Jennifer currently teaches AP Environmental Science and NextGen Biology at University High School in Irvine, California. She earned her B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology with an emphasis in the Environment and Human Health and a minor in Nutritional Science from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2014, she graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Master of Arts in Teaching and has been teaching ever since. Prior to becoming a high school science teacher, Jennifer completed a number of seasonal positions within the field of environmental science. While working in the field she participated in rare plant surveys, prescription burns, native plant seed collecting and planting, composting, vegetation data collection, and many other outdoor restoration focused activities. In her current role as a high school science teacher, she has the privilege of being the advisor of several student run environmental clubs. In this capacity, she has volunteered with her students on many occasions participating in beach cleanups and native planting events and she enjoys getting outside with her students. In addition to a wide range of real-world work and volunteer experience within the field of environmental science, she enjoys reading books on her own and as part of various reading groups and two of her favorites are All We Can Save and Braiding Sweetgrass. While she finds science to be an essential part of climate and environmental education, she believes it is also important now, more than ever, to incorporate stories and joy and hope for a regenerative future. Jennifer consistently works to improve her own science teaching and actively seeks out opportunities to work with and learn from others about new and exciting ways to engage students in science content. Outside of teaching, she enjoys taking walks, cooking, going to yoga classes, swimming in the ocean, and reading. She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of a diverse network of researchers and educators enhancing climate change and environmental literacy in California. The mission to create systemic change for climate and environmental literacy, justice, and action in California aligns directly with her goals as a teacher.

Bio coming soon

Linh is a seasoned educator with 17 years of experience teaching 7th and 8th grade integrated science and forensics. She embarked on her educational journey at California State University, Fullerton, where she laid the groundwork for her teaching career. Linh’s dedication to her profession led her to pursue a teaching credential and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Chapman University.

Linh has a natural inclination to inspire wonder and curiosity in her students. She consistently encourages them to question the world around them and their own environment, fostering critical thinking skills and a thirst for knowledge. By nurturing their inquisitive nature, she empowers her students to become change-makers, encouraging them to make a positive impact on their communities and beyond.

Beyond teaching, Linh finds solace in traveling and spending time with her husband and two kids. Exploring new places and immersing herself in diverse cultures allows her to broaden her perspective and bring fresh insights to her classroom.

Nicole is a mathematics, advanced mathematics, and science teacher. She earned her B.S. in Mathematics from the University of California, Irvine, as well as her B.A. In Psychology, and B.A. in Philosophy. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of California, Irvine School of Education. Her teaching philosophy revolves around fostering curiosity and critical thinking in her students. She believes in creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment where students can explore scientific concepts through phenomena-based experiences. Her classes are known for their lively interdisciplinary discussions centered around the intersection of integrated science, social justice, art, mathematics, and philosophy. She has experience teaching mathematics, advanced mathematics, life, physical, and earth systems science grades 9-12 and currently teaches Integrated Science and Interdisciplinary Climate Explorations at Northwood High School.

I am the first in my family to attend a university and graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree and Doctorate. My father went to school up to third grade and had to leave school because he had to help support his fifteen brothers and sisters. My mother went to school up to eight grade and was told she was too old to go to school and was pulled out. The countryside school contained a one room classroom with grades K to 5th mixed. Also, females in my Mexican hometown were not allowed to leave the countryside in order to attend school in town. The only way they could move out was to get married and follow their husband.

I immigrated to the United States as a Non-English speaker monolingual Spanish speaker. As a child, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and worked from dusk to dawn picking fruits including strawberries, plums from the ground after the trees were shaken by a machine, grapes with a scythe, and pears. My delicate, young, child fingers ached and the strawberry red color painted from the fruits felt like blood because we had to pinch the calyx from the strawberry with our nails. My knees also felt as if they were in bloody pain because the dirt and rocks would tear into the kneepads on through our skin. We worked under dehydrated conditions and only dirty water to drink at times. DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was sprayed over our heads by an airplane so I dusted that poisonous powder off of my hair. Working hard and long hours taught me appreciation for live and to not take anything for granted.

My mother is currently ninety-two years old and still cooks as well as does gardening. Her grandmother lived to be one-hundred and five years old. My mother’s great grandmother lived to be one-hundred and twenty-six years old. My father instilled in me and love for learning because he wanted me to have the opportunity that he never had-to go to school. I am extremely appreciative of my professors that made learning possible for me and my teachers that instilled a love of learning within me.

My name is Riley Dunne. I did my undergrad at UCLA in astrophysics. I am just about to finish up my Master's degree with UCI's MAT program, and I very recently finished up student teaching at Valley High School in Santa Ana, where I taught physics (and helped out teaching chemistry, too). I'm currently looking for a full-time teaching position so that I can continue to teach physics starting this Fall! As a fun fact, I am published in The Astronomical Journal -- I co-authored a paper centering a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) radio sky survey with UCLA's Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences! One of the main tenets guiding my vision of education is that it should be empathic and empowering, and both of these ideals align with developing and proliferating climate change literacy.