Ten Strands, California’s leading nonprofit focused on advancing the environmental literacy of K–12 students, has hired instructional designer Jeffrey Dowling as it continues to strengthen a new Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program (CCEJP) that will guide the creation of K–12 open education resources.
Under the leadership of our new director of curriculum Roni Jones, Ten Strands is partnering with the San Mateo County Office of Education and the California Department of Education to arrange for the creation of the resources focused on climate change and environmental justice.
Dowling brings more than 15 years of experience in the development, refinement, and implementation of various educational STEM programs. He arrives with unique experience as a credentialed public school science educator who has worked in California as a classroom teacher, curriculum writer, professional learning facilitator, and instructional coach.
“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work toward student impact both inside the classroom and out,” Dowling said. “CCEJP is an exciting opportunity to broaden the scope of that impact and serve California students in new and innovative ways. I’m inspired by this new challenge.”
Dowling’s range of understanding of both curriculum and classroom instruction positions him to successfully collaborate with California leaders and educators to develop and refine the new climate change resources. Dowling helped guide the first CCEJP virtual retreat on July 25, which gathered nearly 50 community partners, organizations, and members of the project’s steering committee.
Previously, Dowling served as a member of the science team in the San Francisco Unified School District, where he contributed to the development of an NGSS-aligned, middle school science core curriculum that was published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation as an open educational resource.
Before SFUSD, Dowling was a sponsoring editor in physical sciences at BFW High School Publishers and a development editor and science curriculum specialist at Key Curriculum Press. He began his career in education as a high school chemistry and middle school physical science teacher in the Oakland Unified School District.
“Jeffrey is both a strategist and implementer who brings a spark to our organization that we believe will ignite positive change in environmental education,” Ten Strands CEO Karen Cowe said. “We feel fortunate to have him helping to guide CCEJP and design curriculum that can potentially transform our state’s educational climate.”
