TEACH EARTH TEACHERS

                                       

TEACH EARTH TEACHERS

JOSH BROWN teaches Special Education at Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, California. Josh obtained a B.A. in History and Spanish from Pitzer College and a M.A. in Special Education from California State University, Northridge. When he is not teaching, he enjoys going to baseball games, practicing yoga, and traveling.  Through his experience as an Earthwatch Fellow, Josh hopes to include more environmental education lessons into his curriculum.


LINDSEY FORTGANG teaches 5th grade at Baldwin Stocker Elementary School in Arcadia, California. Lindsey obtained a B.A. in Latin language and literature from Oberlin College and an M.Ed. with a focus on teaching in a global society from National University. She enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and backpacking, and she also loves traveling to experience new places and cultures. Lindsey hopes to use her experience with Earthwatch to develop new ideas to get her students excited about the ways science is relevant to their own lives.

LIZETTE ASHCRAFT teaches 2nd grade at Morrison Elementary in Norwalk, California. I am also on the NGSS Advisory Council for my district, and I am a volunteer with CSTA's 2018 conference committee. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my son, reading, baking, and dancing. I wanted to be a part of Earthwatch because I hope I can make a difference, and I want to learn new information I can share with my students and co-workers.

JENNY LAM teaches 8th grade teacher at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine, California. She obtained her B.S. in Biological Sciences as well as her Masters in Education at the University of California Irvine. She is an avid yogi, reader, and traveler. She enjoys the outdoors is fascinated by animals and their interaction with their environment. Through Earthwatch, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of science practices to share with her students.

CHON LEE teaches AP English Literature & Composition and Shakespeare Senior Lit at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California.  Having a degrees in English and Comparative Literature, he is deeply passionate about poetry, plays, dramatic arts, and both fiction and nonfiction texts.  In his free time, he loves playing tennis, riding his beach cruiser, visiting museums, and going to various performing arts shows--theater, music, and dance.  Ultimately, this Earthwatch fellowship will enable him to go outside his comfort zone and deeply learn from the ground up about intensive scientific and investigative research, fieldwork, and data analysis. He hopes to bring this level of critical thinking and ecological learning to his own students through world literature analysis.

CHRISTINA JOHNSON

CHARLENE LOU teaches 6th-grade integrated science at Kory Hunter Middle School in Los Angeles, California for 4 years. She received her B.S. in Liberal Studies and her multiple subject credential from CSULB. During her CSULB years, she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and ASI Senator for the College of Education. She conducted preliminary research in Education in Sustainable Development (ESD) during her undergraduate studies. She is currently a graduate student in CSUF's Educational Leadership Program. She enjoys scuba diving, traveling and watching movies. Through this Earthwatch expedition, she hopes to bring what she learned about caterpillar and climate change back to her classroom.

KRISTY MAR teaches integrated science at JH Hull Middle in Torrance, California for 6 years. Her background includes a B.S. in Cell Biology and minor in chemistry from California State University, Fullerton and certificate in Education Leadership from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She is currently obtaining her masters in STEM Education from Northeastern State University, Oklahoma, joint with the NASA Endeavor Leadership Certification at Adams State University, Colorado. Hobbies include kayaking, hiking, reading, and movies. Through EarthWatch, she hopes to develop climate change project ideas, integrated with life, physical and earth sciences, to engage her students.

RENEE HOOVER currently teaches 2nd grade at Center Street in El Segundo. She has published NGSS lessons on the web site betterlesson.com and currently works with lead teachers from her district to help implement NGSS in the K-5. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Policy from UCB and a master in Admin. from National University. She loves being in the ocean and playing in the wilderness. She looks forward to participating in a science research project and planning ways to bring this experience back to her students.

RUBEN ROMERO.  I am starting my 10th year teaching at South Gate Middle School (8th grade physical science).  Previously, I taught Biology for 9 years at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles.  I earned my undergraduate from Humboldt State in Natural Resources/Planning, a Masters in Environmental Planning from Cal State Fullerton and earned my teaching credential from Cal State Los Angeles.  I am a product of the State.  Through Earth Watch, I hope to expand my research skills and become more active with local and global environmental issues.  As a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Jamaica), I am in the process of regaining  my enthusiasm to be a most effective teacher.