Alberto Arenas is Professor of Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. He specializes in the connections between pedagogy and environmental sustainability; experiential education, with an emphasis on vocational education; and the decolonization of education with a focus on restoring culturally-rich, non-commodified knowledge and skills.

In 2019, Dr. Arenas became Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Environmental Education, a premier educational journal and the oldest journal on environmental education worldwide in continuous operation.

Dr. Arenas has a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Studies in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2002, he was hired by the University of Arizona, and has taught in the College of Education since then. His publications have appeared in leading educational journals in the world, including Phi Delta Kappan, Teachers College Record, Compare, the International Review of Education, and the Journal of Environmental Education.

From 2009-2019, Dr. Arenas was the co-director of the Study of the United States Institute, a federally-funded grant that invited Indigenous Latin American college students to the University of Arizona. Between 2013-2015, Professor Arenas was a member of the Scientific Committees of the World Environmental Education Congresses held in Morocco and Sweden. In 2014 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico doing research on Mexico’s environmental education programs. From 2017-2021 he was Associate Editor for Environmental and Sustainability Education of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Educational Administration.

Dr. Arenas grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. He has also lived in Brazil and Mexico, where he has taught and researched in the fields of environmental and sustainability education.

Antonella Bachiorri is a Biologist, PhD in Ecology and Master in Education for Sustainability. She teaches "Didactics of Biology and Environmental Education" and "Sustainable Development" at the University of Parma (Italy) where coordinates a laboratory for interdisciplinary research in education for sustainability (CIREA) at the Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability. She is member of Editorial Boards of international Journals and has been involved in many research projects.

Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University and a Guest Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). He also holds the UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development. Furthermore, he is a senior advisor at the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development (GMV) His work focusses on transformative social learning in vital coalitions of multiple stakeholders at the interface of science and society. His teaching and research focus on designing learning processes and learning spaces that enable people to contribute meaningfully sustainability. A central question in his work is: how to create conditions that support (new) forms of learning which take full advantage of the diversity, creativity and resourcefulness that is all around us, but so far remain largely untapped in our search for a world that is more sustainable than the one currently in prospect? Arjen was the Co-Chair of the WEEC 2015 conference which was held in Gothenburg, Sweden. He writes a regular research blog that signals developments in the emerging field of sustainability education: http://www.transformativelearning.nl A short video on his drive and mission can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqB4ryiS4cY

Professor of Sociology of the Territory and the Environment, Dean of Human and Social Science faculty – Kore University Enna – Italy.

President of the National Committee for Education to Sustainability - Agenda 2030, instituted by the Italian UNESCO National association.

He taught at the University of Palermo and IULM Milan (Italy). He coordinated the Environment and Lifestyles Research Doctorate of the Kore University Enna (Italy)
Member of several scientific committees and institutions on environmental assessments.
Areas of scientific interest: Urban and environmental sociology, Politics, Ecology, Economics.

Brigit Burkard is an Anthropologist. She has been working in the International Development for decades. Environment and Education is her passion. She is now the Programme Director Southeast Asia for the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation, an international NGO, based in Switzerland. 

Together with her Burmese team, she has been initiating Clean&Green (or Eco-) Schools in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, in collaboration with the respective Environmental Conservation Department and Ministry of Education. She has strongly supported the development of the criteria and indicators for eco schools, as well as the development of a teacher's guidebook for primary schools on Environmental Conservation. She is now leading the process of expanding the development of further schools. Two of the Clean&Green schools have won the national Clean&Green School Award and were nominated for the ASEAN eco-school award.

Brigit Burkard is a member of the Swiss Eco-School Jury. 

He is principal of the Amaroo Environmental Education Centre – Queensland, Australia and is Vice President of the Australian Association of Environmental Education (AAEE) and Treasurer of the Queensland Chapter of AAEE. He is also the immediate past President of the Darling Downs Environment Council and currently Treasurer. He has been involved in environmental education since 1980 and has been a principal advisor - environmental sustainability for the Department of Education in Queensland. He represented Australia on the Environment and Schools Initiative, a network of environmental educators based in Europe, and the Queensland representative on the National Environmental Education Council, National Environmental Education Network and Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative working group. Cam was a judge for the Queensland Premier’s Sustainability and Australian Banksia Foundation Environmental Awards. In 2011 he was awarded the Australia Day Medal for his service to environmental education in Queensland as well as Environmental Educator of the Year Award from the Australian Association for Environmental Education.

Dr. Costis Toregas is the director of the Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute at The George Washington University, where he manages and conducts education, research and service projects in cybersecurity and privacy. He also holds a courtesy faculty appointment in the GWU Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. He is a consultant to the National Cybersecurity Training and Education Center where he is responsible for international program expansion and representation to academia, industry and government. He serves on several non-profit boards including EAGLES2030 organized to assist Sustainable Development Goal attainment, the National Cyber League, Ecocity Builders, Women in Cyber Security and is a Trustee of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA . He is a respected consultant to national governments and intergovernmental organizations, and a much sought-after speaker on the impact of technology on government and society. His experience in developing strategies for government innovation is reflected in the 30+ years he led the non-profit Public Technology Inc. which networked government innovators in technology and its applications in partnership with industry. He contributed as a facilitator for several Special Initiatives of the Eye on Earth network, and served as the Content Manager for the Ecocity Summit in Abu Dhabi. He currently grounds his work in the reality of government as the IT adviser to the Montgomery County Council, Maryland, where he helps shape policy approaches for the $220m of IT expenditures in the County's $6B budget. Dr. Toregas has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Cornell University. He is married to Catherine Chadley Toregas and has two children, Alexandra and Christopher.

Prof Tilbury is an educator, academic leader and change maker in Sustainable Development credited with having developed the initial frameworks for this area of learning. She has acted as an advisor to governments in China, Latin America and Oceania as well as travelled extensively in Africa to evaluate the impact of sustainability education programmes. Prof Tilbury was a member of the Board of WWF Australia that created Earth Hour and is involved in international initiatives that inspire transitions towards sustainability through learning and education. She is the UK government’s representative on UNECE on matters relating to education and sustainable development. Before becoming Gibraltar’s Commissioner for Sustainable Development and Future Generations, she was the inaugural President and CEO of the University of Gibraltar, an institution that embeds sustainability education at its core. She held numerous research leadership positions in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK and was an EU Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow funded to broker interdisciplinary dialogues and build inter-professional capability in sustainability education. Between 1995-2019 she Chaired several UN Committees and was commissioned to develop expert reviews, policy advice and sector evaluations. Daniella has been involved in international meetings on climate change and sustainable development informing texts and dialogues with regards to education and learning. Recently, Daniella was recognised with an Hon. Fellowship by St Catharine’s, University of Cambridge and a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Girona.

David W. Orr is Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and senior adviser to the president of Oberlin College. He is a founding editor of the journal Solutions, and serves as the executive director of the Oberlin Project, a collaborative effort of the city of Oberlin, Oberlin College, and private and institutional partners to improve the resilience, prosperity, and sustainability of Oberlin.

Orr is the author of seven books, including Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (Oxford, 2009) and coeditor of three others. He has authored nearly 200 articles, reviews, book chapters, and professional publications.

In the past 25 years, he has served as a board member or advisor to eight foundations and on the boards of many organizations, including the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Currently he is a trustee of the Bioneers, the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, and the Worldwatch Institute.

He has been awarded seven honorary degrees and a dozen other awards including a Lyndhurst Prize, a National Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation, and a Visionary Leadership Award from Second Nature. Orr is a frequent lecturer at colleges and universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

While at Oberlin, he spearheaded the effort to design, fund, and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which was named by an AIA panel in 2010 as “the most important green building of the past 30 years,” and as “one of 30 milestone buildings of the twentieth century” by the U.S. Department of Energy.

David Zandvliet is a Professor at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) and Director of the Institute for Environmental Learning. He holds additional appointments as the Faculty teaching fellow for Faculty of Environment (SFU) and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at Universitas Sam Ratulangi (Indonesia).

An experienced teacher and researcher, he has published numerous articles in international journals and presented refereed conference papers on six continents and in over 15 countries. His career interests lie in the areas of science, technology and environmental education.

As a former director of the Faculty’s Centre for Educational Technology, he has considerable experience in the design and evaluation of classrooms and in the provision of teacher professional development. He has conducted research and development on learning environments in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.

Edgar J. Gonzalez-Gaudiano is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Researches in Education, at the Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico,where he leads the research line of environmental education for sustainability. A member of the Commission of Education and Communication of IUCN and former Regional President for Mesoamerica (2001-2006). He has been member of Board of Directors at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) (1992-1997). He also worked with WWF and the UNESCO in projects related to national strategies for environmental education. He is also a member of National System of Researchers in Mexico (level III). He has written twenty-two books and more than 100 articles in several specialized journals in the field of environmental education. He is a Latin American liaison person and was a member of the UNESCO Group of Reference for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. He has received a number of awards: The National Award to Ecological Merit (2004), in the scholar category and the UANL Award of Research in Humanities (2007). His current research focus is on social representations of climate change, vulnerability, risk and social resilience.

Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
Associate Professor
Centre de recherche en éducation et formation relatives à l’environnement et à l’écocitoyenneté (Centr’ERE)
Université du Québec à Montréal

Doctor in Education and Public Health from the Université du Québec à Montréal and the Université de Louvain, Étienne van Steenberghe is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the research Journal Éducation relative à l’environnement : Regards – Recherches – Réflexions. While working for the journal, he developed an editorial expertise and a critical approach to peer review process.

His research interests include issues of health territoriality in an ethnographic approach, socio-environmental health inequalities, health promotion and environmental health education.

His doctoral research focused on social representations of the links between health and the environment for disadvantaged populations in urban areas.

Entrepreneur and author of books (e.g. The Blue Economy translated in +50 languages) and 324 fables used as educational tools in all Chinese schools. He is expected to complete the series of 365 by end 2023.

Designer of a pedagogy that combines nature-based science learning, emotional intelligence, expressions through arts, connecting the insights and strengthening the capacity to implement.

Distinguished Professor Heila Lotz-Sisitka holds a Tier 1 South African National Research Foundation Chair in Transformative Social Learning and Green Skills Learning Pathways. She has served on numerous national and international research and policy programmes including as member of the UNESCO International Reference Group on the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the UNEP Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities and Global Universities Partnership for Environment and Sustainability (2004-current). Currently served as PI for the International Social Science Research Programme on ‘Transformative, Transgressive Learning in Times of Climate Change’, and is currently a Co-I for the international GCRF project on Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures. She was Scientific Chair of the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) in 2007, and she has been socio-scientific committee member and keynote speaker at a number of the WEEC since 2003. She is the former editor-in-chief of the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education (2003-2016) former co-editor of the journal Learning, Culture and Social Interactions. Recent publications include an edited Routledge book on ‘Critical Realism, Environmental Learning and Social-Ecological Change’, a Springer book on ‘Sustainable Development and Schooling in Africa’ and a Routledge book on ‘Green Skills Research’. Her research interests include critical research methodologies, transformative environmental learning, agency, and education system transformation.

After starting his career in the aeronautics industry, Carteron (53) arrived at the Kedge Business School (FR) in 2001 and headed the marketing dept. before devoting himself fully to sustainability. For 14 years, he Piloted the CSR strategy of a school with 15,000 students before dedicating himself fully to his social entrepreneurship project with Sulitest Impact in September 2021.

Board Member of different NGOs, Foundations, he is a leading actor in working groups mainly focalized on social responsibility and sustainable assessment for higher education institutions. Since 2012 he is the Senior Advisor for the “Higher Education Sustainable Initiative” (HESI), an open partnership between 10 United Nations entities and the higher education community launched in the lead-up to the Rio+20 UN Conference.

 Finally, he has launched Sulitest, an international movement to raise awareness and assess sustainability knowledge. Its “Awareness Test” has been already taken by almost 300.000 people and is recognized as one of the tools for measuring and monitoring the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In March 2023, Sulitest launch TASK™. The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge is a robust assessment tool that provides relevant & comparable metrics for monitoring, and steering education for sustainability.

 A lover of scuba diving and sea kayaking, he also likes to see the world from above in his hot air balloon.

Executive Director at North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Judy Braus accepted the position of Executive Director of NAAEE in December 2011. She was formerly the Sr. Vice President of Education and Centers at the National Audubon Society. She has been actively involved in national and international environment and education efforts for almost three decades. Judy has successfully managed the education and outreach departments at 3 national and international conservation organizations: the National Audubon Society, World Wildlife Fund, and the National Wildlife Federation. She was also the manager of environmental education programming at the U.S. Peace Corps. She has led many international environmental education projects, facilitated leadership workshops and conferences in dozens of countries, been the chief editor of several successful national publishing efforts focused on environmental education, and published in numerous nationally recognized periodicals and books. She helped create and directTogetherGreen, a $20 million alliance between Audubon and Toyota. By providing a series of Fellowships, Grants, and Volunteer Days, TogetherGreen helps people take action at home and in their communities to improve the health of the environment.

Chief of Section for Education for Sustainable Development, Division for Peace and Sustainable Development Education Sector at UNESCO. Ms. Jun Morohashi joined UNESCO in 1999 and started her career in Social & Human Sciences Sector (1999-2007). She then worked in Education Sector as Programme Specialist in Peace, Human Rights and Global Citizenship Education (2007-2014) before serving as Chief of Education Unit at UNESCO Port-au-Prince Office (2014-2016), and then as Head of Executive Office & Regional Programme Coordinator at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in Bangkok. In April 2020 she came back to HQ-based Section of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and as of September 2022, she is Chief of Section for ESD.

Lwanda Maqwelane is a PhD candidate at Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University. Her research interests are geared towards the co-development of policy interventions aimed at just economic transitions for emerging black farmers into sustainable commercial value chains in the Southern Africa region. Maqwelane serves as a Research Assist to the SARChI Chair of Global Change and Social Learning Systems; Climate Change Education and Monitoring and Evaluation and serves as a research associate to Polisee Space a Pan African policy think tank. In addition to her academic work Maqwelane is also an aspiring political analyst that writes for national media outlets on socio-economic and political issues faced in society.

Professor and postdoctoral researcher at the Postgraduate Program in Science Teaching at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. He is the manager of the coordination of Policies for Elementary Education of the State Department of Education of Mato Grosso do Sul and President of the State Commission for Environmental Education of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Mario Salomone has a master degree in Theoretical Philosophy. He is an environmental sociologist, former university professor at the University of Bergamo and Milano (IULM), is teaching Environmental sociology at the University of Milano Bicocca and Torino. Journalist, lecturer in hundreds of conferences, author or co-author of handbooks, papers and book chapters on environmental education, environmental communication, ecological economics and other environmental issues, and writer of novels and tales.

Mercedes Varela is a PhD and lecturer in didactics of experimental sciences and environmental education at the University of Vigo (Spain) in the Faculty of Educational Sciences. She has been doing research in the field of Sustainability for more than 10 years and her research interests are focused on Environmental Education for Sustainability and teacher training in Higher Education, especially in relation to transformative learning, development of action competence and climate education. In addition, in recent years we have begun to investigate perceptions of teachers about Global Environmental Change

Secretary General and treasurer of the Mohammed VI Foundation  for Environment (Responsible for the coordination of foundation various programs, responsible for the budget, responsible for institutional communication, Responsible for the follow-up of international partners (European Union, FEE, Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, Issesco), Responsible for projects implementation.

Master’s Degree «Sustainable growth and Organizations» UNIVERISTE PARIS DAUPHINE, part of La Sorbonne University, Paris, France. Certificate in Business Excellence «Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals» COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL, New York, United States.

He is University Professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of A Coruña in Didactics of Experimental Sciences and Environmental Education. His current research interests are focused on teacher training in Environmental Education and Sustainability, especially in relation to transformative learning, development of action competence and climate education, Ecological Footprint and implementation of Agenda 21 in the University and Municipalities (LA21).

Dr Stanfield has taught in schools, colleges and universities in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East for several decades. As well as Music and English, he has taught outdoor living and has made major expeditions by hand-bulit Inuit kayak. His academic work is a critique of the classroom and shows, through detailed discourse analysis, that place-based education significantly increases learner agency and leads to deep learning. Dr Stanfield recognizes that if place-based environmental education was to be widely implemented, it could rapidly lead today's young people toward societies which are in much better balance with the natural world. To this end, Dr Stanfield is currently taking up a teaching role at a land-based further education college where he will help students engage with the natural world through animal care, horticulture and forest school activities. 

Phil’s forty years in education span the breadth of formal and non-formal education: schools, TAFE, community colleges, universities and a wide range of community settings. He has held leadership roles in schools, government agencies, a national professional association and local and international NGOs. He has worked overseas in education, training and evaluation. His experience includes advocacy and community campaigning at local, state and federal levels; education in a humanitarian environment (Nauru); sustainability leadership courses for young people; professional development for teachers and trainers; and conference facilitation. Phil currently teaches in two teacher-training programs at Western Sydney University, and he runs his own program for schools, Speaking 4 the Planet, which is an Arts-based approach to sustainability education.

Raquel has extensive experience working with civil society organizations both locally and internationally serving vulnerable populations from young adolescent girls to indigenous communities in rural areas.She currently leads the area of Initiatives for the New Economy at Moises Bertoni Foundation, a leading NGO in Paraguay focusing on nature conservation, sustainable development, and education. She designs and implements educational projects focusing on women's empowerment, entrepreneurship, and territory development- integrating social, environmental and economic value.She is co-author of Sustainable Adventures in Mbaracayu, a children’s book for all ages. In 2019, she was recognized by the President of the Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez, for her initiative in the agro sector.Raquel holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of East Tennessee State, a Bachelor in International Studies from Old Dominion University, and a Certificate in Sustainable Development and Environmental Conservation from Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Safa’ Obeid is an English teacher from Jordan and the winner of the Earth Prize “Educator of the Year 2022”. Safa’ teaches elementary and preparatory students at Sweileh Prep Coed School/UNRWA. She is the students’ parliament, peer mediation and human rights coordinator in the school, her performance is evaluated as” The Best-Performer” a long her professional path. Safa’s long term goal is to make learning a pleasant, self- driven mission to her students and to create opportunities for them to develop their skills, confidently participate and positively contribute in the world. 

Safa’ participated in creating UNRWA’s toolkit for peaceful conflict resolution: peer mediation in schools and is a member of UNRWA’s North Amman Area human rights committee.

Safa’ created a toolkit called” Environment-Based Enrichment Activities Toolkit”. This toolkit helped other teachers integrate environmental topics in their lessons smoothly and effectively. 

Safa’ is spreading awareness and promoting environmental education among teachers and educators and is helping educational institutions to activate environmental education practices through activities, task-based learning and critical thinking strategies and techniques

As Safa’ works with Palestine refugees within camps, she is interested on organizing and implementing projects for empowering women and young people. In her free time, she likes writing.

Surat Bualert is Dean of the Faculty of Environment at Kasetsart University (Thailand).

Engaged in several research projects, he is an Expert on Training Programs on Air and Noise Quality Modelling.

He holds a Ph.D. on Air Pollution from University of Hertfordshire (United Kingdom), a Master of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor in General Science from Kasetsart University.

Thakur S Powdyel is an educator by choice, conviction and passion. As the country’s first democratically elected Minister of Education, he moved Bhutan towards fulfilling the MDGs and the country’s constitutional mandate for education. His major interests include institutional integrity, national self-respect, moral literacy and gross national happiness. 

Powdyel’s vision of holistic education as expressed in My Green School has been translated into several languages. He is a recipient of the Gusi Peace Prize, the Global Education Award, and the Distinguished Service Award for his pioneering work in Education as well as the Coronation Gold Medal 2008 and the Institutional Award: The Honour of Druk Thuksey 2012. 

Thakur S Powdyel invested his public office with a rare and chastening quality of integrity, service and selflessness in the evolving Bhutanese democratic landscape in honour of his country and fellow-citizens, born of his deeply-held beliefs and convictions.  Professor Powdyel was often described as the most widely foot-travelled education minister in the world.

Dr Viktor Lagutov is a Professor and the Head of Systems Laboratory at the Central European University(CEU). He has extensive teaching and research experience in application of digital technologies in various domains, including disaster management, climate change, water and food security. Dr Lagutov is also the current director of the international GeoHub project where he is leading several cross boundary initiatives to develop affiliated students' and researchers' core capacity in using the latest geospatial methods and technologies.

Dr Lagutov has been an advisor and consultant for a wide range of academic and international organizations, such as, UN FAO, UNCCD, UNOOSA, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and so on. He combines teaching and research activities with practical projects worldwide, with specific focus on science-policy interface and international cooperation. Dr Lagutov is the founder of the ISEPEI Project, which actively aims at capacity building in data-driven evidence-based decision-making and executive education on geospatial technologies. He also launched several nongovernmental organizations' initiatives, working on sustainable development and environmental security.

She is Economist, PhD in Environmental Education, Master's in Visual Arts and Art Sciences. Based in Greece, she has been coordinating, since 1994, numerous international projects on Environmental Education and Communication and has been involved in various research and action networks and in civil society organizations. She has held leadership roles in national and international environmental and educational NGOs, as well as in regional authorities' agencies implementing and managing regional development projects. She is the author / co-author of several articles and editor of books and periodicals on Environmental Education, pedagogy, and the ethics of responsibility. Her areas of expertise include environmental communication, environmental education in non formal education settings, education through art, educational projects' management and the development of educational material.