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Welcome from Matt Lappe, Lead Educator - Northern California

It is an honor to welcome you to ACE's Northern California webpage. NorCal is where the seeds for ACE were planted in summer of 2008 and remains the central headquarters for ACE’s entire operations. In addition to a crew of amazing educators, our office is filled with unusually bright folks working on everything from Action Team organizing to multimedia communications. ACE has come a long way in a very short time, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with such inspired, passionate and dedicated people.

My interest in climate change began as an undergraduate in Stanford University’s Earth Systems department. I was initially struck by the complexity of our Earth’s large-scale ecological systems and wanted to learn as much as I could about how it all fits together. As I learned how dramatically human activity is affecting the planet, this fascination shifted to concern, and I became motivated to apply my experiences toward developing solutions. As a Masters student in the same program, I discovered a passion for teaching that has remained a central driver of my work.

Between my time at Stanford and joining the ACE Team, I have worked on a wide range of projects. As a Field Scientist for Stanford’s Geology department, I traveled across South East Asia to study water contamination, and to South America to study past climates. I met people in these parts of the world who are already feeling the effects of our changing planet in dramatic ways. When I returned to California, I taught at a small charter high school in Mendocino County where I worked with students to transform the school into a dynamic learning center for sustainability and renewable energy. I’ve also worked as a climate policy analyst and as a presenter for Al Gore’s Climate Project. All of these experiences have solidified my perspective that dramatic changes are needed in the ways humans live on this planet, and that the movement that will bring about these changes is growing stronger by the day.

 In my last year here at ACE, my optimism for the future of our planet has been refreshed and trasformed through interacting with so many motivated high school students. If you are a Bay Area high school teacher, a student or an interested community member, please get in touch with us at ACE to learn how you can be part of this vibrant network that is literally changing the world!

Matt Lappé, Lead Educator, Northern California

To contact ACE’s Northern California office, email Matt or call him at 650.380.0052. To book an assembly at your school, click here.

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Watch the ACE Assembly Trailer below and to book an assembly, click here.

ACE Assembly Trailer from ACE Space on Vimeo.

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Our presentation addresses several national and state science content standards, as well as the Essential Principles of Climate Science.

California