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 

Daisy Yeung Changemaker Interview photo

Jessica Tiatia
Spring 2023
Teacher & Science Department Head, 
Westmoor High School
Jefferson Union High School District

Inspiring High School Students to Take Environmental Action
Jessica has led sustainable change at Westmoor High School for more than twenty years. During the 2022-2023 school year, Jessica applied for and received a $4,000 grant through SMCOE’s Living Schoolyard Grant program to extend Westmoor's native plant garden, the Don Delbon Garden, which was started during the 2018-19 school year.

Alyssa Freedman & Jessika Mercado
Spring 2023
Teachers, Sunset Ridge Elementary
Pacifica School District

Promoting Biodiversity with Native Plants
Alyssa and Jessika created a solutionary unit introducing students to concepts and principles related to promoting biodiversity on Sunset Ridge Elementary’s campus. Their unit’s essential question was: Why are so many living things struggling to survive on this planet and what can we do about it? By planting a native plant garden at Sunset Ridge, Jessika and Alyssa supported students in doing their small part to combat biodiversity loss.

Daisy Yeung
Spring 2023
Science Instructional Coach
Sequoia Union High School District

Empowering Teachers to Empower Students to Make Solutionary Change
During the 2022-23 school year, Daisy collaborated with SUHSD’s Social Studies Instructional Coach, Amelia Greenfield, to lead an environmental literacy professional development cohort to support teachers in SUHSD to create solutions-focused, environmentally-based lessons across different subject areas and grade levels.

 

Youth Climate Leaders

Headshots of Katinka, Sarah, Brandon, and Kathryn Headshot of Maya Xu Headshot of Charlotte Rosario Robert Griffin

2021 and 2022 
Sequoia Union High School District

Sustainability Committee 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
Spring 2021
Graduate
Crystal Springs Upland School

Youth Climate Leader and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative Intern
Maya discusses her Youth Climate Leadership and sustainability efforts, including starting an environmental club and leading sustainability events on campus.

 

Charlotte Rosario
Fall 2021
Class of '25
The Nueva School

Inspiring Youth To Take Climate Action
Charlotte talks about her community empowerment initiative, called The Community Photobooth, and her experiences leading a Teen Innovators for Climate Action event.

Sophia Qin
Spring 2022
Aragon High, Class of '23
San Mateo Union High School District

Empowering Youth Through Environmental Literacy
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.

Headshots of Lilian, Maram, and Atiyah

Headshot of Bellamy Cramer

Lilian, Maram, and Atiya
July 2021
Various Schools and Classes
San Mateo Union High School District

District-Wide Climate Emergency Declaration
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
Spring 2021
Menlo-Atherton High, Class of '22
Sequoia Union High School District

Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative Intern
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
Spring 2022
Hillsdale High School
San Mateo Union High School District

Youth Climate Ambassadors Empower Peers To Take Environmental Action
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

Charu Gulati Matt Clemens Sonia Myers Beth Kassler

Charu Gulati
Spring 2021
Science Teacher, Tierra Linda Middle School
San Carlos School District

Cultivating Student-Centered, Solutionary Project-Based Learning Opportunities
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
Spring 2021
English Teacher, El Camino High School
South San Francisco Unified School District

Bringing a Solutionary Lens to High School English
Matt discusses how he responds to student needs by bringing environmental education into the English classroom as a solutionary teacher.

Sonia Myers 
Spring 2021
Serendipity School;
Currently a teacher at Cunha Intermediate School

Solutionary Work and Environmental Advocacy
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
Spring 2021
7th-12th Grade Teacher, Margaret Kemp Girls Camp
San Mateo County Office of Education

Implementing Restorative Practices in the Classroom
Beth shares how being a solutionary teacher allows her to implement restorative practices in the classroom and build impactful, intersectional curriculum.

Sarah Hartman

Corinna Low

Rhonda Clements

Matthew Sahagun

Sarah Hartman
Spring 2021
2nd Grade Teacher, Connect Community Charter School

Expanding the Solutionary Lens in the Classroom, and Beyond
Sarah speaks about her experience in the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship program and how the resources she gained by participating benefited her teaching.

Corinna Low
Spring 2021
7th Grade Science Teacher, Westborough Middle School
South San Francisco Unified School District

Inspiring Student Action Through Solutionary Teaching
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
Spring 2021
Social Studies Teacher, South San Francisco High School
South San Francisco Unified School District

Guiding Students From Knowledge to Action
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
Spring 2021
9th Grade Physics Teacher, Woodside High School
Sequoia Union High School District

Clean Energy Curriculum and Solutionary Action
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.

Jadelyn Chang

Kimber Trefero

Jennifer Young

Habiba Naqvi

Jadelyn Chang
Spring 2021
Kindergarten Teacher, Foster City Elementary School
San Mateo-Foster City School District

Inspiring Students to Be Stewards of the Environment
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
Spring 2021
1st Grade Teacher, Ormondale School
Portola Valley School District

Clean Energy and Sustainable Food Systems
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
Spring 2021
Fourth Grade Teacher, Audubon Elementary School
San Mateo-Foster City School District

Encouraging Students To Be Creative Problem-Solvers
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
Spring 2022
8th Grade Science Teacher, Bayside Academy
San Mateo-Foster City School District

Empowering Students to Make a Positive Impact in the Community
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.

Woodside Green Academy

Donna Luu holding up the SCRS Challenge Award for Sunset Ridge Elementary

Woodside Green Academy
Spring 2022
Woodside High School
Sequoia Union High School District

Environmental Education Experiences, Both Inside and Outside the Classroom
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
Spring 2023
2nd Grade Teacher, Sunset Ridge Elementary
Pacifica School District

Empowering Students to Divert Waste From Landfills
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.

Alyssa Freedman & Jessika Mercado
Spring 2023
Teachers, Sunset Ridge Elementary
Pacifica School District

Promoting Biodiversity with Native Plants
Alyssa and Jessika created a solutionary unit introducing students to concepts and principles related to promoting biodiversity on Sunset Ridge Elementary’s campus. Their unit’s essential question was: Why are so many living things struggling to survive on this planet and what can we do about it? By planting a native plant garden at Sunset Ridge, Jessika and Alyssa supported students in doing their small part to combat biodiversity loss.

Jessica Tiatia
Spring 2023
Teacher & Science Department Head, 

Westmoor High School
Jefferson Union High School District

Inspiring High School Students to Take Environmental Action
Jessica has led sustainable change at Westmoor High School for more than twenty years. During the 2022-2023 school year, Jessica applied for and received a $4,000 grant through SMCOE’s Living Schoolyard Grant program to extend Westmoor's native plant garden, the Don Delbon Garden, which was started during the 2018-19 school year.

Administrator Changemakers

Sarah Koning South Hillsborough School Staff Taja Henderson Mindy Hill

Sarah Koning
Spring 2021
Director of Sustainability
The Nueva School

Green Achiever Award
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
Spring 2021
South Hillsborough
 School
Hillsborough City School District

Silver-Level Green Ribbon Schools Recognition
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
Spring 2021
Ravenswood City School District

Bronze-Level Green Ribbon Schools Recognition
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
Spring 2021
Health and Wellness Coordinator
San Carlos School District

Solutionary Partnerships Across San Mateo County
Mindy shares how being a solutionary educator has helped her build partnerships across San Mateo County and support trauma-informed, solutionary environmental teaching.

Sheila Krotz

Dwayne Taylor

Katherine Rivera

Head shot of Ralph Crame

Sheila Krotz
Spring 2021
Principal, Portola Elementary School
San Bruno Park School District

Championing Sustainability at Portola Elementary
Sheila talks about how being a solutionary educator has helped her collaborate with early learners and implement sustainability projects across her school.

Dwayne Taylor
Spring 2021
General Manager of Facilities Use
San Mateo Union High School District

District-Wide Sustainability Efforts
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
Spring 2022
Orion Alternative Elementary School
Redwood City School District

Sustainable Waste Management and Outdoor Learning
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
Spring 2022
Chief Business Officer

Millbrae Elementary School District

Living Schoolyards
Ralph talks about working with community members to uplift their visions and bring green schoolyards to Millbrae Elementary School District.

Nuala O'Sullivan-Haley and Liz O'Neill head shot

Nuala O'Sullivan-Haley & Liz O'Neill
Spring 2022
Principals, Garden Village Elementary School & Westlake Elementary School

Jefferson Elementary School District

Turning Garden Beds into Relevant Outdoor Learning Spaces
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. 

Kristen Ugrin
Fall 2023
Principal
, Tierra Linda Middle School
San Carlos School District

Cultivating Outdoor Learning Spaces
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.
Kerry Dees
Spring 2023
Principal
, Green Hills Elementary School
Millbrae School District

Championing Schoolwide Sustainability
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.
Daisy Yeung
Spring 2023
Science Instructional Coach
Sequoia Union High School District

Empowering Teachers to Empower Students to Make Solutionary Change
During the 2022-23 school year, Daisy collaborated with SUHSD’s Social Studies Instructional Coach, Amelia Greenfield, to lead an environmental literacy professional development cohort to support teachers in SUHSD to create solutions-focused, environmentally-based lessons across different subject areas and grade levels.