Educate Regenerate

Yet to be added

Holistic Inquiry-Based Experiential Contemplative Trauma-informed Critical Pedagogy Place-Based

Dilafruz Williams Award for Excellence in Leadership for Sustainability Education | Portland State University Career & Technical Education Teacher Externship | SOESD Project-Based Learning Certificate | PBLWorks STEM Beyond School | STEM Oregon Advanced Permaculture for Educators Certificate | Institute for Permaculture Education for Children Urban Permaculture Design Certificate | City Repair Certified Facilitator | Oregon Natural Resources Education Program Nature University Graduate | Portland METRO Systems Thinking for Teachers Certificate | Oregon Natural Resources Education Program Certified Green Classrooms Professional | USGS

M.S. in Educational Leadership & Policy, focus on Leadership for Sustainability Education Oregon Pk-12 Social Studies Teaching License Advanced Certificate in Permaculture for Youth and Child Educators B.A. in Sociology, minor in Spanish & Education

I'm an educator, curriculum designer, gardener, systems designer, and dreamer. I've taught in forests, prisons, barns, living rooms, community gardens, and just about everywhere in between. And there's been some classrooms in there, too, of every size and shape imaginable. In 2020 I founded Educate Regenerate to share sustainability education with educators, organizations, and my community. My passion for sustainability education sparked over a decade ago when I took a life-changing summer job as a park ranger in my hometown in the Columbia River Gorge. I not only fell in love with the landscape (have you seen Multnomah Falls?), but also with talking to visitors and watching their eyes light up when they felt that primal connection to place, history, and the earth. After that I was hooked. I went on to earn my teaching license, and taught K-12 classes with an emphasis on social justice issues, globalization, and consumerism. But I felt restricted by what I could teach, and struggled to engage my students through lectures and worksheets. I knew there was something missing That’s when I discovered sustainability education. Its radical approach struck me right in the heart, and I knew this was the work I was called to do. It completely turned my world upside in the best way possible, challenging my assumptions about what students were capable of, what learning could look like, and what the purpose of education even is in the first place. As an educator, sustainability education gave me permission to be my full self with my learners; to place equal--if not more--emphasis on the *how* and *why* of learning as the *what*; and it gave me hope in the future, knowing that these compassionate, inquisitive, and fearless learners would one day be in charge. Using sustainability education practices, I’ve collaborated with school and program leaders to help them transform their teaching practice and design learning experiences that are engaging, authentic, and life-changing--for both the students and teachers. Today, I'm still teaching youth and adults, and I'm also sharing this transformative pedagogy with others through my consulting and design business Educate Regenerate. In addition, I'm slowly growing a Permaculture Learning Garden on my property, which I plan to use as a a community hub for education, gathering, and food security. Outside of work, I can often be found getting dirty in my garden, exploring trails with my deaf rescue pup Wilbur, learning new crafts, or experimenting in the kitchen. I grew up along the Columbia River between Mt Hood and Mt Adams, in the agricultural community of the Hood River Valley. Today I call the Rogue Valley home, between the Siskiyou and Cascade Ranges and along the Rogue River; and on the unceded lands of the Takilma and Cow Creek Umpqua.