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Utilizing Data to Catalyze Environmental Action in California’s Schools
Room: 208
Time: 1:30pm – 2:30pm
This session will showcase the newly completed statewide data sets from the Data Initiative for Environmental and Climate Action in California’s TK–12 Schools. In particular, this session will focus on the CA Statewide TK-12 School District Environmental and Climate Action Scorecard, which is a first of its kind dataset that provides a holistic view of district investments in sustainability efforts across campus, curriculum, community, and culture for every public school district across the state.
During the workshop, presenters will explain the data initiative and its methods, guiding participants through activities to explore the findings for their regions. Following this, a facilitated strategy session for participants to consider how they can utilize the data in their own contexts to implement an equity and data-driven approach that catalyzes action.
As this is an interactive workshop, participants are encouraged to bring a laptop or similar device with them in order to access the dataset and explore their region, county, and district(s).
Learning Objectives:
Participants in this workshop will be able to:
Identify what investments their local district(s) has made towards sustainability and climate action.
Determine the additional steps their local district(s) can take to mitigate and/or adapt to current and future climate impacts.
Understand how the broader context in their county can provide opportunities or challenges to moving towards environmental sustainability and climate action.
Create a strategy for utilizing the data to catalyze change in their community.
Speakers:
Sarah Watanabe (Whiting), Director of Client Engagement and Data Science, Ten Strands
Andra Yeghoian, Chief Innovation Officer, Ten Strands
Stephanie Seidmon, Program Director, UndauntedK12
Sarah Whiting has harbored a deep love for learning and a passion for the environment since childhood. Her journey into education began after college when she provided early intervention tutoring for autistic children. Having personally experienced unconventional learning, Sarah has dedicated her career to establishing supportive and nurturing environments for students. Over eleven years, she taught elementary and middle school science, served as a district-level STEM TOSA for three years, and held the role of a county-level K12 Strong Workforce Pathway and STEM coordinator before joining the team at Ten Strands. As an advocate for developing systems thinking and creativity, she is driven to create an educational system where students are empowered to become solutionaries capable of making a positive impact on the world.
Andra Yeghoian is the Chief Innovation Officer for Ten Strands, a San Francisco Based nonprofit whose mission is to build and strengthen the partnerships and strategies that brings environmental literacy to all California’s students. Andra has over 20 years of experience in education across public and private school systems, nationally and internationally, and has served in a variety of roles, including: County-Level Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Coordinator, Site-Level Director of Sustainability, Secondary Humanities Teacher, Project Manager, Professional Development Facilitator, Adjunct Faculty, and Organizational Consultant. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and a Teaching Credential from UC Davis, and an MBA in Sustainable Systems from Presidio Graduate School, and an Administrative Services Credential.
Most recently, Andra’s work has focused on implementing visionary leadership for a whole systems approach to integrating environmental and climate action across all aspects of K-12 schools: campus and operations, curriculum and instruction, community engagement, and organizational culture. Additionally, under her leadership she has supported school sites, districts, and county offices in achieving honors such as the U.S. Department of Education and California Green Ribbon Award, Bay Area Green Business Certification, and LEED Platinum Certification for New Buildings.
Stephanie Seidmon (she/her) is the Program Director at UndauntedK12, where she plays a crucial role in advancing state and national strategies for promoting healthy, decarbonized, and climate-resilient schools. She leads initiatives in California, supporting the Climate Ready Schools Coalition’s advocacy, overseeing strategic projects, and expanding networks and partnerships. Stephanie brings a decade of experience in public education and climate justice advocacy, where she has served as a celebrated teacher and instructional leader in Louisiana, Mexico, and California.