Science Project, Friends of the Planet NCSE Award recipient (2022), and author of Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS (2021, Coming Soon 2024). She also serves as a CLEAN advisory board member, and a Climate Reality Corps mentor.

As a lifelong Floridian, Ashley (she/her) has a strong affinity for the outdoors and preservation. She has been a vocal environmental advocate for over 14 years. She earned a Bachelor Degree in Economics at the University of South Florida in 2015 and returned to complete a Master’s in Global Sustainability with concentrations in Sustainable Business and Renewable Energy. In 2023 she was chosen as a CEE-Change Fellow with the North American Association for Environmental Educators. Ashley feels called to this work because she sees Florida on the front lines of climate change, and while most Floridians seem to notice climate weirding they’re also reconciling a lot of misinformation. As the former Director of Education, Ashley worked with Our Climate Our Future (ourclimateourfuture.org) and Action for the Climate Emergency (acespace.org) to provide resources and in-person assemblies that empower teachers and students nationwide to learn about climate science and climate justice. In her free time, Ashley enjoys swing dancing, playing with her dog and backyard chickens, and being a mother to her daughter born near the end of 2020.

Jothsna is the founder of Change Narrative, which exists to build capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories. Through a coaching practice, Jothsna works with people to craft climate narratives to advocate for solutions. Specifically centering voices excluded from mainstream media, climate discussions, and decision-making. Jothsna is the recipient of the 2023 Creative Climate Communications Award from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, and is a 2023 Obama USA Leader, recognized as one of 100 changemakers across our nation working to strengthen democracy.

Tina, an Assistant Professor at San José State, is passionate about using design to communicate important socio-cultural messages to diverse groups of learners, with a particular focus on climate conservation and communication. Her work centers on two primary areas at the forefront of her research: leveraging new media and technology to enhance learning, equity, and accessibility, and using interactive and immersive storytelling to foster empathy and enhance message delivery. As the co-founder of San José State’s Storytelling Lab, Tina is a faculty advisor who familiarizes students with emerging technologies and improves their critical thinking, teamwork, and innovation skills. As an Adobe Education Leader, Tina is renowned for her innovative teaching methods and successful integration of technology in the classroom. Her work has garnered numerous grants and awards, including funding from Adobe, META, Unity, the City of San José, AGU, CUAHSI, and several others.

Suzie Hicks is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and television host, specializing in climate and environmental communication for kids of all ages. Their work emphasizes the power of children's media and learning communities — connecting youth advocates and educator allies. Big public media nerd.

Before diving into ocean and coral reef conservation, Richard Vevers first worked at top London advertising agencies and then as an artist and underwater photographer. This background guided his unique creative and business-thinking approach to ocean conservation. His work, which reveals what is happening to our oceans, is some of the most viewed underwater imagery of all time, and, thanks to his ideas, projects and public speaking, he is a leading voice in the fight to save coral reefs.

His projects successes include inventing the SVII camera and taking Google Street View underwater, pioneering virtual reality ocean education – currently available to over 90 million children – and creating the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, the most comprehensive underwater photographic survey and record of coral reefs with over one million images captured and analyzed. Vevers was instrumental in revealing the crisis facing coral reefs in the Netflix Original Documentary “Chasing Coral”, which won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Nature Documentary. He has also played a key role in 50 Reefs, a global scientific study to help target and inspire effective conservation support and action, resulting in $86 million in funding for science and conservation.

Alisa Singer is a self-taught artist from the Chicago area. In 2014, after retiring from a long career as a corporate attorney, she began the series Environmental Graphiti - The Art of Climate Change, a collection of over 100 digital paintings that use art as a vehicle to enhance the public’s understanding of the science of climate change. Vivid, seemingly abstract images attract viewers who are then intrigued to learn that each painting is not abstract after all, but rather derived from a graph, chart, map, word or number representing a key fact about climate science. This discovery process results in a greater engagement with both the art and the underlying science.

Environmental Graphiti art has been extensively collected and exhibited in the US and other parts of the world and was commissioned for the covers of three recent major UN (IPCC) climate change reports. The art is owned by dozens of universities and can also be found at The Ontario Science Centre (Toronto) and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago).

To view the full collection of the art and learn more about the Environmental Graphiti (EG) project please visit the website: 

https://www.environmentalgraphiti.org

Andy, with a remarkable entrepreneurial journey spanning over four decades, has been a pivotal figure in blending visual storytelling, technology, and design. This unique intersection has been the foundation of his work in both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Throughout his career, Andy has co-founded and successfully led eight organizations, showcasing his versatile leadership and innovative mindset.

His commitment extends beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, as evidenced by his role as a board member for several notable organizations. He has contributed his insights and expertise to Mother Jones magazine, actively participated in the preservation of Tibetan culture through Richard Gere's Foundation, supported Streetwise in empowering underrepresented, unhoused voices, and engaged in advancing the understanding of human sexuality at the Kinsey Institute.

Currently, Andy is at the helm of his newest venture, Flywheel. This innovative initiative is dedicated to reshaping the narrative around climate change. Through Flywheel, Andy continues to demonstrate his unwavering dedication to creating meaningful impact and fostering positive change in critical global issues.

Chris Rainier is a National Geographic Society Explorer and documentary photographer/filmmaker - who is highly respected for his documentation of endangered cultures and traditional languages around the globe. In 2002, he was awarded the Lowell Thomas Award by the Explorers Club for his efforts on cultural preservation, and in 2014 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society of London/UK - specializing in cultural preservation He is the Director of The Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation – a global program focused on preserving Biodiversity and Traditional Cultural Knowledge.

During his continued tenure with the National Geographic Society as a Fellow he has been the co-founder and co-director of both the Enduring Voices Language Project and Director of the All Roads Photography Program, designed to support indigenous groups with modern technology desiring to document their traditional culture. As well as roving Cultural Editor for NG Traveler magazine.

In the early 1980’s Rainier was Ansel Adams' last photographic assistant. During his tenure with the noted photographer Rainier helped Ansel Adams with the use of his photography to help conserve many of the National Parks in North America Rainier went on to collaborate with UNESCO and IUCN on a Global Project using photography to preserve endangered wilderness areas around the world.

Rainier has completed expeditions on all seven continents documenting pristine wilderness areas and traditional tribes, including a 1990 expedition to the North Pole, and a high-altitude skydiving expedition over Mt. Everest setting the record for a skydive over the highest mountain in the world. Rainier has lectured for such Institutions as: The Explorers Club, The United Nations, UNESCO, National Geographic, International Center of Photography in New York, TED Global: Africa & India, Aspen Ideas Festival, Apple, Google, Samsung, Xposure Festival, Dubai, The Royal Geographic Society in London & Hong Kong, Banff Film Festival, Harvard, Brown and Stanford University.

Mimi Chakarova grew up in a village in southwest Bulgaria. When Communism collapsed, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. Chakarova picked up her first camera in Baltimore – no one back home believed the harsh reality of poverty in America. By 8th grade, Chakarova was working three jobs that didn’t require English. Four years later, she graduated early from high school and, at 17, moved to San Francisco. She rented a tiny studio in the Tenderloin for $525 a month and enrolled at City College of San Francisco. Without the resources to study filmmaking, she chose documentary photography instead. Chakarova eventually found her way to making films and hasn’t stopped since.

As an independent filmmaker, Mimi Chakarova covered global issues examining conflict, corruption and the sex trade. Her first film “The Price of Sex,” a feature-length documentary on the trafficking of women, was awarded the Nestor Almendros Award for courage in filmmaking at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York. She was also the winner of the prestigious Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting and a Dart Awards Finalist for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma.

Chakarova went on to direct, shoot and produce five other feature-length documentaries and over 30 award-winning short films, completed by her own production company, A Moment in Time Productions. "Men: A Love Story" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival; “Letters,” a collaboration with Grammy-winning artist Kris Davis, premiered at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. Chakarova is the founder and creative director of "Still I Rise Films," a documentary series about resilience and rising above the odds. In 2021, she set up a fellowship program for women filmmakers and visual artists in need of support and mentorship.

Mimi Chakarova is the recipient of the Dorothea Lange Fellowship for outstanding work in documentary photography and the Magnum Photos Inge Morath Award for her work on sex trafficking. Other awards include a People's Voice Webby and a nomination for a News and Documentary Emmy Award.

Chakarova's work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, London, CBS News' "60 Minutes," CNN World, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, The Atlantic Monthly, Ms., PBS' FRONTLINE/World and the Center for Investigative Reporting among others.

Capitalism, God, And A Good Cigar: Cuba Enters The Twenty-first Century, published by Duke University Press, features over 75 of Chakarova's documentary photographs of Cuba.

Mimi Chakarova taught visual storytelling at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism for 14 years. She also taught reporting classes at Stanford University's African and African American Studies and Comparative Studies for Race and Ethnicity and has lectured extensively in universities throughout the world.

Mimi Chakarova received her BFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MA in Visual Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Kristy Drutman, otherwise known as “Browngirl Green” is a speaker, consultant, media producer, and environmental educator passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism. As an entrepreneur and climate communications expert, Kristy has educated hundreds of thousands of people across the globe about modern-day environmental issues through speeches and media content as well as facilitates workshops centered around environmental media and storytelling in cities across the United States. She has been invited to the White House multiple times as an on-ground reporter, was featured in Teen Vogue, NY Times, Refinery 29 among many other publications, is a Grist 50 under 50 recipient and a Create and Cultivate Top 100 creator. Kristy is also the Co-Founder of the Green Jobs Board, a climate tech start-up bridging the equity and inclusion gap within the green economy through conversations, resources, and pathways to bring more diverse talent into the environmental field.

Sophie Shrand is an award-winning science educator, comedian, actor, and entrepreneur with degrees in Behavioral Neuroscience and Theatre from Northeastern University, Boston and training from the Second City Conservatory, Chicago (see more proverbial hats below; literal hat to the left). Sophie has taught over 25,000 students in the United States and has brought science comedy to hundreds of classrooms across the country, thousands of families at world-renowned museums, and more than 2 million children worldwide. Sophie has researched humans and addiction, held brains in her palm, generated three-story lightning bolts, and worked with animals like geckos, skunks, and red-tailed hawks. Sophie’s educational style centers on inquiry and inclusivity: she loves to laugh while learning, and invites you to join in. 

An actor and vocalist since childhood, Sophie has performed improv, musical theatre, Shakespeare, and new works across the country, including with the American Repertory Theater and The Second City.

Her mission-driven approach to Science With Sophie led Sophie to create the series and its resources as a company, becoming a social entrepreneur in the process. Sophie is the Founder & CEO of Sophie Science LLC, and Executive Producer at Cool Jacket Productions.

Sophie is an international speaker, entrepreneur, Camelback Ventures Fellow, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Finalist (age cutoffs are rough). She currently splits her time between New York City and Los Angeles.

Sophie is represented by The Gersh Agency.

Jazzari Taylor (Jazz-err-ee) was born in Los Angeles County and raised there and in the San Gabriel Valley. Jazz’s multicultural and racial background helps her bring a unique perspective to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. She has been a community participant and volunteer with Latino Outdoors since 2016 and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside in Liberal Studies and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Having started volunteering in her community at 12 years old, Jazzari has had a lifelong passion to advocate for her gente. Her advocacy accomplishments include advocacy at the California State Capital on behalf of higher education funding, securing and implementing a Proposition 68 Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program for the City of Baldwin Park, and supporting Latino Outdoors’ ongoing Monumentos public lands protection campaign.

In addition to involvement and participation as an elected California Democratic Party Assembly District Delegate as a representative for assembly district 48, Jazz lends her support towards a solution and action-based efforts for comunidades, Tribal Nations, and various different demographic groups; no matter a person’s economic status or background. As the Advocate For Equity and the Outdoors, Jazzari understands that advocacy starts with community and relationship building. She looks forward to continuing her growing understanding of the landscapes, people, native species, and cultures that utilize green spaces. Jazzari will lead with heart, passion, and the highest moral and ethical principles to support the Latino Community and the public’s needs

Tina Cho is the author of Rice from Heaven: The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans (Little Bee Books 2018), Korean Celebrations (Tuttle 2019), My Breakfast with Jesus: Worshipping God around the World (Harvest House 2020), The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story (Kokila/Penguin Random House 2020), and God’s Little Astronomer (Waterbrook 2024) & God’s Little Oceanographer 2025. Her lyrical middle grade graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow, debuts from Harper Alley in 2024. After living in South Korea for ten years and meeting North Koreans, Tina, her husband, and two kids reside in Iowa where Tina also teaches kindergarten.

Dr. Cao has been in the educational field for over a decade as a middle school science teacher educational technology coach and educational leader.  She is passionate with working in schools to support culturally and ethnically diverse students. Previously she served as the Associate Director of UCISP and was an instructor and supervisor in the CalTeach program at University of California Irvine (UCI). She is a proud UCI alumni and holds a B.S. in Biological Science as well as a Master of Art in Teaching. Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal State University of Fullerton and her dissertation publication focused on culturally relevant pedagogy on Latinx student engagement and content mastery in physics science which supports her facilitation and program design vision. She loves being active outdoors and traveling the world!

Melissa Marquez is a passionate marine scientist, explorer, and advocate for the world's oceans. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, her expertise spans a wide range of marine topics, from biodiversity and conservation to marine ecology and shark behavior. Her work has taken her to some of the most remote and awe-inspiring corners of the globe, where she has connected with local communities to promote marine conservation efforts. Beyond her scientific endeavors, Melissa is a dynamic speaker and communicator, making complex marine science accessible to diverse audiences. As a sought-after speaker, she has shared her passion and knowledge on prestigious stages, inspiring others to appreciate and protect our oceans. Through her engaging talks, she strives to ignite a sense of responsibility and awareness about the importance of preserving marine ecosystems for future generations.

Rebecca Bernard serves as the Director of Innovation at The Teaching Well. She is a creative thinker and strategist with a proven track record in the areas of global business, non-profit management, and cradle to career education Her expertise includes entrepreneurship, global marketing and communications, interdisciplinary strategy and entrepreneurship, DEIJ and SEL for youth and adults, arts education and youth program design. She is a skillful facilitator and community builder with an ability to unite teams and inspire meaningful collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in the globalization services industry as a trusted advisor and project manager for multinational corporations in the tech start-up, gaming and mobile industries. She has since held executive management positions in the small business and non-profit space. Her love and commitment to education runs deep, as teaching and school building has been a part of her ancestral lineage for at least three generations. Over the last decade, Rebecca has worked in various capacities in Early Education, K-12 and Out-of-school-time Learning. With the intention of bringing high quality, child-led, dual-language programming to her community in South Los Angeles, Rebecca helped to found two schools–a progressive bilingual play-based early education center and a dual-language public elementary school. She has managed youth programs for hundreds of children through her non-profit work, consulted for a variety of education organizations, and designed place-based summer learning programs in countries around the globe through her travel company Family Go Global. Rebecca holds a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, a Masters in Communication Management from USC, and a Master's in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rebecca is passionate about uplifting future generations and reimagining systems for learning around the globe.

Lindsey Fuller serves as the Executive Director of The Teaching Well and is an unapologetic and passionate advocate for scholars, educators, and marginalized communities. A paradigm-shifting leader and Restorative Practitioner, she is the embodiment of Angela Davis’ statement, “We must always attempt to lift as we climb.” Lindsey leads through genuine relationships and humor. She has an unmatched ability to see others’ innate gifts and reflect them back in ways that make room for each staff member and client to show up as their most favorite selves in service to their students, communities, and loved ones. 

Prior to joining The Teaching Well, Lindsey served as both a teacher and school administrator and also held the role of Regional Director of Student Services for a school network in California. In that role, she supported 11 Bay Area schools and led all non-academic initiatives, including mental health programming, behavioral supports, socio-emotional learning, and crisis management. Lindsey was the co-founder and leader of the network’s first affinity group in 2016, which has now scaled to over 20 affinity spaces across the organization. She also co-founded the inaugural Black Leadership Advocacy Council (B.L.A.C.), endeavoring to amplify the voices of community stakeholders to improve outcomes for Black scholars. Lindsey is highly skilled in navigating complex systems, with an eye towards strategic change management and communication cascades. Lindsey believes that in order to reach collective liberation, we must find ways to sustain adults in our schools to ensure trauma-sensitive continuity of care. With her fierce advocacy for folks on the margins, she builds human-centered, anti-racist systems to inform strong adult school climates. She holds a B.A, California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Occidental College, her California Preliminary Administrative Credential, as well as serving as a trainer of Restorative Practices (IIRP), and a state-certified Mediator (CCEJ).

José G. González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors and Co-Founder of the Outdoorist Oath, along with a former partner at the Avarna Group. He is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. As a Partner in the Avarna Group and through his own consulting, his work focused on Equity & Inclusion frameworks and practices in the environmental, outdoor, and conservation fields. He is also an illustrator and science communicator. He currently serves as the inaugural Equity Officer for the East Bay Regional Park District.

He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment. His teaching coursework was at the Bilingual, Multicultural, Education Department at Sacramento State.
He serves on the boards for Parks California and Resource Media, along with being a Commissioner for the California Boating & Waterways Commission. 
You can connect with him on social media @JoseBilingue. Puns welcomed. 

Kelley Lê has been in the educational field for over a decade as a high school science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader. She is currently the executive director of the UC–CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs), former director of the UC Irvine Science Project, Friends of the Planet NCSE Award recipient (2022), and author of Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS (2021, Coming Soon 2024). She also serves as a CLEAN advisory board member, and a Climate Reality Corps mentor.

Naehee Kwun served as a math teacher, instructional coach, mentor, curriculum designer, and consultant. She designs professional learning experiences for teachers. She speaks at and organizes conferences to elevate teachers in their commitments to make education relevant for all learners and foster student agency to fight for justice. Her portfolio can be found at www.mathingforequity.org  Naehee is a first generation Korean American, a wife and mother, and an avid baker.

Lilly Lopez is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies and a minor in Conservation Biology. She has since worked as a naturalist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, where she has helped implement educational outreach programs and helped manage their two nature centers. In addition, she has also collaborated in various community-based research projects and internships that have focused on the ecological composition of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas. Lilly currently supports ECCLPs and the UC Irvine Science Project as a program coordinator.

Dr. Ramanathan discovered the greenhouse effect of CFCs (cholorofluorocarbons; belongs to family of halocarbons) in 1975 and showed that a ton each of CFC-11 and CFC-12 has more global warming effect than 10000 tons of CO2.   This discovery established the now accepted fact that non-CO2 gases are a major contributor to planet warming and also enabled the Montreal protocol to become the first successful climate mitigation policy. For this work, he was awarded the Tyler Prize by Nobel Laureate Sherwood Rowland in 2009. In 1980, Madden and Ramanathan were the first to make a statistical prediction that global warming will be detected above the background noise by 2000, a prediction which was verified by the IPCC-UN experts in 2001. He led a NASA study with its climate satellite to show that clouds had a net cooling effect on the planet and quantified the radiation interactions with water vapor and its amplification of the CO2 warming. He led international field campaigns, developed unmanned aircraft platforms for tracking brown clouds  pollution worldwide.  His work has led to numerous policies including the formation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition by the United Nations.

He founded, designed, and leads Project Surya along with daughters Nithya Ramanathan and Tara Ramanathan; an extended effort to characterize and mitigate climate and health impacts of cooking with solid biomass as a way to protect the bottom three billion from climate change. He is now leading a University of California climate solutions effort which has launched a course on climate solutions that is expected to reach a million students or more.

He was honored as the science advisor to Pope Francis’ holy see delegation to the historic 2015 Paris climate summit and in addition advises California Governor Jerry Brown. He was named the UN Climate Champion in 2013; has been elected to the US National Academy and the Royal Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel prizes. Foreign Policy named him a thought leader in 2014 and in 2018, he (with James Hansen) was named the Tang Laureate for sustainability science.  He is currently the Edward A. Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability.

Okhee Lee is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She is widely known for advancing research, policy, and practice that simultaneously promote science and language learning for all students, particularly multilingual learners. Lee was a member of the NGSS writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She also was a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. Her research involves integrating science, language, and computational thinking with a focus on multilingual learners. Her latest work addresses justice-centered STEM education with multilingual learners by integrating multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to address pressing societal challenges using the case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee brings research and policy to practice. Her team developed a yearlong fifth-grade science curriculum called Science And Integrated Language, or SAIL, that translates contemporary science standards into classroom practice with multilingual learners. The curriculum is in a field trial at New York City Public Schools with funding from the National Science Foundation. Using the SAIL curriculum, Lee’s team published teacher resources in collaboration with the New York State Education Department. In addition, her team published teacher resources in collaboration with the National Science Teaching Association and made them available nationally.

Estefanía is originally from Costa Rica and has worked in sustainability and transformative education since her mid twenties. She founded and operated a K–12 school for students from low-income families focused on delivering high quality bilingual education that merged social justice and environmental stewardship. Through this role Estefanía worked alongside educators from over a dozen countries creating an evolving dually accredited program of studies that merged international academic standards with sustainability learning principles. The school grew into a model of an institution operating under Education for Sustainable Development and consequently Estefanía was invited as the first research fellow at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University (CSU). There she published one of the few toolkits available for developing project-based learning at low-budget schools operating in the tropics. Estefanía completed her M.B.A. at CSU in social entrepreneurship focusing on the curricular structure and operations of schools categorized as examples of whole-school sustainability. This experience took her to Bali and Sumatra where she researched schools and education projects developed to provide climate social justice environmental justice and environmental stewardship education. In 2018 Estefanía founded the Hahami Organization in California a social enterprise that specializes in supporting government institutions schools and NGOs that are seeking to adopt and align their education offers with education for sustainable development as part of their efforts to provide youth with climate social justice and environmental education. With Hahami Estefanía collaborates with experts from sustainability education curricular design sustainability corporate governance conservation educational policies and educational technologies in a myriad of projects both in the US and internationally. Currently Estefanía is completing her PhD at the Gevirtz Graduate School of education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on evidence-based pedagogies and design methods to integrate content conducive for learning about and for sustainability challenges within K–12 subject matter content and official curricula. In addition she researches the best methods to train pre-service and in-service teachers in sustainability education including climate social justice and environmental education. Estefanía has published and participated with leading institutions such as UNESCO-IBE ICSS and FAO.

As a lifelong Floridian, Ashley (she/her) has a strong affinity for the outdoors and preservation. She has been a vocal environmental advocate for over 14 years. She earned a Bachelor Degree in Economics at the University of South Florida in 2015 and returned to complete a Master’s in Global Sustainability with concentrations in Sustainable Business and Renewable Energy. In 2023 she was chosen as a CEE-Change Fellow with the North American Association for Environmental Educators. Ashley feels called to this work because she sees Florida on the front lines of climate change, and while most Floridians seem to notice climate weirding they’re also reconciling a lot of misinformation. As the former Director of Education, Ashley worked with Our Climate Our Future (ourclimateourfuture.org) and Action for the Climate Emergency (acespace.org) to provide resources and in-person assemblies that empower teachers and students nationwide to learn about climate science and climate justice. In her free time, Ashley enjoys swing dancing, playing with her dog and backyard chickens, and being a mother to her daughter born near the end of 2020.

Beth Callaghan is a former field biologist and high school science teacher. Since moving to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Education Division 12 years ago, she has worked with a highly collaborative team to develop and implement professional development programs for educators that incorporate culturally responsive teaching practices while providing tools for professional growth and space for personal well-being. As Pedagogical Instructional Coach for the Education Division her passion for developing environmental identity through field work, getting students outside, and working with educators to support their professional development and well-being is equaled only by her passion for making the science process engaging, relevant, and accessible to all. Her mission is to empower educators to support the next generation of changemakers.

Tina, an Assistant Professor at San José State, is passionate about using design to communicate important socio-cultural messages to diverse groups of learners, with a particular focus on climate conservation and communication. Her work centers on two primary areas at the forefront of her research: leveraging new media and technology to enhance learning, equity, and accessibility, and using interactive and immersive storytelling to foster empathy and enhance message delivery. As the co-founder of San José State’s Storytelling Lab, Tina is a faculty advisor who familiarizes students with emerging technologies and improves their critical thinking, teamwork, and innovation skills. As an Adobe Education Leader, Tina is renowned for her innovative teaching methods and successful integration of technology in the classroom. Her work has garnered numerous grants and awards, including funding from Adobe, META, Unity, the City of San José, AGU, CUAHSI, and several others.

Before diving into ocean and coral reef conservation, Richard Vevers first worked at top London advertising agencies and then as an artist and underwater photographer. This background guided his unique creative and business-thinking approach to ocean conservation. His work, which reveals what is happening to our oceans, is some of the most viewed underwater imagery of all time, and, thanks to his ideas, projects and public speaking, he is a leading voice in the fight to save coral reefs.

His projects successes include inventing the SVII camera and taking Google Street View underwater, pioneering virtual reality ocean education – currently available to over 90 million children – and creating the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, the most comprehensive underwater photographic survey and record of coral reefs with over one million images captured and analyzed. Vevers was instrumental in revealing the crisis facing coral reefs in the Netflix Original Documentary “Chasing Coral”, which won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Nature Documentary. He has also played a key role in 50 Reefs, a global scientific study to help target and inspire effective conservation support and action, resulting in $86 million in funding for science and conservation.

Alisa Singer is a self-taught artist from the Chicago area. In 2014, after retiring from a long career as a corporate attorney, she began the series Environmental Graphiti - The Art of Climate Change, a collection of over 100 digital paintings that use art as a vehicle to enhance the public’s understanding of the science of climate change. Vivid, seemingly abstract images attract viewers who are then intrigued to learn that each painting is not abstract after all, but rather derived from a graph, chart, map, word or number representing a key fact about climate science. This discovery process results in a greater engagement with both the art and the underlying science.

Environmental Graphiti art has been extensively collected and exhibited in the US and other parts of the world and was commissioned for the covers of three recent major UN (IPCC) climate change reports. The art is owned by dozens of universities and can also be found at The Ontario Science Centre (Toronto) and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago).

To view the full collection of the art and learn more about the Environmental Graphiti (EG) project please visit the website: 

https://www.environmentalgraphiti.org

Naehee Kwun served as a math teacher, instructional coach, mentor, curriculum designer, and consultant. She designs professional learning experiences for teachers. She speaks at and organizes conferences to elevate teachers in their commitments to make education relevant for all learners and foster student agency to fight for justice. Her portfolio can be found at www.mathingforequity.org  Naehee is a first generation Korean American, a wife and mother, and an avid baker.

Jerry is the STEAM coordinator for the Division of Instruction at the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has nearly a decade of experience as a district administrator and nearly thirty years as an educator in a variety of roles. He graduated from UC Davis with a BS and is currently a National Board Certified Teacher.

Gloria Harwood is the coordinator of environmental literacy for the Laguna Beach Unified School District in Orange County, CA. With a Master's in Environmental Studies, a decade of science education, and a love for travel in both the natural and built environment, she connects environmental literacy to interdisciplinary instruction in all classrooms, strengthening relationships and partnerships to assist in district and site sustainability goals. Gloria facilitates green teams into creative hubs, linking facilities to classrooms for experiential learning. Her facilitation ensures tangible contributions to community sustainability through student-led projects and local partnerships. Gloria supports school gardens, integrating theory and practice, and connecting them as an extension of every classroom. Additionally, she provides professional learning opportunities for environmental literacy, empowering educators district-wide.Gloria Harwood

Laguna Beach Unified School District

Vanessa Louise Carter is the Environmental Literacy and Climate Resilience Program Administrator for the San Francisco Unified School District. Her career has led her in and out of the secondary classroom in SF, Mexico, and Venezuela, providing student facilitation as well as professional learning opportunities to educators, administrators, and after-school providers, always in the pursuit of Climate Justice. She recently launched San Francisco's first Climate Action Fellowship for high school students across the district to serve as a Youth Climate Advisory Council for city agencies, gain college and career exposure, and be the solutionary change-makers of our time! She and her husband are raising a forest-and-ocean-loving 5-year-old, snuggling with an aging furry feline named Pacha, and building the community love and interdependence that amplifies resilience for our time.

With two decades of dedicated service in the field of education, Tiffany Farnsworth has cultivated a deep passion for nurturing young minds and fostering an appreciation for the natural world. Over the past seven years, her role as a STREAM TOSA has been instrumental in enhancing her commitment to environmental stewardship while instilling a love for outdoor and science learning in her students.

Her journey has been guided by a philosophy centered on empowering students through choice, amplifying their voices, and nurturing leadership skills. By facilitating meaningful connections between curriculum and real-world experiences, she aims to inspire lifelong learners who are equipped to positively impact their communities.

Recently, Tiffany had the privilege of spearheading the environmental stewardship initiative at the Solana Beach School District, where she worked tirelessly to cultivate a culture of sustainability and ecological consciousness among students and staff alike.

Now, as an Assistant Principal, she is thrilled to continue her mission of student advocacy and academic excellence on a broader scale. Each day, she is energized by the opportunity to collaborate with both students and educators, driving forward initiatives that will shape a brighter future for all, particularly in the area of environmental literacy.

Tiffany is deeply committed to fostering a learning environment where every student feels valued, empowered, and equipped to thrive. Together, let them embark on a journey of discovery, growth, and positive change.

Estefanía is originally from Costa Rica and has worked in sustainability and transformative education since her mid twenties. She founded and operated a K–12 school for students from low-income families focused on delivering high quality bilingual education that merged social justice and environmental stewardship. Through this role Estefanía worked alongside educators from over a dozen countries creating an evolving dually accredited program of studies that merged international academic standards with sustainability learning principles. The school grew into a model of an institution operating under Education for Sustainable Development and consequently Estefanía was invited as the first research fellow at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University (CSU). There she published one of the few toolkits available for developing project-based learning at low-budget schools operating in the tropics. Estefanía completed her M.B.A. at CSU in social entrepreneurship focusing on the curricular structure and operations of schools categorized as examples of whole-school sustainability. This experience took her to Bali and Sumatra where she researched schools and education projects developed to provide climate social justice environmental justice and environmental stewardship education. In 2018 Estefanía founded the Hahami Organization in California a social enterprise that specializes in supporting government institutions schools and NGOs that are seeking to adopt and align their education offers with education for sustainable development as part of their efforts to provide youth with climate social justice and environmental education. With Hahami Estefanía collaborates with experts from sustainability education curricular design sustainability corporate governance conservation educational policies and educational technologies in a myriad of projects both in the US and internationally. Currently Estefanía is completing her PhD at the Gevirtz Graduate School of education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on evidence-based pedagogies and design methods to integrate content conducive for learning about and for sustainability challenges within K–12 subject matter content and official curricula. In addition she researches the best methods to train pre-service and in-service teachers in sustainability education including climate social justice and environmental education. Estefanía has published and participated with leading institutions such as UNESCO-IBE ICSS and FAO.

Naehee Kwun served as a math teacher, instructional coach, mentor, curriculum designer, and consultant. She designs professional learning experiences for teachers. She speaks at and organizes conferences to elevate teachers in their commitments to make education relevant for all learners and foster student agency to fight for justice. Her portfolio can be found at www.mathingforequity.org  Naehee is a first generation Korean American, a wife and mother, and an avid baker.

Caitlin is currently working towards completing a MA in Public Policy from UC Irvine. She is a recent graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in History of Public Policy and Law. She is working as a program assistant for ECCLPs.

Lilly Lopez is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies and a minor in Conservation Biology. She has since worked as a naturalist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, where she has helped implement educational outreach programs and helped manage their two nature centers. In addition, she has also collaborated in various community-based research projects and internships that have focused on the ecological composition of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas. Lilly currently supports ECCLPs and the UC Irvine Science Project as a program coordinator.

Kieran Beckham (he/him) is a 10th grade student at Yorba Linda High School. Kieran's commitment to making a difference extends to his efforts to combat climate injustice. He advocates for integrating climate literacy into schools in his district and aims to expand this initiative across California. His involvement in the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program under Ms. Andra Yeghoian and pursuit of a Green Ribbon Award with Mr. George Garcia's guidance underscore his dedication to fostering environmental sustainability. Kieran's multifaceted journey is a reflection of his drive to excel and enact change. In addition to his passion for environmental activism he enjoys soccer, and Taekwondo. With 12 years of soccer experience, Kieran has played a pivotal role in leading his team to become the top-ranked in Southern California and winning two national championships. His dedication to Taekwondo is equally rooted, as he is on the path to earning his third-degree black belt and serves as an instructor, sharing his knowledge and skills with others aged 3 years to adults.

California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District, located in the Los Angeles South Bay and Harbor Area.  A champion for public education, Muratsuchi serves as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Funding.  He is also fighting climate change as former Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, authoring landmark legislation for California to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2045.  Muratsuchi has written laws to fight for education, jobs and the economy, clean energy and environmental justice, public safety, veterans, and small businesses.   He has helped deliver billions in increased funding for California public schools and for universal high-speed internet access to close the digital divide. 

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris proudly represents California’s 73rd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Tustin.

Cottie Petrie-Norris is a businesswoman, mom, and community leader who was elected to the State Assembly in 2018. In the Assembly, Cottie has worked to secure millions of dollars in funding for projects across Orange County and has passed important legislation to protect the California coast, improve access to healthcare, keep our children and communities safe, and help local veterans and small businesses.

Cottie serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Energy and the Select Committee on Green Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Additionally, she serves on the Assembly’s Committees on Banking & Finance; Insurance; and, Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.

Cottie and her husband, Colin are the proud parents of two sons, Dylan and Hayden, and their rescue dog, Flounder.

Dr. James M. “Jim” Limbaugh has been president of West Los Angeles College (WLAC), a diverse urban dual-purpose college of 10,000 students, since October 2016. During his tenure, the college has established two baccalaureate degree programs (dental hygiene and avionics), developed an associate degree in climate change studies (the only such program in California), and created the California Center for Climate Change Education, designed to support California’s 116 community colleges in curricula design, workforce development, and advocacy initiatives, with a collective focus on social justice.

Within the California community college system, Jimalso served as president of Oxnard College. He previously held leadership positions in master’s level institutions, including the presidency of Montana State University-Northern, vice president and provost at Angelo State University (Texas), and associate vice president at Frostburg State University (Maryland).

Jim received a bachelor’s and a master’s from Texas A&M-Commerce and a doctorate from the University of Maryland focusing on higher education leadership, with an emphasis on curricula and law. 

Tamara Wallace is the sustainability programs manager with the California State University, Office of the Chancellor. During her 10-year career in sustainability, she has passionately championed the strategic vision of sustainability in higher education with its unique opportunities for driving organizational change through innovative solutions to tackle today’s challenges of a changing climate. Tamara is the project lead for the development of CSU’s Climate Resilient Infrastructure Guidelines and Framework and represents the CSU with the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation. Tamara is an elected member and current chair of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Steering Committee, and successfully advocated for systemwide participation in comprehensive university sustainability benchmarking using the STARS reporting platform. Additionally, she is the co-founder and co-editor for the CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change. Tamara is a double-alumna from Cal State Fullerton, a certified change management professional, and a LEED Green Associate.

Dr. Branden Brough is the Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), as well as the Assistant Director for Nanotechnology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He serves as the national spokesperson and central point of contact for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). In this role, Dr. Brough provides technical and advisory support for Federal nanotechnology research and development, and facilitates interagency communication and coordination across the 20+ Federal Departments and Agencies of the NNI. Previously, Dr. Brough served as the Deputy Director of the Molecular Foundry, a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded nanoscale science research center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) that provides users from around the world with access to cutting-edge expertise and instrumentation. There, he helped guide the organization’s scientific plans and initiatives, while also managing the center’s operations. Before joining the Molecular Foundry, Dr. Brough worked at the NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), where he led strategic policy and planning activities, as well as Congressional and public outreach efforts. Dr. Brough received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering – focusing on the integration of synthetic motor molecules and natural self-assembling proteins into micro/nanotechnologies – from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), before becoming a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in 2007.

Dr. Amy Frame is a credentialed teacher who has worked at almost every level of the school system from teaching English history and science to coaching and managing curriculum implementation and leading as a principal. She has worked in public magnet charter and independent schools. Amy has a MEd in Instructional Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an EdD in Educational Leadership from UCLA where she published her dissertation “Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Education on Environmental Stewardship Civic Engagement and College and Career Pathways.” She is committed to building stronger connections between people communities and the land.

Brittany Jefferson is an elementary school teacher and climate justice educator from Los Angeles. Through advocacy and education, Brittany helps caregivers and educators have critical conversations about identity, social justice, and environmental justice with their kids and students. Brittany has curated and created a catalog of educational resources, in order to facilitate learning both in the classroom and at home. Brittany is also a member of the Climate Curricula Committee of Climate Reality Los Angeles Chapter. This group networks with various organizations to advocate for climate literacy in schools and provide professional development for teachers in K-12.

Dr. Harlow is a professor of STEM Education at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). As a professor of STEM education, she works with educators to develop the capacity of youth to innovate a more sustainable and just future. Throughout her career, her work has resulted in undergraduate physics curricula, engineering-focused museum field trips and classroom activities for elementary school students, digital games focused on quantum computing, professional development for museum facilitators, and teacher education and professional learning programs that develop the capacity of teachers to focus students’ attention on their local environment and develop the skills to create a sustainable and just future.

Danielle Harlow has a PhD in Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder, an MS in Geophysics from Stanford (now the Doerr School of Sustainability) and a BS in Physics from Valparaiso University. At UCSB, she is the faculty director of the California Global Education Project, director of the Certificate in College and University Teaching, and Associate Dean of faculty development for the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Steve LaDochy is Professor Emeritus of Geography, Geology & Environment at

California State University, Los Angeles. His teaching and research interests include

climate change, urban climatology, severe weather meteorology and air pollution

meteorology. Steve received a BA in meteorology at UCLA, a MS in atmospheric

sciences at Colorado State University and a PhD in geography at the University of

Manitoba, Canada.

He has taught over 30 different courses at undergraduate and graduate levels at

CSULA and in Canada. He supervised several Master’s theses and helped many of his

students gain research experience on his funded projects, publishing their

collaborations in over 40 articles and book chapters. Steve also spent 13 summers at

the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, working with JPL scientists and student interns on

California climate change and Pacific Ocean influences on west coast climate, fog and

air pollution.

For 20 years, Dr. LaDochy has also worked with K-12 teachers in the American

Meteorological Society Project Datastreme, mentoring over 150 teachers with college

level online courses in meteorology, oceanography and climate science. He has

presented papers and led workshops at several science education conferences and

developed a Climate Kit from a NOAA grant for K-12 classrooms.

Dr. LaDochy is a co-PI on a multi-year NSF REU grant mentoring students on urban

climates and hydrology. He was co-PI on multi-year NSF C-CREST research grant

investigating neighborhood urban air pollution, supervising 10 graduate, undergraduate

and high school students. More recently he was a co-PI on a multi-year NOAA CREST

research grant supervising 8 students investigating the Los Angeles urban heat island.

Dr. LaDochy continues research on western U.S. climate change publishing several

articles and a book, Fire and Rain: California’s Changing Weather and Climate, while

also reviewing articles for several journals.

Steve also worked at the National Weather Service, the LA County Air Pollution Control

District and for Fritz Coleman, KNBC, preparing his weather forecasts.

Dr. Grabowsky began working at Chaminade in 1997 after a two-year post-doc in population genetics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kewalo Marine Laboratory. Dr. Grabowsky has been the Director of Chaminade’s Environmental Studies Program since its inception in 2000. She has published an award-winning book: ‘50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save Hawaii’ and appeared as a “science character” in National Geographic/Sea Studios’ series: The Shape of Life. Gail was appointed by Governors Cayetano and Lingle to serve on the State’s Environmental Council for eight years, the last two as Chair. She has also helped advise on policy and education as a member of the Advisory Council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, now known as Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument a World Heritage site in Hawaii.

My name is Rhea Jose and I am from Belau (Palau), a Pacific Island in the Micronesian region. I was born and raised on the island of  Guåhan (Guam), also in Micronesia. I moved to the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i in 2017 to pursue a higher education at Chaminade University of Honolulu. I graduated in 2022 with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies and a Bachelors of Arts in English. After graduation, I started my position as the Outreach Coordinator for the United Nations CIFAL Center of Honolulu, which is housed at Chaminade University The CIFAL Center of Honolulu is an education and research center that focuses on sustainability, using the Sustainable Development Goals as one of our major frameworks. I believe we hold a special space where we are able to learn from, educate, and empower our Pacific Island community to enhance our cultural values in service to sustainability in our islands.

Candice Dickens-Russell is is the President & CEO of Friends of the LA River and a passionate leader in sustainability, education, environmental literacy, and environmental justice. With nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit environmental sector, Candice has worked with schools, school districts, government agencies, utilities, and municipalities to develop and deliver high quality sustainability and environmental education programs. She has led large teams and multi-million dollar contracts creating innovative environmental education resources. Candice served as the regional director for environmental education for the State of California Department of Education for 12 years, representing all of Los Angeles County. There she built a strong and vibrant network of L.A. based environmental organizations. In 2015 Candice was selected as one of 47 people statewide to serve on the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy Taskforce for the state and continues to serve on the implementation committee, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative as the Equity Innovation Hub Chair. An equity thought leader with a passion for environmental justice, Candice is also certified in Diversity & Inclusion and Micro-aggressions. She has led organizations in equity strategic planning and organizational development for over five years.

Candice serves on several boards and advisory councils for environmental organizations such as Ten Strands, Friends of the Los Angeles River and USC Sea Grant. She majored in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Sustainability & Social Justice at San Francisco State University.

Frank Niepold is the Senior Climate Education Coordinator at NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) in Silver Spring Maryland, co-manage the NOAA CPO Communication, Education and Engagement Division, co-manage the Climate Ready Workforce program, Climate.gov Education section lead, a co-chair of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Climate Engagement and Capacity Building Interagency Group, the U.S. National Communications Report chapter lead on Education, Engagement, Training, and Workforce Development for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), former Action for Climate Empowerment National Focal Point for the United States, founding member of the CLEAN Network and co-chair of the CLEAN Network Leadership Board, a member of the Federal Steering Committee for the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) and federal lead for the White House Climate Education and Literacy Initiative (2013-2016). At NOAA, he develops and implements NOAA's Climate goal education and engagement efforts that specifically relate to NOAA's Building a Climate Ready Nation goal. Frank is the “Teaching Climate” lead for NOAA’s Climate.gov web portal that offers learning activities and curriculum materials, multimedia resources, and professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who want to incorporate climate science into their work. Additionally, he is the managing lead of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) document, Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science. NOAA, NSF, NASA, AAAS Project 2061, CIRES, American Meteorological Society, and various members from both the science and education community worked to define climate literacy in the United States.

He received a MSEd in Earth Space Science Education (2006) from Johns Hopkins University with areas of concentration in Earth Observing Systems, Scientist/Teacher/Student Collaboration and Earth Systems science education focused on climate.

Candice Dickens-Russell is is the President & CEO of Friends of the LA River and a passionate leader in sustainability, education, environmental literacy, and environmental justice. With nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit environmental sector, Candice has worked with schools, school districts, government agencies, utilities, and municipalities to develop and deliver high quality sustainability and environmental education programs. She has led large teams and multi-million dollar contracts creating innovative environmental education resources. Candice served as the regional director for environmental education for the State of California Department of Education for 12 years, representing all of Los Angeles County. There she built a strong and vibrant network of L.A. based environmental organizations. In 2015 Candice was selected as one of 47 people statewide to serve on the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy Taskforce for the state and continues to serve on the implementation committee, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative as the Equity Innovation Hub Chair. An equity thought leader with a passion for environmental justice, Candice is also certified in Diversity & Inclusion and Micro-aggressions. She has led organizations in equity strategic planning and organizational development for over five years.

Candice serves on several boards and advisory councils for environmental organizations such as Ten Strands, Friends of the Los Angeles River and USC Sea Grant. She majored in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Sustainability & Social Justice at San Francisco State University.

Shraya is the Manager of Content at Empatico, where she develops research-based activities that spark fun, meaningful interactions between students, while building key competencies that make them more compassionate, empathetic, and curious individuals. Prior to joining Empatico, Shraya worked with students in different classroom settings, including schools for children with special needs and language centers for English language learners.

Dr. Cao has been in the educational field for over a decade as a middle school science teacher educational technology coach and educational leader.  She is passionate with working in schools to support culturally and ethnically diverse students. Previously she served as the Associate Director of UCISP and was an instructor and supervisor in the CalTeach program at University of California Irvine (UCI). She is a proud UCI alumni and holds a B.S. in Biological Science as well as a Master of Art in Teaching. Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal State University of Fullerton and her dissertation publication focused on culturally relevant pedagogy on Latinx student engagement and content mastery in physics science which supports her facilitation and program design vision. She loves being active outdoors and traveling the world!

Stephanie Sisk-Hilton is a Professor of Elementary Education at San Francisco State University. Her research focuses on how children and teachers co-create science understanding and how issues of agency and belonging interact with learning. She has taught elementary and middle school in Maryland, Georgia, New York, and California, and she facilitated a backyard summer science camp for ten years.  She works extensively as a teacher professional developer, supporting elementary educators to develop ambitious, joyful, and hope-filled science learning experiences.

Kieran Beckham (he/him) is a 10th grade student at Yorba Linda High School. Kieran's commitment to making a difference extends to his efforts to combat climate injustice. He advocates for integrating climate literacy into schools in his district and aims to expand this initiative across California. His involvement in the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program under Ms. Andra Yeghoian and pursuit of a Green Ribbon Award with Mr. George Garcia's guidance underscore his dedication to fostering environmental sustainability. Kieran's multifaceted journey is a reflection of his drive to excel and enact change. In addition to his passion for environmental activism he enjoys soccer, and Taekwondo. With 12 years of soccer experience, Kieran has played a pivotal role in leading his team to become the top-ranked in Southern California and winning two national championships. His dedication to Taekwondo is equally rooted, as he is on the path to earning his third-degree black belt and serves as an instructor, sharing his knowledge and skills with others aged 3 years to adults.

Lilly Lopez is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies and a minor in Conservation Biology. She has since worked as a naturalist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, where she has helped implement educational outreach programs and helped manage their two nature centers. In addition, she has also collaborated in various community-based research projects and internships that have focused on the ecological composition of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas. Lilly currently supports ECCLPs and the UC Irvine Science Project as a program coordinator.

Estefanía is originally from Costa Rica and has worked in sustainability and transformative education since her mid twenties. She founded and operated a K–12 school for students from low-income families focused on delivering high quality bilingual education that merged social justice and environmental stewardship. Through this role Estefanía worked alongside educators from over a dozen countries creating an evolving dually accredited program of studies that merged international academic standards with sustainability learning principles. The school grew into a model of an institution operating under Education for Sustainable Development and consequently Estefanía was invited as the first research fellow at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University (CSU). There she published one of the few toolkits available for developing project-based learning at low-budget schools operating in the tropics. Estefanía completed her M.B.A. at CSU in social entrepreneurship focusing on the curricular structure and operations of schools categorized as examples of whole-school sustainability. This experience took her to Bali and Sumatra where she researched schools and education projects developed to provide climate social justice environmental justice and environmental stewardship education. In 2018 Estefanía founded the Hahami Organization in California a social enterprise that specializes in supporting government institutions schools and NGOs that are seeking to adopt and align their education offers with education for sustainable development as part of their efforts to provide youth with climate social justice and environmental education. With Hahami Estefanía collaborates with experts from sustainability education curricular design sustainability corporate governance conservation educational policies and educational technologies in a myriad of projects both in the US and internationally. Currently Estefanía is completing her PhD at the Gevirtz Graduate School of education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on evidence-based pedagogies and design methods to integrate content conducive for learning about and for sustainability challenges within K–12 subject matter content and official curricula. In addition she researches the best methods to train pre-service and in-service teachers in sustainability education including climate social justice and environmental education. Estefanía has published and participated with leading institutions such as UNESCO-IBE ICSS and FAO.

Caitlin is currently working towards completing a MA in Public Policy from UC Irvine. She is a recent graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in History of Public Policy and Law. She is working as a program assistant for ECCLPs.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Dr. Joely Proudfit, (Luiseño/Payómkawichum and Tongva), Chairs the American Indian Studies department and is the Director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSU San Marcos. She was named to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education by President Obama in 2016 and was the first Indigenous woman on California's Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, appointed by Governor Newsom in 2021. An award-winning activist, author, educator, and media maker, Dr. Proudfit is a leading voice in California Indian issues and Indigenous representation.

Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes descendant) is a renowned Native American studies scholar and journalist, especially on the topics of environmental justice, Indigenous knowledge, and identity. Her most recent book is the award-winning "As Long As Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice", from "Colonization to Standing Rock" released in 2019 and her forthcoming book, "Indians for Sale: Pretendians, Disenrollment, and NativeAmerican Identity in Late Capitalism" is scheduled for release in spring 2025 from Beacon Press.

Dr. Grabowsky began working at Chaminade in 1997 after a two-year post-doc in population genetics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kewalo Marine Laboratory. Dr. Grabowsky has been the Director of Chaminade’s Environmental Studies Program since its inception in 2000. She has published an award-winning book: ‘50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save Hawaii’ and appeared as a “science character” in National Geographic/Sea Studios’ series: The Shape of Life. Gail was appointed by Governors Cayetano and Lingle to serve on the State’s Environmental Council for eight years, the last two as Chair. She has also helped advise on policy and education as a member of the Advisory Council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, now known as Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument a World Heritage site in Hawaii.

My name is Rhea Jose and I am from Belau (Palau), a Pacific Island in the Micronesian region. I was born and raised on the island of  Guåhan (Guam), also in Micronesia. I moved to the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i in 2017 to pursue a higher education at Chaminade University of Honolulu. I graduated in 2022 with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies and a Bachelors of Arts in English. After graduation, I started my position as the Outreach Coordinator for the United Nations CIFAL Center of Honolulu, which is housed at Chaminade University The CIFAL Center of Honolulu is an education and research center that focuses on sustainability, using the Sustainable Development Goals as one of our major frameworks. I believe we hold a special space where we are able to learn from, educate, and empower our Pacific Island community to enhance our cultural values in service to sustainability in our islands.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta. She has worked on social, environmental and climate justice issues for the past 20 years. Melina is the Founder and Executive Director of Sacred Earth Solar, the co-founder at Indigenous Climate Action, and the inaugural Fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation. She is also the Host of a new TV series called Power to the People which profiles renewable energy, food security and eco-housing projects in Indigenous communities across Canada.

Facing firsthand impacts of the Alberta tar sands in her community’s territory, Melina has been a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. For over a decade, Melina worked as a Climate and Energy Campaigner against tar sands extraction locally, nationally and internationally. She has written for a variety of publications and produced short documentaries on the tar sands, climate change, water issues and Indigenous cultural revitalization. Melina has studied, campaigned and worked in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Canada and across Europe focusing on resource extraction, climate change impacts, media literacy and Indigenous rights & responsibilities. 

Melina also works on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women in Canada after the suspicious death of her sister Bella whose case still remains unsolved. Melina currently serves on the boards of NDN Collective and Seeding Sovereignty as well as the Executive Steering Committee of Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise.

Serena Mendizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is a community-based researcher, grassroots organizer, and environmental advocate. Serena is the Just Transition Manager at Sacred Earth Solar. Serena holds a Master's of Geography & Environment with a focus on Indigenous environmental health governance and industrial health impacts with Pictou Landing First Nation & Tobique First Nation.

Serena first began her journey in clean energy when she was 18 working in community engagement and communications at the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, holding the largest First Nations clean energy portfolio in so-called Canada. While working in community engagement, she found gaps in community consent with her community’s clean energy portfolio and went on to further explore what a true ‘just transition’ can look like in a community of over 28,000 members. From there on out, Serena has dedicated her studies and extracurriculars to Indigenous self-determination, climate change, environmental health impact, and just clean energy transitions. Serena’s connections to climate advocacy, research, education, and direct action are numerous.

Serena is the Co-Chair of the SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, a Subject Matter Expert on Connecting for Climate Change Action, a Youth Action & Environment Fellow with the Lawson Foundation, a Board of Director with Student Energy and also works with Protect the Tract, a Haudenosaunee-led group in her community, Six Nations, focused on enforcing the traditional governance (the Haudenosaunee Confederacy)’s moratorium on development along the Grand River (Haldimand Tract). Serena is passionate about self-determined community development, action, and futures, and believes in a future with Indigenous youth & elders leading; sovereign, healthy nations; and lands and waters back.

Tina Cho is the author of Rice from Heaven: The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans (Little Bee Books 2018), Korean Celebrations (Tuttle 2019), My Breakfast with Jesus: Worshipping God around the World (Harvest House 2020), The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story (Kokila/Penguin Random House 2020), and God’s Little Astronomer (Waterbrook 2024) & God’s Little Oceanographer 2025. Her lyrical middle grade graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow, debuts from Harper Alley in 2024. After living in South Korea for ten years and meeting North Koreans, Tina, her husband, and two kids reside in Iowa where Tina also teaches kindergarten.

Dr. Cao has been in the educational field for over a decade as a middle school science teacher educational technology coach and educational leader.  She is passionate with working in schools to support culturally and ethnically diverse students. Previously she served as the Associate Director of UCISP and was an instructor and supervisor in the CalTeach program at University of California Irvine (UCI). She is a proud UCI alumni and holds a B.S. in Biological Science as well as a Master of Art in Teaching. Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal State University of Fullerton and her dissertation publication focused on culturally relevant pedagogy on Latinx student engagement and content mastery in physics science which supports her facilitation and program design vision. She loves being active outdoors and traveling the world!

Jothsna is the founder of Change Narrative, which exists to build capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories. Through a coaching practice, Jothsna works with people to craft climate narratives to advocate for solutions. Specifically centering voices excluded from mainstream media, climate discussions, and decision-making. Jothsna is the recipient of the 2023 Creative Climate Communications Award from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, and is a 2023 Obama USA Leader, recognized as one of 100 changemakers across our nation working to strengthen democracy.

Tina, an Assistant Professor at San José State, is passionate about using design to communicate important socio-cultural messages to diverse groups of learners, with a particular focus on climate conservation and communication. Her work centers on two primary areas at the forefront of her research: leveraging new media and technology to enhance learning, equity, and accessibility, and using interactive and immersive storytelling to foster empathy and enhance message delivery. As the co-founder of San José State’s Storytelling Lab, Tina is a faculty advisor who familiarizes students with emerging technologies and improves their critical thinking, teamwork, and innovation skills. As an Adobe Education Leader, Tina is renowned for her innovative teaching methods and successful integration of technology in the classroom. Her work has garnered numerous grants and awards, including funding from Adobe, META, Unity, the City of San José, AGU, CUAHSI, and several others.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Rebecca Bernard serves as the Director of Innovation at The Teaching Well. She is a creative thinker and strategist with a proven track record in the areas of global business, non-profit management, and cradle to career education Her expertise includes entrepreneurship, global marketing and communications, interdisciplinary strategy and entrepreneurship, DEIJ and SEL for youth and adults, arts education and youth program design. She is a skillful facilitator and community builder with an ability to unite teams and inspire meaningful collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in the globalization services industry as a trusted advisor and project manager for multinational corporations in the tech start-up, gaming and mobile industries. She has since held executive management positions in the small business and non-profit space. Her love and commitment to education runs deep, as teaching and school building has been a part of her ancestral lineage for at least three generations. Over the last decade, Rebecca has worked in various capacities in Early Education, K-12 and Out-of-school-time Learning. With the intention of bringing high quality, child-led, dual-language programming to her community in South Los Angeles, Rebecca helped to found two schools–a progressive bilingual play-based early education center and a dual-language public elementary school. She has managed youth programs for hundreds of children through her non-profit work, consulted for a variety of education organizations, and designed place-based summer learning programs in countries around the globe through her travel company Family Go Global. Rebecca holds a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, a Masters in Communication Management from USC, and a Master's in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rebecca is passionate about uplifting future generations and reimagining systems for learning around the globe.

Lindsey Fuller serves as the Executive Director of The Teaching Well and is an unapologetic and passionate advocate for scholars, educators, and marginalized communities. A paradigm-shifting leader and Restorative Practitioner, she is the embodiment of Angela Davis’ statement, “We must always attempt to lift as we climb.” Lindsey leads through genuine relationships and humor. She has an unmatched ability to see others’ innate gifts and reflect them back in ways that make room for each staff member and client to show up as their most favorite selves in service to their students, communities, and loved ones. 

Prior to joining The Teaching Well, Lindsey served as both a teacher and school administrator and also held the role of Regional Director of Student Services for a school network in California. In that role, she supported 11 Bay Area schools and led all non-academic initiatives, including mental health programming, behavioral supports, socio-emotional learning, and crisis management. Lindsey was the co-founder and leader of the network’s first affinity group in 2016, which has now scaled to over 20 affinity spaces across the organization. She also co-founded the inaugural Black Leadership Advocacy Council (B.L.A.C.), endeavoring to amplify the voices of community stakeholders to improve outcomes for Black scholars. Lindsey is highly skilled in navigating complex systems, with an eye towards strategic change management and communication cascades. Lindsey believes that in order to reach collective liberation, we must find ways to sustain adults in our schools to ensure trauma-sensitive continuity of care. With her fierce advocacy for folks on the margins, she builds human-centered, anti-racist systems to inform strong adult school climates. She holds a B.A, California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Occidental College, her California Preliminary Administrative Credential, as well as serving as a trainer of Restorative Practices (IIRP), and a state-certified Mediator (CCEJ).

Suzie Hicks is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and television host, specializing in climate and environmental communication for kids of all ages. Their work emphasizes the power of children's media and learning communities — connecting youth advocates and educator allies. Big public media nerd.

Alisa Singer is a self-taught artist from the Chicago area. In 2014, after retiring from a long career as a corporate attorney, she began the series Environmental Graphiti - The Art of Climate Change, a collection of over 100 digital paintings that use art as a vehicle to enhance the public’s understanding of the science of climate change. Vivid, seemingly abstract images attract viewers who are then intrigued to learn that each painting is not abstract after all, but rather derived from a graph, chart, map, word or number representing a key fact about climate science. This discovery process results in a greater engagement with both the art and the underlying science.

Environmental Graphiti art has been extensively collected and exhibited in the US and other parts of the world and was commissioned for the covers of three recent major UN (IPCC) climate change reports. The art is owned by dozens of universities and can also be found at The Ontario Science Centre (Toronto) and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago).

To view the full collection of the art and learn more about the Environmental Graphiti (EG) project please visit the website: 

https://www.environmentalgraphiti.org

Elissa Teles Muñoz is a climate education leader, youth mentor, and project manager. She graduated from American University in 2022 with a B.A. in international studies, with a focus on global sustainable development. Since 2021, she has worked as a consultant for the National Wildlife Federation and manages their New York-based project, the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force. She started her own small business for climate education program creation and management in 2023, Earthminds Consulting, and has expanded her range to take on more clients including the Climate Mental Health Network, for whom she is a project manager. Elissa's work lies at the intersection of climate advocacy, education, mental health, and youth empowerment, driven by a vision of a sustainable and equitable future for students and young people all over the world.

Dr. Larissa Dooley is a research psychologist whose work focuses on the mental health impacts of climate change, particularly in youth, as well as strategies for building emotional resilience in the context of climate change. She was first author of the report Climate Change and Youth Mental Health, and has presented on this topic for diverse audiences including psychological associations, activist groups, and environmental educators. She works as a science advisor for the Climate Mental Health Network where she conducts research on mental health and climate change and informs program development. Additionally, Dr. Dooley is the parent organizer of Future Fighters, a child-led environmental activism group founded by her elementary school-aged daughter.

Frank Niepold is the Senior Climate Education Coordinator at NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) in Silver Spring Maryland, co-manage the NOAA CPO Communication, Education and Engagement Division, co-manage the Climate Ready Workforce program, Climate.gov Education section lead, a co-chair of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Climate Engagement and Capacity Building Interagency Group, the U.S. National Communications Report chapter lead on Education, Engagement, Training, and Workforce Development for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), former Action for Climate Empowerment National Focal Point for the United States, founding member of the CLEAN Network and co-chair of the CLEAN Network Leadership Board, a member of the Federal Steering Committee for the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) and federal lead for the White House Climate Education and Literacy Initiative (2013-2016). At NOAA, he develops and implements NOAA's Climate goal education and engagement efforts that specifically relate to NOAA's Building a Climate Ready Nation goal. Frank is the “Teaching Climate” lead for NOAA’s Climate.gov web portal that offers learning activities and curriculum materials, multimedia resources, and professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who want to incorporate climate science into their work. Additionally, he is the managing lead of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) document, Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science. NOAA, NSF, NASA, AAAS Project 2061, CIRES, American Meteorological Society, and various members from both the science and education community worked to define climate literacy in the United States.

He received a MSEd in Earth Space Science Education (2006) from Johns Hopkins University with areas of concentration in Earth Observing Systems, Scientist/Teacher/Student Collaboration and Earth Systems science education focused on climate.

Shraya is the Manager of Content at Empatico, where she develops research-based activities that spark fun, meaningful interactions between students, while building key competencies that make them more compassionate, empathetic, and curious individuals. Prior to joining Empatico, Shraya worked with students in different classroom settings, including schools for children with special needs and language centers for English language learners.

Dr. Cao has been in the educational field for over a decade as a middle school science teacher educational technology coach and educational leader.  She is passionate with working in schools to support culturally and ethnically diverse students. Previously she served as the Associate Director of UCISP and was an instructor and supervisor in the CalTeach program at University of California Irvine (UCI). She is a proud UCI alumni and holds a B.S. in Biological Science as well as a Master of Art in Teaching. Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal State University of Fullerton and her dissertation publication focused on culturally relevant pedagogy on Latinx student engagement and content mastery in physics science which supports her facilitation and program design vision. She loves being active outdoors and traveling the world!

Elizabeth Bagley, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist and learning scientist with experience spanning academia, business, and the nonprofit sector.

As managing director, Elizabeth guides Project Drawdown’s overall strategy and keeps programs and operations functioning smoothly across the organization. Before joining Project Drawdown she led higher education-focused climate workforce development at SEI, directed sustainability efforts at the California Academy of Sciences, and designed the science content for video games at LeapFrog. 

Elizabeth frequently speaks about climate solutions and was invited to create two LinkedIn Learning courses focused on sustainability that have engaged tens of thousands of learners from around the world. An experienced environmental educator, Elizabeth worked as a naturalist in Glacier National Park, taught middle and high school science in Louisiana, created K–12 professional development programs for teachers, and designed a science communication course for graduate students. 

Elizabeth holds joint Ph.D.s in Environment & Resources and Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she studied how video games can encourage systems thinking about complex environmental topics. Outside of work, Elizabeth enjoys volunteering on her community’s Sustainability Commission and Science Center board, hiking, reading romance novels, berry picking, and adventuring with her family and friends.

Kristy Drutman, otherwise known as “Browngirl Green” is a speaker, consultant, media producer, and environmental educator passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism. As an entrepreneur and climate communications expert, Kristy has educated hundreds of thousands of people across the globe about modern-day environmental issues through speeches and media content as well as facilitates workshops centered around environmental media and storytelling in cities across the United States. She has been invited to the White House multiple times as an on-ground reporter, was featured in Teen Vogue, NY Times, Refinery 29 among many other publications, is a Grist 50 under 50 recipient and a Create and Cultivate Top 100 creator. Kristy is also the Co-Founder of the Green Jobs Board, a climate tech start-up bridging the equity and inclusion gap within the green economy through conversations, resources, and pathways to bring more diverse talent into the environmental field.

Jordi is an Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Water Resources working from the South Central Region Office in Fresno for the Climate Change Program. He works to help develop and implement programs designed to increase and promote energy efficiency, water conservation, water recycling, and low impact development in order to reduce energy consumption related to water use in California. Jordi graduated from UC Santa Cruz in June 2017 with a BS in Earth Sciences and came to work in the water sector after consecutive internships at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Jenn Swart is a Senior Public Affairs Representative at the Water Replenishment District, a groundwater management agency that serves 4 million residents in southern Los Angeles County.

In her role at WRD, Jenn engages with a multitude of audiences and stakeholders on the topics of groundwater, recycled water, and water conservation. She manages the district’s community education programs and facilitates stakeholder tours of WRD’s water treatment facilities. Jenn was a project lead for the development and installation of the state-of-the-art exhibit hall at the Albert Robles Center for Water Recycling & Environmental Learning (ARC). Jenn has a Bachelor of Science in Geography degree from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and taught English in South Korea to Pre K - 8th grade students for 4 years.

California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District, located in the Los Angeles South Bay and Harbor Area.  A champion for public education, Muratsuchi serves as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Funding.  He is also fighting climate change as former Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, authoring landmark legislation for California to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2045.  Muratsuchi has written laws to fight for education, jobs and the economy, clean energy and environmental justice, public safety, veterans, and small businesses.   He has helped deliver billions in increased funding for California public schools and for universal high-speed internet access to close the digital divide. 

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris proudly represents California’s 73rd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Tustin.

Cottie Petrie-Norris is a businesswoman, mom, and community leader who was elected to the State Assembly in 2018. In the Assembly, Cottie has worked to secure millions of dollars in funding for projects across Orange County and has passed important legislation to protect the California coast, improve access to healthcare, keep our children and communities safe, and help local veterans and small businesses.

Cottie serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Energy and the Select Committee on Green Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Additionally, she serves on the Assembly’s Committees on Banking & Finance; Insurance; and, Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.

Cottie and her husband, Colin are the proud parents of two sons, Dylan and Hayden, and their rescue dog, Flounder.

Dr. James M. “Jim” Limbaugh has been president of West Los Angeles College (WLAC), a diverse urban dual-purpose college of 10,000 students, since October 2016. During his tenure, the college has established two baccalaureate degree programs (dental hygiene and avionics), developed an associate degree in climate change studies (the only such program in California), and created the California Center for Climate Change Education, designed to support California’s 116 community colleges in curricula design, workforce development, and advocacy initiatives, with a collective focus on social justice.

Within the California community college system, Jimalso served as president of Oxnard College. He previously held leadership positions in master’s level institutions, including the presidency of Montana State University-Northern, vice president and provost at Angelo State University (Texas), and associate vice president at Frostburg State University (Maryland).

Jim received a bachelor’s and a master’s from Texas A&M-Commerce and a doctorate from the University of Maryland focusing on higher education leadership, with an emphasis on curricula and law. 

Tamara Wallace is the sustainability programs manager with the California State University, Office of the Chancellor. During her 10-year career in sustainability, she has passionately championed the strategic vision of sustainability in higher education with its unique opportunities for driving organizational change through innovative solutions to tackle today’s challenges of a changing climate. Tamara is the project lead for the development of CSU’s Climate Resilient Infrastructure Guidelines and Framework and represents the CSU with the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation. Tamara is an elected member and current chair of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Steering Committee, and successfully advocated for systemwide participation in comprehensive university sustainability benchmarking using the STARS reporting platform. Additionally, she is the co-founder and co-editor for the CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change. Tamara is a double-alumna from Cal State Fullerton, a certified change management professional, and a LEED Green Associate.

Dr. Branden Brough is the Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), as well as the Assistant Director for Nanotechnology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He serves as the national spokesperson and central point of contact for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). In this role, Dr. Brough provides technical and advisory support for Federal nanotechnology research and development, and facilitates interagency communication and coordination across the 20+ Federal Departments and Agencies of the NNI. Previously, Dr. Brough served as the Deputy Director of the Molecular Foundry, a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded nanoscale science research center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) that provides users from around the world with access to cutting-edge expertise and instrumentation. There, he helped guide the organization’s scientific plans and initiatives, while also managing the center’s operations. Before joining the Molecular Foundry, Dr. Brough worked at the NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), where he led strategic policy and planning activities, as well as Congressional and public outreach efforts. Dr. Brough received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering – focusing on the integration of synthetic motor molecules and natural self-assembling proteins into micro/nanotechnologies – from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), before becoming a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in 2007.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta. She has worked on social, environmental and climate justice issues for the past 20 years. Melina is the Founder and Executive Director of Sacred Earth Solar, the co-founder at Indigenous Climate Action, and the inaugural Fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation. She is also the Host of a new TV series called Power to the People which profiles renewable energy, food security and eco-housing projects in Indigenous communities across Canada.

Facing firsthand impacts of the Alberta tar sands in her community’s territory, Melina has been a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. For over a decade, Melina worked as a Climate and Energy Campaigner against tar sands extraction locally, nationally and internationally. She has written for a variety of publications and produced short documentaries on the tar sands, climate change, water issues and Indigenous cultural revitalization. Melina has studied, campaigned and worked in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Canada and across Europe focusing on resource extraction, climate change impacts, media literacy and Indigenous rights & responsibilities. 

Melina also works on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women in Canada after the suspicious death of her sister Bella whose case still remains unsolved. Melina currently serves on the boards of NDN Collective and Seeding Sovereignty as well as the Executive Steering Committee of Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise.

Serena Mendizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is a community-based researcher, grassroots organizer, and environmental advocate. Serena is the Just Transition Manager at Sacred Earth Solar. Serena holds a Master's of Geography & Environment with a focus on Indigenous environmental health governance and industrial health impacts with Pictou Landing First Nation & Tobique First Nation.

Serena first began her journey in clean energy when she was 18 working in community engagement and communications at the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, holding the largest First Nations clean energy portfolio in so-called Canada. While working in community engagement, she found gaps in community consent with her community’s clean energy portfolio and went on to further explore what a true ‘just transition’ can look like in a community of over 28,000 members. From there on out, Serena has dedicated her studies and extracurriculars to Indigenous self-determination, climate change, environmental health impact, and just clean energy transitions. Serena’s connections to climate advocacy, research, education, and direct action are numerous.

Serena is the Co-Chair of the SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, a Subject Matter Expert on Connecting for Climate Change Action, a Youth Action & Environment Fellow with the Lawson Foundation, a Board of Director with Student Energy and also works with Protect the Tract, a Haudenosaunee-led group in her community, Six Nations, focused on enforcing the traditional governance (the Haudenosaunee Confederacy)’s moratorium on development along the Grand River (Haldimand Tract). Serena is passionate about self-determined community development, action, and futures, and believes in a future with Indigenous youth & elders leading; sovereign, healthy nations; and lands and waters back.

Christina Kwauk is a social scientist and policy analyst with expertise on girls’ education, 21st century skills and youth empowerment, and the intersections of gender, education, and climate change.

Christina is co-editor of Curriculum and Learning for Climate Action: Toward an SDG 4.7 Roadmap for Systems Change and co-author of What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment. She has published numerous policy papers, including “The new green learning agenda: Approaches to quality education for climate empowerment.”

Christina is an education consultant and research director at Unbounded Associates, and co-founder of Unbounded Alliance.

Melissa Marquez is a passionate marine scientist, explorer, and advocate for the world's oceans. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, her expertise spans a wide range of marine topics, from biodiversity and conservation to marine ecology and shark behavior. Her work has taken her to some of the most remote and awe-inspiring corners of the globe, where she has connected with local communities to promote marine conservation efforts. Beyond her scientific endeavors, Melissa is a dynamic speaker and communicator, making complex marine science accessible to diverse audiences. As a sought-after speaker, she has shared her passion and knowledge on prestigious stages, inspiring others to appreciate and protect our oceans. Through her engaging talks, she strives to ignite a sense of responsibility and awareness about the importance of preserving marine ecosystems for future generations.

Rebecca Bernard serves as the Director of Innovation at The Teaching Well. She is a creative thinker and strategist with a proven track record in the areas of global business, non-profit management, and cradle to career education Her expertise includes entrepreneurship, global marketing and communications, interdisciplinary strategy and entrepreneurship, DEIJ and SEL for youth and adults, arts education and youth program design. She is a skillful facilitator and community builder with an ability to unite teams and inspire meaningful collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in the globalization services industry as a trusted advisor and project manager for multinational corporations in the tech start-up, gaming and mobile industries. She has since held executive management positions in the small business and non-profit space. Her love and commitment to education runs deep, as teaching and school building has been a part of her ancestral lineage for at least three generations. Over the last decade, Rebecca has worked in various capacities in Early Education, K-12 and Out-of-school-time Learning. With the intention of bringing high quality, child-led, dual-language programming to her community in South Los Angeles, Rebecca helped to found two schools–a progressive bilingual play-based early education center and a dual-language public elementary school. She has managed youth programs for hundreds of children through her non-profit work, consulted for a variety of education organizations, and designed place-based summer learning programs in countries around the globe through her travel company Family Go Global. Rebecca holds a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, a Masters in Communication Management from USC, and a Master's in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rebecca is passionate about uplifting future generations and reimagining systems for learning around the globe.

Lindsey Fuller serves as the Executive Director of The Teaching Well and is an unapologetic and passionate advocate for scholars, educators, and marginalized communities. A paradigm-shifting leader and Restorative Practitioner, she is the embodiment of Angela Davis’ statement, “We must always attempt to lift as we climb.” Lindsey leads through genuine relationships and humor. She has an unmatched ability to see others’ innate gifts and reflect them back in ways that make room for each staff member and client to show up as their most favorite selves in service to their students, communities, and loved ones. 

Prior to joining The Teaching Well, Lindsey served as both a teacher and school administrator and also held the role of Regional Director of Student Services for a school network in California. In that role, she supported 11 Bay Area schools and led all non-academic initiatives, including mental health programming, behavioral supports, socio-emotional learning, and crisis management. Lindsey was the co-founder and leader of the network’s first affinity group in 2016, which has now scaled to over 20 affinity spaces across the organization. She also co-founded the inaugural Black Leadership Advocacy Council (B.L.A.C.), endeavoring to amplify the voices of community stakeholders to improve outcomes for Black scholars. Lindsey is highly skilled in navigating complex systems, with an eye towards strategic change management and communication cascades. Lindsey believes that in order to reach collective liberation, we must find ways to sustain adults in our schools to ensure trauma-sensitive continuity of care. With her fierce advocacy for folks on the margins, she builds human-centered, anti-racist systems to inform strong adult school climates. She holds a B.A, California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Occidental College, her California Preliminary Administrative Credential, as well as serving as a trainer of Restorative Practices (IIRP), and a state-certified Mediator (CCEJ).

José G. González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors and Co-Founder of the Outdoorist Oath, along with a former partner at the Avarna Group. He is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. As a Partner in the Avarna Group and through his own consulting, his work focused on Equity & Inclusion frameworks and practices in the environmental, outdoor, and conservation fields. He is also an illustrator and science communicator. He currently serves as the inaugural Equity Officer for the East Bay Regional Park District.

He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment. His teaching coursework was at the Bilingual, Multicultural, Education Department at Sacramento State.
He serves on the boards for Parks California and Resource Media, along with being a Commissioner for the California Boating & Waterways Commission. 
You can connect with him on social media @JoseBilingue. Puns welcomed. 

Kelley Lê has been in the educational field for over a decade as a high school science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader. She is currently the executive director of the UC–CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs), former director of the UC Irvine Science Project, Friends of the Planet NCSE Award recipient (2022), and author of Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS (2021, Coming Soon 2024). She also serves as a CLEAN advisory board member, and a Climate Reality Corps mentor.

Naehee Kwun served as a math teacher, instructional coach, mentor, curriculum designer, and consultant. She designs professional learning experiences for teachers. She speaks at and organizes conferences to elevate teachers in their commitments to make education relevant for all learners and foster student agency to fight for justice. Her portfolio can be found at www.mathingforequity.org  Naehee is a first generation Korean American, a wife and mother, and an avid baker.

Lilly Lopez is a recent graduate from UCLA with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies and a minor in Conservation Biology. She has since worked as a naturalist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, where she has helped implement educational outreach programs and helped manage their two nature centers. In addition, she has also collaborated in various community-based research projects and internships that have focused on the ecological composition of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas. Lilly currently supports ECCLPs and the UC Irvine Science Project as a program coordinator.

Dr. Ramanathan discovered the greenhouse effect of CFCs (cholorofluorocarbons; belongs to family of halocarbons) in 1975 and showed that a ton each of CFC-11 and CFC-12 has more global warming effect than 10000 tons of CO2.   This discovery established the now accepted fact that non-CO2 gases are a major contributor to planet warming and also enabled the Montreal protocol to become the first successful climate mitigation policy. For this work, he was awarded the Tyler Prize by Nobel Laureate Sherwood Rowland in 2009. In 1980, Madden and Ramanathan were the first to make a statistical prediction that global warming will be detected above the background noise by 2000, a prediction which was verified by the IPCC-UN experts in 2001. He led a NASA study with its climate satellite to show that clouds had a net cooling effect on the planet and quantified the radiation interactions with water vapor and its amplification of the CO2 warming. He led international field campaigns, developed unmanned aircraft platforms for tracking brown clouds  pollution worldwide.  His work has led to numerous policies including the formation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition by the United Nations.

He founded, designed, and leads Project Surya along with daughters Nithya Ramanathan and Tara Ramanathan; an extended effort to characterize and mitigate climate and health impacts of cooking with solid biomass as a way to protect the bottom three billion from climate change. He is now leading a University of California climate solutions effort which has launched a course on climate solutions that is expected to reach a million students or more.

He was honored as the science advisor to Pope Francis’ holy see delegation to the historic 2015 Paris climate summit and in addition advises California Governor Jerry Brown. He was named the UN Climate Champion in 2013; has been elected to the US National Academy and the Royal Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel prizes. Foreign Policy named him a thought leader in 2014 and in 2018, he (with James Hansen) was named the Tang Laureate for sustainability science.  He is currently the Edward A. Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability.

Okhee Lee is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She is widely known for advancing research, policy, and practice that simultaneously promote science and language learning for all students, particularly multilingual learners. Lee was a member of the NGSS writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She also was a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. Her research involves integrating science, language, and computational thinking with a focus on multilingual learners. Her latest work addresses justice-centered STEM education with multilingual learners by integrating multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to address pressing societal challenges using the case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee brings research and policy to practice. Her team developed a yearlong fifth-grade science curriculum called Science And Integrated Language, or SAIL, that translates contemporary science standards into classroom practice with multilingual learners. The curriculum is in a field trial at New York City Public Schools with funding from the National Science Foundation. Using the SAIL curriculum, Lee’s team published teacher resources in collaboration with the New York State Education Department. In addition, her team published teacher resources in collaboration with the National Science Teaching Association and made them available nationally.

Estefanía is originally from Costa Rica and has worked in sustainability and transformative education since her mid twenties. She founded and operated a K–12 school for students from low-income families focused on delivering high quality bilingual education that merged social justice and environmental stewardship. Through this role Estefanía worked alongside educators from over a dozen countries creating an evolving dually accredited program of studies that merged international academic standards with sustainability learning principles. The school grew into a model of an institution operating under Education for Sustainable Development and consequently Estefanía was invited as the first research fellow at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University (CSU). There she published one of the few toolkits available for developing project-based learning at low-budget schools operating in the tropics. Estefanía completed her M.B.A. at CSU in social entrepreneurship focusing on the curricular structure and operations of schools categorized as examples of whole-school sustainability. This experience took her to Bali and Sumatra where she researched schools and education projects developed to provide climate social justice environmental justice and environmental stewardship education. In 2018 Estefanía founded the Hahami Organization in California a social enterprise that specializes in supporting government institutions schools and NGOs that are seeking to adopt and align their education offers with education for sustainable development as part of their efforts to provide youth with climate social justice and environmental education. With Hahami Estefanía collaborates with experts from sustainability education curricular design sustainability corporate governance conservation educational policies and educational technologies in a myriad of projects both in the US and internationally. Currently Estefanía is completing her PhD at the Gevirtz Graduate School of education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on evidence-based pedagogies and design methods to integrate content conducive for learning about and for sustainability challenges within K–12 subject matter content and official curricula. In addition she researches the best methods to train pre-service and in-service teachers in sustainability education including climate social justice and environmental education. Estefanía has published and participated with leading institutions such as UNESCO-IBE ICSS and FAO.

Jothsna is the founder of Change Narrative, which exists to build capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories. Through a coaching practice, Jothsna works with people to craft climate narratives to advocate for solutions. Specifically centering voices excluded from mainstream media, climate discussions, and decision-making. Jothsna is the recipient of the 2023 Creative Climate Communications Award from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, and is a 2023 Obama USA Leader, recognized as one of 100 changemakers across our nation working to strengthen democracy.

Beth Callaghan is a former field biologist and high school science teacher. Since moving to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Education Division 12 years ago, she has worked with a highly collaborative team to develop and implement professional development programs for educators that incorporate culturally responsive teaching practices while providing tools for professional growth and space for personal well-being. As Pedagogical Instructional Coach for the Education Division her passion for developing environmental identity through field work, getting students outside, and working with educators to support their professional development and well-being is equaled only by her passion for making the science process engaging, relevant, and accessible to all. Her mission is to empower educators to support the next generation of changemakers.

Rebecca Bernard serves as the Director of Innovation at The Teaching Well. She is a creative thinker and strategist with a proven track record in the areas of global business, non-profit management, and cradle to career education Her expertise includes entrepreneurship, global marketing and communications, interdisciplinary strategy and entrepreneurship, DEIJ and SEL for youth and adults, arts education and youth program design. She is a skillful facilitator and community builder with an ability to unite teams and inspire meaningful collaboration.

Rebecca began her career in the globalization services industry as a trusted advisor and project manager for multinational corporations in the tech start-up, gaming and mobile industries. She has since held executive management positions in the small business and non-profit space. Her love and commitment to education runs deep, as teaching and school building has been a part of her ancestral lineage for at least three generations. Over the last decade, Rebecca has worked in various capacities in Early Education, K-12 and Out-of-school-time Learning. With the intention of bringing high quality, child-led, dual-language programming to her community in South Los Angeles, Rebecca helped to found two schools–a progressive bilingual play-based early education center and a dual-language public elementary school. She has managed youth programs for hundreds of children through her non-profit work, consulted for a variety of education organizations, and designed place-based summer learning programs in countries around the globe through her travel company Family Go Global. Rebecca holds a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, a Masters in Communication Management from USC, and a Master's in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rebecca is passionate about uplifting future generations and reimagining systems for learning around the globe.

Lindsey Fuller serves as the Executive Director of The Teaching Well and is an unapologetic and passionate advocate for scholars, educators, and marginalized communities. A paradigm-shifting leader and Restorative Practitioner, she is the embodiment of Angela Davis’ statement, “We must always attempt to lift as we climb.” Lindsey leads through genuine relationships and humor. She has an unmatched ability to see others’ innate gifts and reflect them back in ways that make room for each staff member and client to show up as their most favorite selves in service to their students, communities, and loved ones. 

Prior to joining The Teaching Well, Lindsey served as both a teacher and school administrator and also held the role of Regional Director of Student Services for a school network in California. In that role, she supported 11 Bay Area schools and led all non-academic initiatives, including mental health programming, behavioral supports, socio-emotional learning, and crisis management. Lindsey was the co-founder and leader of the network’s first affinity group in 2016, which has now scaled to over 20 affinity spaces across the organization. She also co-founded the inaugural Black Leadership Advocacy Council (B.L.A.C.), endeavoring to amplify the voices of community stakeholders to improve outcomes for Black scholars. Lindsey is highly skilled in navigating complex systems, with an eye towards strategic change management and communication cascades. Lindsey believes that in order to reach collective liberation, we must find ways to sustain adults in our schools to ensure trauma-sensitive continuity of care. With her fierce advocacy for folks on the margins, she builds human-centered, anti-racist systems to inform strong adult school climates. She holds a B.A, California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Masters in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Occidental College, her California Preliminary Administrative Credential, as well as serving as a trainer of Restorative Practices (IIRP), and a state-certified Mediator (CCEJ).

Elizabeth Bagley, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist and learning scientist with experience spanning academia, business, and the nonprofit sector.

As managing director, Elizabeth guides Project Drawdown’s overall strategy and keeps programs and operations functioning smoothly across the organization. Before joining Project Drawdown she led higher education-focused climate workforce development at SEI, directed sustainability efforts at the California Academy of Sciences, and designed the science content for video games at LeapFrog. 

Elizabeth frequently speaks about climate solutions and was invited to create two LinkedIn Learning courses focused on sustainability that have engaged tens of thousands of learners from around the world. An experienced environmental educator, Elizabeth worked as a naturalist in Glacier National Park, taught middle and high school science in Louisiana, created K–12 professional development programs for teachers, and designed a science communication course for graduate students. 

Elizabeth holds joint Ph.D.s in Environment & Resources and Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she studied how video games can encourage systems thinking about complex environmental topics. Outside of work, Elizabeth enjoys volunteering on her community’s Sustainability Commission and Science Center board, hiking, reading romance novels, berry picking, and adventuring with her family and friends.

Before diving into ocean and coral reef conservation, Richard Vevers first worked at top London advertising agencies and then as an artist and underwater photographer. This background guided his unique creative and business-thinking approach to ocean conservation. His work, which reveals what is happening to our oceans, is some of the most viewed underwater imagery of all time, and, thanks to his ideas, projects and public speaking, he is a leading voice in the fight to save coral reefs.

His projects successes include inventing the SVII camera and taking Google Street View underwater, pioneering virtual reality ocean education – currently available to over 90 million children – and creating the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, the most comprehensive underwater photographic survey and record of coral reefs with over one million images captured and analyzed. Vevers was instrumental in revealing the crisis facing coral reefs in the Netflix Original Documentary “Chasing Coral”, which won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Nature Documentary. He has also played a key role in 50 Reefs, a global scientific study to help target and inspire effective conservation support and action, resulting in $86 million in funding for science and conservation.