Active Hope: Emotional Resilience in the Face of the Climate Crisis – Speaker Bios

Tom Roderick, Founding Executive Director, Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. During his tenure, Tom founded an array of top-quality social and emotional learning (SEL) programs, including Resolving Conflict Creatively, the 4Rs (Reading, Writing, Respect, and Resolution), and the Whole School Racial Equity Project. Tom retired from Morningside Center at the end of 2018. With a contract from Harvard Education Press, he is currently at work on Teaching for Climate Justice: A Vision for Transforming Education, to be published in fall 2022.

Marieke van Woerkom, educator, facilitator, curriculum developer, writer. Marieke is committed to equity, social and environmental justice, and hope and healing, which guide both her professional and personal life. She is an expert facilitator who creates collaborative spaces where people can share their personal stories and perspectives, unpack their biases, and address personal and systemic harm. She contributes lessons focused on SEL and social justice to the TeachableMoment website and writes regularly for Edutopia on Restorative Practices and Healing Centered Engagement.