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Region 5

Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito Counties

Region 6

Amador, Calaveras, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne Counties

Region 7

Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Kings and Tulare Counties

Region 8

Ventura, Kern, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties

Celeste Royer

Celeste Royer is a veteran administrator with 40 years of experience in environmental and outdoor education. She currently serves as the Director of Equity & Inclusion at Ten Strands where she supports several environmental literacy initiatives. Prior to Ten Strands, Celeste was the Director of Environmental and Outdoor Education at the San Luis Obispo COE. She led Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School’s residential, field, and classroom programs. Celeste served as the Director of the CREEC Network for ten years, building regional and statewide partnerships to support EE programs and initiatives and provided 30 years of leadership and support to the California Outdoor School Association. A strong advocate of equity, justice, and environmental literacy for all, Celeste volunteers on boards and advisory committees. She was a member of the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy Task Force, served as Justice Outside Board President, and was a BEETLES Project Advisory Board member. She is the current Chairperson of the DEI Committee for the Land Conservancy of SLO County and is the Central Coast Chapter Coordinator for Latino Outdoors.

Chris Brown

Chris Brown teaches science at Ripon High School in California, including AP Environmental Science, Chemistry, and Biology. He also coaches Academic Decathlon, Science Olympiad, and Mock Trial, and works on expanding STEM opportunities for students. His teaching focuses on the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices, encouraging students to take academic risks, think critically, and connect science to real-world challenges.

Cindy Chen

Cindy Chen joined UC Cooperative Extension as a woody biomass and wood products advisor for the Central Sierra and Alpine and Mariposa counties.  After receiving her bachelor's in social ecology and master's in demography from UC Irvine, Chen completed her Ph.D. in environmental and forest sciences from the University of Washington, specializing in wood products processing and marketing.   Her multidisciplinary expertise allows her to work on a wide range of projects covering topics such as population forecasting, environmental assessment, woody biomass transportation logistics, the end-of-life treatment of wood products and mass timber production optimization. Chen says, “As the woody biomass and forest products advisor at UC ANR, my goal is to work with the Central Sierra communities in exploring innovative ways to better utilize California's forest resources and biomass, developing biomass processing programs that are appropriate for the region and contributing to local economic development.”

Cindy Hu

Cindy Hu, MEd, is the Education Program Manager at the Center for Ecoliteracy, where she manages ecological literacy programs for TK–12 educators. She is a passionate first-generation Latina from California’s Central Valley, committed to connecting diverse youth to nature. With 10 years of experience in education, Cindy developed the first youth program at a water conservation nonprofit. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from San José State and a Master of Education from the University of Arizona. She has also lived and worked in Arizona, and Tanzania, as a Peace Corps volunteer, and speaks Spanish, and conversational Swahili.

Gina Nguyen

Gina is an Education and Training Project Coordinator with The Energy Coalition. In this role, she supports the development and delivery of Energy is Everything, a program that empowers communities to leap into the future of clean energy. She holds a degree in Earth System Science from the University of California, Irvine and brings both a strong academic foundation and a passion for environmental education to her work. She has facilitated numerous workshops and lessons focused on sustainability, energy, and environmental literacy. Outside of work, she enjoys staying active through spin and yoga and loves exploring new places through travel. 

Gloriamar Gamez

Gloriamar Gamez serves as the Chief Program Officer of BEAM Circular, and is a strategic and influential leader with 18+ years of diverse experience in the areas of renewable energy, climate change risk assessments, sustainability, circular economy principles, public policy, project management, strategic planning, new business development, supply chain, procurement, commercial, marketing, and waste and water management. She has a demonstrated history of contributing to workplace initiatives and fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion, and is passionate about driving innovation to make the world more sustainable for future generations. She has a Master of Sustainability and Environmental Management, Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University, an MBA from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Degree from Universidad Iberoamericana. 

Jeff Share

Jeff Share’s research and practice focuses on preparing educators to teach critical media literacy and environmental justice. He was an award-winning photojournalist and bilingual elementary school teacher. Since 2007 he has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the School of Education and Information Studies. Jeff has written several books including: Media Literacy is Elementary: Teaching Youth to Critically Read and Create Media, Teaching Climate Change to Adolescents: Reading, Writing, and Making a Difference, The Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education, and For the Love of Nature: Ecowriting the World. Jeff is a Fulbright and Language Specialist who has provided professional development to educators in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. https://jshare.wixsite.com/jeffshare 

Lesley Gates

Lesley Gates is the Science Content Specialist with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. Before being hired at FCSS, she was a high school science teacher, K-12 STEM instructional coach, and Education Specialist at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Her current role includes working with TK-6 teachers to identify challenges and design solutions for the transition to the new science standards (NGSS) focusing on the integration of English Language Arts and Math standards into elementary science lessons. Lesley has focused on leading science-focused professional learning opportunities for teachers and administrators within Fresno County, across the state, and internationally. Lesley is also the CREEC Region 7 Coordinator to help support environmental literacy in Fresno County.

Mary Beth Barber

Mary Beth Barber works for the California State Library managing the COMPASS program (California Online Media Program for Access and Student Success). COMPASS brings online school-library resources (e.g. Britannica, TeachingBooks, PebbleGo, PBS and arts videos) to every public school. Mary Beth has worked for the state of California for over two decades for cultural and education related agencies, was a member of the Arts Education Framework committee for CDE in 2019 and is currently a reviewer for the California Young Reader Medal program.

Nancy Martinez

Nancy Martinez is the Community Prosperity Lead at BEAM Circular where she leads initiatives that will ensure local communities, especially those furthest from opportunities, are centered in the development of the circular bioeconomy and are provided with pathways to prosperity. Outside of her part-time role with BEAM, Nancy leads community engagement consulting firm, Debrief, which is based in Stanislaus County and supports public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions with strategic planning and facilitation on their community outreach and engagement efforts. On her down time, Nancy is a girl scout troop leader for the only troop based in the South Side of Modesto!  

Nzong Xiong

Nzong Xiong has been with the Valley Air District's Outreach and Communications team since 2018. She oversees the Healthy Air Living Schools program and contributes stories to the Valley Air News and other District newsletters. 

Peggy Harte

Peggy Harte, M.Ed. is former classroom teacher and elementary science specialist with over 25 years of teaching experience. Peggy supports educators (both formal and informal) as the Youth Education Program Manager at the Center for Community and Citizen Science at the UC Davis School of Education. Her work focuses on research into how community science projects engage students in deepening their connection to the environment as well as support student development of environmental science agency. Peggy also works with educators to develop materials focused on utilizing place-based learning to support both the academic as well as the social and emotional needs of students. She received her BA in Humanities from Sierra Nevada College and her M.Ed from Nova Southeastern University.

Sarah Whiting

Sarah 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. She taught elementary and middle school science for over a decade, served as a district-level STEM TOSA, 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. 

Tamara Basepayne

San Joaquin COE

Region 6

Jenn Mutch

Santa Clara COE

Region 5

Amity Sandage

Santa Cruz COE

Region 5