Sharon Fuller's Plenary Speech at "Teaching Outside the Lines"

Cultural Competency: Engaging Today's Environmental Leaders

Formal and informal educational institutions often fail to recognize and understand the strengths youth from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds bring to the learning process. Most educators are taught to impart knowledge rather than acknowledge and grow from the experiences of their students, many of whom are already acutely aware of humanity‚s relation to its environment. Today's challenge is to nurture a new generation of environmental leaders more reflective of the world's population. Honoring cultural diversity by promoting and sustaining pedagogical strategies centered on the quality of life enable youth to gain practical experiences as student and leader that serve them a lifetime.

Sharon Fuller Biographical Summary

Sharon Fuller, a life-long resident of Richmond, is the founder and executive director of the Ma'at Youth Academy. This nationally recognized Academy brings curricula that focus on urban ecology and environmental health to public schools in communities of color and low-income areas throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties. MYA links urban high school students to hands-on environmental education and community action. Ms. Fuller earned a B.S. degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley and a M.S. degree in Environmental Education. She is a Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commissioner and was recently awarded the 2004 Woman of the Year Award for the State of California, 14th Assembly District.