Elsa Calvillo,
Mission High School Educator

Elsa was born and raised in Central Mexico and Southern California. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from SF State University and immediately put her education and passion into action working with Literacy for Environmental Justice as an intern at the restored wetland Heron’s Head Park, and then Youth Development Coordinator. While at LEJ she became familiar with the environmental justice issues in Bay View Hunters Point, while further strengthening her experience in restoration and teaching environmental curriculum to elementary-college aged students. She hopes to take a large part in strengthening the education our youth receive by the public school system.

Vanessa Carter,
Abraham Lincoln High School Coordinator

Vanessa Carter was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and received her BA at Swarthmore College. After 6 years of direct service in the classroom and beyond while earning her MA and CA Single Subject and BCLAD Teaching Credential, she left California to teach in Guadalajara, México and at La Universidad de los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela. As her profound commitment to environmental education and permaculture grew, she moved to Brazil to live at an ecovillage dedicated to land restoration and community education of sustainable practices. With November’s election requiring more local support that she could offer from South America, Vanessa returned in August to join the ESLI team.

Kristia Castrillo,
Galileo Academy of Science and Technology Educator

Kristia Castrillo is a San Francisco native with a love for travel. She spent her formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawaii and throughout the Philippines with her globe-trotting mother. She received her B.A. in Cultural Anthropology with a concentration in Race and Ethnicity from Bard College in upstate New York. Since then Kristia has worked with middle and high school-aged youth both in and out of the classroom, practiced anthropological research on a variety of topics from hip hop language to Southeast Asia tourism, and was a community organizer in manila and Filipino neighborhoods from Sf and NY. She has a real love for the land, and is determined to help other city folks find their own inner tree hugger.

Ellen Choy,
Youth Engagement Coordinator

From the Bay Area to international arenas, as a community organizer and youth educator, Ellen is dedicated to global change through grassroots advocacy and creative youth development. She has fought for representation of low-income, people of color in local, national and international climate change debates through her work as a lead community organizer and the director of the Climate Literacy Training Program with the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC). She has also been a central figure with the Mobilization for Climate Justice and two initiatives – www.checktheweather.net and Project Survival Media, both aimed at increasing the voice of young people of color in the green movement. As an aspiring independent hip hop/funk DJ and a graphic designer, Ellen has also found a strong, effective vehicle for change and expression through music and art. She's a recent graduate with honors of UC Berkeley's Conservation and Resource Studies program.

Amy DePree,
Program Assistant / George Washington High School Educator

Amy DePree, a native of New Mexico, came to the Bay Area to study at the University of San Francisco, where she graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in International Studies and Latin American Studies. During her time at the University of San Francisco, AMy lived in El Salvador studying environmental issues while teaching youth and women. Also during her time at USF she lived in Tijuana where she studied environmental racism and inequalities specific to the border regions. Upon her return to San Francisco, she continued her work with youth and women in the Mission district. Building from these experiences, Amy is excited to expand her teaching skills and knowledge of the environment with ESLI.

Carlos Julio Gonzalez,
Philip & Sala Burton High School Coordinator

Carlos Julio has been integrating environmental education and youth empowerment into his approach with San Francisco youth for the past seven years. He states, "The most empowering and fufilling transformation a young person will experience, is their own understanding of where they come from, and their relationship with all of life's source: Nature." Carlos Julio’s work with youth ranges from case management, and violence prevention to organizing, outdoor education trips and service learning projects. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Spanish Literature from U.C. Santa Barbara. A Southern California native, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Carlos Julio actively lives and gardens in the Mission District.

Eiei Khin,
Galileo Academy of Science and Technology Coordinator

Ei Ei Khin’s latest manifestation is a Green Warrior. With her warrior partner at Galileo High School, Kristia Castrillo, they battle ignorance and apathy about Environmental Justice. Ei Ei holds a B.S. in Biology, a B.A. in American Religion, a graduate certificate in Conflict Transformation, and an M.S. in Leadership and Change Management. She moved to the Bay Area from Myanmar as a youth and has been shaped by various communities in California. She makes intentional efforts to indigenize herself to the land by continually learning from its inhabitants about medicinal plants, animals, ceremonies, and waters.

Jay Jasper Pugao,
Mission High School Coordinator

Jay Jasper Pugao has been a seasoned community organizer, youth worker, alternative artist and holistic health educator for over 10 years. He participated in the strategic planning and design of numerous small schools through out the East Bay and has worked with over 15 schools and organizations throughout the Bay Area designing and delivering cultural awareness and youth strategies curriculum. Most recently, Jay has blended his passion and skills together, becoming a leader in our green movement focusing on environmental justice and sustainable life styles. He is grateful to the schools, and organizations that opened their programs to him.

Pandora Thomas,
Interim Program Director / Curriculum Manager

Pandora Thomas is currently completing an MA from Tufts University in Environmental Policy and Planning. She received her BA in Religious Studies from Youngstown State University and a Teaching Credential from the New College of California. She has over 10 years of experience teaching K-12 as well as differently-abled adults. Pandora researched, wrote and edited a collaborative project called, Shades of Green, a Green Construction manual for a youth. She received human rights advocacy training as a visiting scholar at the Center for Study of Human Rights at Columbia University and has created and delivered curriculum to diverse audiences around the themes of human rights, environmental justice, and environmental education. She has traveled to over ten countries learning and sharing from the diversity of experiences the world has to offer and her life purpose is to share all that she has learned with people who do not currently have access to the resources they need.