Aimee O’Brien

Aimee is a fourth grade teacher at Chacon Language and Science Academy in South Sacramento. She is in her 28th year of teaching almost entirely at the same school, one of the original dependent charter schools in the country. Aimee has had a lifelong passion for learning, teaching, and the environment, which naturally led her to teaching. Her happy places are in the mountains or beside any body of water and in opportunities to connect people with each other to do great things! She returns as a seventh-year Ambassador because EcoRise empowers students to truly create change and bring out the best in each other, both in their communities and within themselves.

Connect with Aimee on Instagram, @amiamas.

Alicia Kim

As a second-year EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, Alicia is excited to continue supporting educators and empowering students through sustainability and environmental justice projects. EcoRise’s resources have helped me provide opportunities for my students to lead meaningful green projects. Alicia looks forward to sharing what she has learned, supporting educators, and helping more students become leaders for a sustainable future.

Connect with Alicia on Instagram, @ak78731.

Denisse Ochoa

Denisse Ochoa has been an educator at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD for 21 years, with experience teaching kindergarten, second, third, and fifth grades. For the past decade, she has served as a dedicated school librarian, where she continues to foster a love of learning and curiosity in her students. A returning EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, Mrs. Ochoa is passionate about integrating sustainability and environmental education into her work. She looks forward to connecting with like-minded educators from across the country at this summer’s EcoRise Institute, where she hopes to collaborate, share ideas, and grow as a leader in sustainability education. This is Denisse’s seventh year as an Ambassador.

Erin Eggers

Erin Eggers has a passion for empowering students to be changemakers by teaching about the interconnectivity and importance of the natural world in their lives. She just completed her second year teaching first grade at the Advanced Learning Academy (ALA) in San Antonio, Texas, and her thirteenth in education. She has a background in Montessori early childhood education and now works in the exciting world of project-based learning.

She has developed gardening and pollinator programs in multiple schools and currently plans gardening and outside learning experiences as part of the Outdoor Taskforce at ALA. She also runs her school’s Pollinators, Plants and Friends club every Friday. Inspired by their applications for EcoRise grants over the last two years, her first graders have brought and expanded vermicomposting to our students. This is Erin’s first year as an Ambassador.

Connect with Erin on Instagram, @eeggers_.

Estefania Gomez Moreno

Estefania Gomez Moreno is a bilingual visiting teacher at Austin Elementary School in Galveston, a brand-new school that opened in 2024. Originally from Spain, she worked in England before embracing a full American experience in Texas. She is fascinated by cultural differences and loves learning from them. She proudly embraces the school motto, “There is Unity in our Community.” As an EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, she is excited to support and enrich the community that has welcomed her so warmly. Her passion for environmental education stems from a desire to provide meaningful opportunities for her students, who represent the future. She looks forward to inspiring her students through engaging EcoRise lessons and making a positive impact.

Garth Marchant

Garth Marchant is a fourth-year Ambassador. He is a STEAM teacher at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the South Bronx. Garth is passionate about providing students with new experiences and project-based learning opportunities that address issues they face daily and that are otherwise ignored in communities of color. His favorite EcoRise lessons focus on environmental justice and encouraging students to apply for grants.

Isaac Esquivel

Isaac Esquivel serves as the elementary environmental education teacher for Northside Independent School District, where he is dedicated to inspiring students to learn outdoors and develop a lasting appreciation for the environment. During the pandemic, Isaac transitioned his teaching entirely outside and never returned to a traditional classroom setting. He now travels to all 83 elementary schools across the district, engaging students in hands-on ecological restoration efforts and citizen science projects. As an EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, Isaac is thrilled to collaborate with like-minded educators and further strengthen his program to empower the next generation of environmental stewards.

Connect with Isaac on X, @NISDElemEnviron.

JoEllen Schuleman

JoEllen Schuleman is passionate about inspiring her students to act on their desire to steward our planet. She started her teaching career in Houston, Texas, 27 years ago. In 2003, she moved to New York City, where she is now the STEM specialist for grades three through five at PS199 in Manhattan. A three-time master teacher fellow with Math for America and member of the NYC Department of Education’s Elementary science leadership team, JoEllen integrates hydroponics, environmental justice, and climate education into her science curriculum. She is excited to continue her role with EcoRise as a second-year Ambassador and to collaborate with other like-minded educators to expand EcoRise’s mission and resources with more teachers. Seeing students exercise their agency and passion for the planet galvanizes her to integrate climate education and sustainability science into her curriculum and green teams.

Connect with JoEllen on Instagram, @ms_s_science.

Laura Berenguer

Laura Berenguer is a passionate educator at Robert Renick Educational Center in Miami, Florida. In 1993, she obtained her bachelor of science in emotional handicap from Florida International University and then her master of science in TSOL and special education. Laura has been teaching special education for almost 30 years and always provides her students with engaging, hands-on learning experiences to enhance their education; meets their unique learning needs; and helps them develop as responsible citizens. The opportunity to serve as an EcoRise Ambassador has given Laura a platform to encourage the participation and engagement of other educators, particularly those in special education, in various EcoRise projects. Laura is excited to continue serving as an EcoRise Ambassador for a fourth year, to inspire the next generation of advocates for sustainability, and to engage others in activities and projects to better their communities and our planet!

Lauren Robin Williams

As an 18-year teaching veteran, Lauren R. Williams is a passionate science educator, doula, and herbalist who currently teaches 11th and 12th grade anatomy & physiology and environmental health at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. Prior to that, Lauren spent 10 years teaching biology and environmental science at Deerfield Beach High School in Deerfield Beach, Florida. She obtained her BA in biological sciences from Florida Atlantic University, her master of educational leadership and administration from Lynn University, and her master of public health from Walden University.

Lauren works with diverse students to show them how environmental sustainability and environmental health play vital roles in our overall health. At her school, Lauren started The Sustainability Club, which focuses on sustainable practices, fast fashion awareness, and the development of environmental stewards in her community. She is excited to return as a third-year EcoRise Teacher Ambassador and hopes to continue meeting and forming fellowship with other amazing science educators across the country.

Connect with Lauren on Instagram, @_mydoulalola.

Lisa Richardson

Lisa Richardson is passionate about being a school librarian—everyone’s secret dream job—and she thrives on library vibes in Austin, Texas. She loves pushing students to grow, do hard things, and create meaningful change for their community, for which she has found the perfect partnering organization in EcoRise. As a school librarian, Lisa highlights the cross curricular nature of all things and how knowledge of all things is literacy; building ecological literacy taps into students’ innate curiosity and creates a robust sense of community and stewardship that builds a foundation for our students’ developing world views. Lisa is excited to continue her work as a second-year EcoRise Ambassador because of the depth it has added to her understanding of the systems within her community and its opportunities to participate in a larger community of passionate and knowledgeable professionals in fields working for the betterment of all.

Connect with Lisa on Instagram, @richardsonasaur, and on X, @richardsonasaur.

Mariel Morikawa

Mariel Morikawa has been teaching for 13 years. Her passion for science began while she was teaching third grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she led and coordinated the school’s annual Science Fair and Family Science Night. She found joy in watching students become curious, ask questions, and develop a love for scientific discovery. In the 2024–2025 school year, she transitioned from classroom teacher to school coordinator, where she now supports students, teachers, administrators, and the wider school community. As an EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, she is excited to learn, advocate, and promote environmental and sustainability education during this critical time. She remains committed to inspiring lifelong learners through her love of science and dedication to education.

Nina Acevedo

Nina Acevedo works for the New York City Department of Education. She has been an educator since 2004, teaching all subjects: reading, phonics, writing, math, science, social studies, Spanish and sustainability. She has a BS in intercultural studies from Brigham Young University, Hawaii, and two MS degrees: one in special education from Brooklyn College and the other in educational leadership from Long Island University. She has also been the math and social studies liaison for the school and is part of the Interactive Learning Committee. In 2021, Acevedo joined the Fulbright program in Colombia, where she created a curriculum to inform locals about invasive plants and strategies to avoid their spread. She regularly provides professional development in various teaching modalities and approaches, technology integration, STEM projects, and project- based learning. At her current school, she has been awarded six grants and is the sustainability coordinator for her school, frequently creating activities to help her students and coworkers be more mindful of the environment. Nina has been a part of EcoRise since 2022.

Connect with Nina on Instagram, @NinaMAcevedo.

Noelani Ogasawara Morris

Noelani Ogasawara Morris is a primary demonstration teacher at the UCLA Lab School in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from UCLA Center X Teacher Ed Graduate School, she began her teaching career in LAUSD. After three years, she began working at the UCLA Lab School, where she has been teaching for the last 16 years. Noelani is entering her third year as an EcoRise Ambassador. With the support of a Student Innovation Grant from EcoRise, her students nurture their school landscape with native pollinator gardens to attract more hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees, becoming strong advocates for our environment in the process. They also advocate for cleaning up and sorting trash at their school to decrease the amount of trash exported to landfills and continue learning about the value behind composting and vermicomposting – also supported with funds from a second Student Innovation Grant. Noelani appreciates the empowerment each lesson and opportunity for grant writing offers students and teachers to recognize their important role in sustaining a thriving, healthy community.

Connect with Noelani on Instagram, @morris4513.

Octavia Wolf

Octavia Wolf is a sixth year EcoRise Teacher Ambassador from the Washington, DC, region. She was introduced to EcoRise through a 2016 teacher training workshop hosted by Kizzy and has been connected to the organization ever since. She enjoys introducing Eco-Audits in the classroom as a way to integrate real-world mathematics and science into the literacy curriculum. Octavia is excited to collaborate with other Ambassadors this school year and to innovate elements of the EcoRise curriculum to help her students understand the world around them and make a meaningful impact in their community. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, and listening to her vinyls.

Ronald Puccetti

Ronald Puccetti is from Galveston Island, Texas. He teaches technology, engineering, and career exploration to eighth graders at Central Middle School in Galveston. He is excited to use and share with his colleagues the lessons and tools provided by EcoRise to make their schools environmentally sustainable staples in their communities.

Sabina Malkani

Sabina Malkani is the science teacher at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Parkview (BMPV) in Washington, DC. In 1999, she started teaching in Canada and ran an environmental club with a colleague. Sabina had no idea that, 20 years later, she would be living in the U.S. and representing EcoRise as a Teacher Ambassador. The sustainable intelligence curriculum and design thinking lessons have shaped the ways that she views instruction, student engagement, and strategies for making positive changes at her school. Last school year, her fourth and fifth grade students applied for and received three grants to redevelop underutilized spaces in the outdoor classroom at BMPV. It was a very ambitious project that has transformed an unsafe area into a new, fun play space for all! Sabina is confident that, next year, she will be able to work with DC Public Schools to organize a larger teacher training. Everyone should apply for grants and use EcoRise resources!!

Stacey Smith

Stacey Smith is a veteran teacher and librarian of 26 years in the Austin Independent School District. She has been a bilingual school librarian for the last 15 years and was previously an educator in the elementary classroom. Her philosophy of teaching is to get students mentally and physically out of the four walls of the classroom through project- and problem-based learning. This philosophy led her to EcoRise. It is a natural fit for teachers who want to get kids thinking about the actual world around them, to inquire about how they can impact that world, and then act upon their ideas based on inquiry. As a fifth grade teacher, Stacey became interested in injecting more environmental education into her lessons after she saw Hurricane Katrina devastate New Orleans and learned about the environmental history of both Louisiana, her childhood state, and East Austin, the community where she taught. Later, as a librarian, it seemed a perfect fit to teach kids the beauty of stories and outdoor spaces through outdoor story walks and reading gardens. As a middle school librarian, she used EcoRise grants to establish a Green Team leadership group, which developed educational materials and innovative technology to help sort waste at their school. This coming year, Stacey will transition from the library to the middle school social studies classroom, where she is excited to use EcoRise curricula and collaborate with EcoRise educators for the benefit of her students in her world cultures, Texas history, and US history classes.

Connect with Stacey on LinkedIn here.

Victoria Galvan

Victoria Galvan is a social studies teacher and environmental club sponsor at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Early College High School in South Texas. At a young age, Victoria was told stories about how societies have adapted to physical changes on Earth. She learned about how family members and others in her region were affected by natural disasters and how they mitigated further damage. This sparked a lifelong curiosity about how humans interact with their environment.

As an educator, Victoria strives to help students acquire the skills needed to lead healthier lives. The EcoRise curriculum enables her to deliver lessons that help her accomplish this goal. Victoria is excited to be in her fifth year as an EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, because she will be able to continue collaborating with and guiding other educators in their sustainability education journeys.