Skip to content
Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin
  • ABOUT US
    • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Organizational Values
    • Strategic Plan
    • Team
    • Board & Advisory Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Careers
    • About Us
    • Mission & Vision
    • Organizational Values
    • Strategic Plan
    • Team
    • Board & Advisory Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Careers
  • WORK

    Current Initiatives

    • California Environmental Literacy Initiative
    • Outdoor Learning Initiatives
    • Seeds to Solutions
    • Sustainable and Climate-Ready Schools
    • Data Initiative
    • Youth Engagement
    • Technical Assistance Services
    • California Environmental Literacy Initiative
    • Outdoor Learning Initiatives
    • Seeds to Solutions
    • Sustainable and Climate-Ready Schools
    • Data Initiative
    • Youth Engagement
    • Technical Assistance Services

    Legacy Initiatives

    • Education and the Environment Initiative
    • Environmental Principles and Concepts
    • Blueprint for Environmental Literacy
    • San Mateo Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship
    • Global Climate Action Summit Education Affiliate Event
    • Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects
    • National Outdoor Learning Initiative
    • Education and the Environment Initiative
    • Environmental Principles and Concepts
    • Blueprint for Environmental Literacy
    • San Mateo Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship
    • Global Climate Action Summit Education Affiliate Event
    • Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects
    • National Outdoor Learning Initiative
  • ADVOCACY
    • 2025 Advocacy
    • 2024 Advocacy
    • Advocacy Successes
    • 2025 Advocacy
    • 2024 Advocacy
    • Advocacy Successes
  • PARTNERS
  • NEWS
    • News
    • Blog
    • Featured Stories
    • Press Releases
    • Newsletters
    • News
    • Blog
    • Featured Stories
    • Press Releases
    • Newsletters
CONNECT
GIVE

Author: Tara Stafford Ocansey

Tara Stafford Ocansey

Tara joined CELF in January 2022 after a decade with the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where she facilitated teams across the globe to identify, advocate for, and implement strategic approaches for creating a more sustainable future through increased access to lifelong learning opportunities for all. Tara has led global education programs across the lifelong learning spectrum, collaborating with diverse stakeholders from government, nonprofit, corporate, academic, and grassroots sectors. Achievements include launching the Eco Ambassador program that has engaged over five-hundred teachers and students in identifying and researching sustainable development challenges in their communities, digital storytelling, and community-based advocacy for solutions; implementing a new social emotional learning curriculum in over three-hundred schools in conflict-affected Northeast Nigerian schools; supporting the enrollment of over thirteen hundred girls on multi-year secondary school scholarships in rural areas of ten sub-Saharan African countries and Myanmar; and equipping low-resourced schools across ten countries with technology tools and teacher professional development for integrating technology in teaching practice, reaching over eighty-thousand teachers and students. Prior to joining the Earth Institute, Tara worked as a community organizer in California with CALPIRG and Arts for LA, working with students, educators, and community leaders to advocate for clean energy policy solutions and K-12 arts education curriculum. Tara holds a master of arts degree in comparative and international education from Teachers College, Columbia University. [Spanish] Tara se unió a CELF en enero de 2022 tras una década en el Centro para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Instituto de la Tierra de la Universidad de Columbia, donde facilitó equipos en todo el mundo para identificar, defender y aplicar enfoques estratégicos para crear un futuro más sostenible a través de un mayor acceso a oportunidades de aprendizaje permanente para todos. Tara ha dirigido programas educativos globales en todo el espectro del aprendizaje, colaborando con diversas partes interesadas de los sectores gubernamental, sin ánimo de lucro, empresarial, académico y comunitario. Entre sus logros figuran la puesta en marcha del programa Eco Ambassador, que ha involucrado a más de 500 profesores y alumnos en la identificación e investigación de los retos del desarrollo sostenible en sus comunidades, la narración digital y la promoción comunitaria de soluciones; la aplicación de un nuevo plan de estudios de aprendizaje socioemocional en más de 300 escuelas del noreste de Nigeria afectadas por conflictos; apoyo a la matriculación de más de 1,300 niñas con becas plurianuales de enseñanza secundaria en zonas rurales de 10 países del África subsahariana y Myanmar; y equipamiento de escuelas con menos recursos de 10 países con herramientas tecnológicas y desarrollo profesional para integrar la tecnología en la práctica educativa, llegando a más de 80,000 profesores y estudiantes. Antes de incorporarse al Instituto de la Tierra, Tara trabajó como organizadora comunitaria en California con CALPIRG y Arts for LA, colaborando con estudiantes, educadores y líderes comunitarios para promover soluciones políticas en materia de energía limpia y planes de estudios de educación artística para los grados K-12. Tara tiene un maestria en Educación Comparada e Internacional por el Teachers College de la Universidad de Columbia.

Tara joined CELF in January 2022 after a decade with the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where she facilitated teams across the globe to identify, advocate for, and implement strategic approaches for creating a more sustainable future through increased access to lifelong learning opportunities for all. Tara has led global education programs across the lifelong learning spectrum, collaborating with diverse stakeholders from government, nonprofit, corporate, academic, and grassroots sectors. Achievements include launching the Eco Ambassador program that has engaged over five-hundred teachers and students in identifying and researching sustainable development challenges in their communities, digital storytelling, and community-based advocacy for solutions; implementing a new social emotional learning curriculum in over three-hundred schools in conflict-affected Northeast Nigerian schools; supporting the enrollment of over thirteen hundred girls on multi-year secondary school scholarships in rural areas of ten sub-Saharan African countries and Myanmar; and equipping low-resourced schools across ten countries with technology tools and teacher professional development for integrating technology in teaching practice, reaching over eighty-thousand teachers and students. Prior to joining the Earth Institute, Tara worked as a community organizer in California with CALPIRG and Arts for LA, working with students, educators, and community leaders to advocate for clean energy policy solutions and K-12 arts education curriculum. Tara holds a master of arts degree in comparative and international education from Teachers College, Columbia University. [Spanish] Tara se unió a CELF en enero de 2022 tras una década en el Centro para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Instituto de la Tierra de la Universidad de Columbia, donde facilitó equipos en todo el mundo para identificar, defender y aplicar enfoques estratégicos para crear un futuro más sostenible a través de un mayor acceso a oportunidades de aprendizaje permanente para todos. Tara ha dirigido programas educativos globales en todo el espectro del aprendizaje, colaborando con diversas partes interesadas de los sectores gubernamental, sin ánimo de lucro, empresarial, académico y comunitario. Entre sus logros figuran la puesta en marcha del programa Eco Ambassador, que ha involucrado a más de 500 profesores y alumnos en la identificación e investigación de los retos del desarrollo sostenible en sus comunidades, la narración digital y la promoción comunitaria de soluciones; la aplicación de un nuevo plan de estudios de aprendizaje socioemocional en más de 300 escuelas del noreste de Nigeria afectadas por conflictos; apoyo a la matriculación de más de 1,300 niñas con becas plurianuales de enseñanza secundaria en zonas rurales de 10 países del África subsahariana y Myanmar; y equipamiento de escuelas con menos recursos de 10 países con herramientas tecnológicas y desarrollo profesional para integrar la tecnología en la práctica educativa, llegando a más de 80,000 profesores y estudiantes. Antes de incorporarse al Instituto de la Tierra, Tara trabajó como organizadora comunitaria en California con CALPIRG y Arts for LA, colaborando con estudiantes, educadores y líderes comunitarios para promover soluciones políticas en materia de energía limpia y planes de estudios de educación artística para los grados K-12. Tara tiene un maestria en Educación Comparada e Internacional por el Teachers College de la Universidad de Columbia.

Articles by Author: Tara Stafford Ocansey

CELF Civic Science Air Quality Research Project Awards with West End Secondary School students in NYC

Cultivating Love of Place and Planting Seeds for Lifelong Civic Engagement with California’s Young Learners

Posted By  Adriana Castro , Tara Stafford Ocansey
  • ON January 18, 2023
Our Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program (CCEJP) partner, the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF), has been proactively supporting teachers to integrate sustainability and environmental learning into every child’s K–12 learning experience. We share a story by CELF’s Tara Stafford...

Invest In Ten Strands

Make environmental literacy a reality for all California students!

Connect With Us

Sign up for our newsletter and stay informed.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 Ten Strands

Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin

Contact | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Notifications