The County Office of Education is highlighting educators and student leaders who are bringing solutionary environmental justice and sustainability into their school communities. These changemakers have used their passion and knowledge to make real change, from creating sustainability programs to transforming teaching practices around environmental and social justice issues. Explore the interviews below to learn about each local solutionary changemaker. We hope their stories and experiences encourage you to take action in leading your own school community.
Introducing Our Newest Changemakers
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| Kristen Ugrin Fall 2022 Principal, Tierra Linda Middle School San Carlos School District Kristen shares her process for creating outdoor learning spaces to educate students about healthy food, biodiversity, and equity as well as provide for those who experience food insecurity in our communities. |
Donna Luu Donna obtained a 4Rs grant through the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability to work with her school’s administration to implement a tri-bin system in all classrooms. She also organized a group of student volunteers to create a Green Team that monitors waste sorting and provides environmental outreach on campus. |
Kerry Dees Spring 2023 Principal, Green Hills Elementary School Millbrae School District Kerry shares her process for implementing a tri-bin waste system on campus and collaborating with school staff to spearhead the school’s Green Team, which empowers fifth grade students to be sustainability leaders on campus. |
Youth Climate Leaders
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2021 and 2022 Student Leaders Katinka Lennemann, Sara Typrin, Brandon Wee, Kathryn Nguyen, and Sophia Bai share their experiences helping the Sequoia Union High School District adopt a climate emergency board resolution to prioritize climate action in 2021, AND building on that effort in 2022 to launch a district-wide sustainability committee: 2021 Interview and 2022 Interview. |
Maya Xu Maya discusses her Youth Climate Leadership and sustainability efforts, including starting an environmental club and leading sustainability events on campus.
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Charlotte Rosario Charlotte talks about her community empowerment initiative, called The Community Photobooth, and her experiences leading a Teen Innovators for Climate Action event. |
Sophia Qin Sophia shares her mission to boost environmental literacy and empower youth. She discusses her nonprofit organization, Light Earth's Destiny, and her book Becoming Earth 2.0. |
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Lilian, Maram, and Atiya Lilian, Maram, and Atiya discuss their advocacy efforts and success in getting the San Mateo Union High School District to pass a district-wide climate emergency declaration. |
Bellamy Cramer Bellamy talks about her work as a Youth Climate Leader and her green facilities internship with the Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative. |
Emily, Olivia, Roisin, Caroline Emily Duncan, Olivia Murray, Roisin Scallon, and Caroline Lim share how they have empowered other students to get into gardening and care for their community and planet. |
Teacher Changemakers
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Charu Gulati Charu shares how being a solutionary teacher has helped her navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and find hope for a more sustainable future. |
Matt Clemens Matt discusses how he responds to student needs by bringing environmental education into the English classroom as a solutionary teacher. |
Sonia Myers Sonia talks about how being a solutionary teacher has helped enhance her teaching practices and lead students to be advocates for their community and build lifelong skills. |
Beth Kassler Beth shares how being a solutionary teacher allows her to implement restorative practices in the classroom and build impactful, intersectional curriculum. |
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Sarah Hartman Sarah speaks about her experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship program and how the resources she gained by participating benefited her teaching. |
Corinna Low Corinna shares her experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program and how it was a place for her to learn and grow as an educator and connect with a larger network of support. |
Rhonda Clements Rhonda talks about how learning about solutionary teaching has helped her teach her students how to ask the right questions about environmental issues and create impactful action plans. |
Matthew Sahagun Matthew discusses his experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program and how it helped him develop a unit of study with Next Generation Science Standards that utilized local phenomena. |
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Jadelyn Chang Jadelyn shares how her passion and concern for the environment inspired her to implement zero waste projects and engage her students in solutionary units of study. |
Kimber Trefero Kimber speaks about her experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program and leading solutionary units of study to help students build a growth mindset. |
Jennifer Young Jennifer discusses her experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program and her class embraced the term “problem solvers” in the 2020-21 school year. |
Habiba Naqvi Habiba talks about how her experiences helped her design lessons that engage students and help them implement projects, including a successful campaign for solar panels. |
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Woodside Green Academy Teachers in the Woodside Green Academy share how the program provides students with a cohesive and meaningful environmental education experience, inside and outside the classroom. |
Donna Luu Donna obtained a 4Rs grant through the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability to work with her school’s administration to implement a tri-bin system in all classrooms. She also organized a group of student volunteers to create a Green Team that monitors waste sorting and provides environmental outreach on campus. |
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Administrator Changemakers
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Sarah Koning Sarah shares about The Nueva School's success with the California (CA-GRS) and Federal Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) programs. The school was recognized as a "Green Achiever in 2021. |
Lena Butte, Sally James, and Erin Bautista Lena Butte, Sally James, and Erin Bautista discuss their sustainability efforts at South Hillsborough School, which received a California Green Ribbon Schools (CA-GRS) silver-level recognition in 2021. |
Will Eger, Delma Camacho, and Nico Janik Will Eger, Delma Camacho, and Nico Janik discuss their California Green Ribbon Schools (CA-GRS) bronze-level recognition and sustainability efforts in the Ravenswood City School District. |
Mindy Hill Mindy shares how being a solutionary educator has helped her build partnerships across San Mateo County and support trauma-informed, solutionary environmental teaching. |
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Sheila Krotz Sheila talks about how being a solutionary educator has helped her collaborate with early learners and implement sustainability projects across her school. |
Dwayne Taylor Dwayne discusses how he supported a baseline assessment process to document his district's progress on sustainability and climate resiliency and jump-started efforts to create a districtwide sustainability committee. |
Katherine Rivera Katherine shares how she has unified her community to bring equitable access to nature and sustainability practices to her school through outdoor learning spaces and sustainable waste programs. |
Ralph Crame Ralph talks about working with community members to uplift their visions and bring green schoolyards to Millbrae Elementary School District. |
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Nuala O'Sullivan-Haley & Liz O'Neill Nuala and Liz share how they have taken on environmental issues like waste management and outdoor learning spaces on their school campuses, and discuss how schools can become models of sustainability with meaningful leadership. |
Doron Markus Doron discusses how he and his team designed real-world, action-based green career curriculum for middle schools and are driving innovation in the education field. |
Kristen Ugrin |
Kerry Dees Spring 2023 Principal, Green Hills Elementary School Millbrae School District Kerry shares her process for implementing a tri-bin waste system on campus and collaborating with school staff to spearhead the school’s Green Team, which empowers fifth grade students to be sustainability leaders on campus. |