In June 2025, a group of educators and school leaders came to a remote island in Alaska, and for a week—in-between hiking, paddling, and eating local & wild foods—we envisioned what bold climate leadership at Independent Schools would entail.
Our group included climate champions from Nueva School, Sequoyah School, Hillbrook School, Punahou Academy, Branson School, NMH, Vermont Academy, and Phillips Andover Academy. Since then, our community has only grown.
Zach Brown, PhD, grew up surrounded by the wild lands, abundant seas, and retreating glaciers of Alaska. He undertook multiple research expeditions to the polar seas, the world's fastest warming places, ultimately earning his doctorate from Stanford University. Making the leap from climate science to climate action, Zach hiked and paddled 2300 miles home to Alaska to found Tidelines Institute, an education and leadership nonprofit, where he now serves as co-executive director.
Mike Peller, became Head of School at Vermont Academy in July 2025, bringing more than 20 years of leadership in progressive, purpose-driven education. A champion of experiential and place-based learning, Mike has helped design and lead innovative school models rooted in purpose, engagement, and real-world impact.
His work blends curriculum expertise with advancement, admissions, and entrepreneurial school leadership. Before VA, Mike was the Founding Head of Upper School at Hillbrook School in California and previously served as Assistant Head at both The White Mountain School (NH) and The Nueva School (CA).
He holds degrees from Harvard and Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a frequent speaker on educational innovation. A lifelong boarding school educator, Mike grew up on a campus as the son of two career teachers. He now lives on campus with his family, where he enjoys exploring the land and playing on the fields with his wife and two children.
Jeff Symonds, is the Assistant Head of School for Academics and Dean of Faculty at The Branson School is Ross, CA, where he has played just about every school role since 1991. In addition to his work in schools, Jeff is a professional musician who records under his own name for ElectraCast records; he has played a live show in every state but Alabama. Jeff is thrilled to help the Solstice Project help educators and students harness their passion into learning and action.
Christine Armiger, is a science teacher and Director of Sustainability at Vermont Academy, where she collaborates with students and colleagues on climate action initiatives, including the Vermont Youth Climate Leaders Academy and the Vermont Youth Climate Congress. From 2020 to 2025, she served as summer director for the Harvard T.H. Chan C-CHANGE Youth Summit on Climate, Equity and Health.
Christine earned her MS in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England. During her graduate studies, she spent two years in Belize developing a framework to evaluate ecosystem services on small farms through a partnership with Sustainable Harvest International and the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation.
She has led field study programs in Belize, Chile, Spain, Peru and Ecuador, with a focus on sustainability, service, and conservation. She has also guided summer expeditions through Alaska’s Inside Passage and the Denali region, and served as a field biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, collecting data on the nesting requirements of threatened Hawaiian birds.
Cano Rojas, is a Creative Director and a Filmmaker with a wide range of experience in Education and Multicultural projects. He has lived in 8 countries including Japan, US and Brazil. He has led production and creative teams across LATAM, Asia, and North America, telling stories and building narratives for a range of organizations, from raising awareness about the refugee situation in Syria to creating campaigns to protect flamencos in the north of his homeland Chile.
With an International Relations MS from NYU and a Business degree from UDP (Chile) he spends his time creating stories and building bridges from East to West.
Kate Schafer is a science teacher at Sequoyah School in Pasadena, CA and Director of the Children's School of Science (CSS) in Woods Hole, MA. Her lifelong love of the oceans and marine life was sparked in Woods Hole as a student at CSS. She attended Stanford University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. While living in Jamaica after graduation, she became fascinated with the incredible diversity of life on coral reefs, so she returned to California to earn her Ph.D. in integrative biology at UC Berkeley. Her dissertation research was largely spent in Belize, studying mantis shrimp and pygmy octopuses. While in Belize, she witnessed a coral bleaching event at her study sites. This experience and others have led her to commit to doing everything she can to stave off the climate crisis’s worst impacts and advocate for sustainability at every level. Kate has taught high school biology and environmental science for 20 years. Her summers bring her to Woods Hole, as an instructor and now as the school’s Director, where she enjoys getting to share her love of science and nature with a new generation of students.