My name is Lance Kramer and I’m very excited to join Earth Day Network as the new D.C. Outreach Associate. Over the next two months, I’ll be making lots of visits to schools across the region, brainstorming with teachers on how they can incorporate our 40^th Anniversary Curriculum and educational resources into their classroom. I’ll be helping students organize events in their schools on Earth Day and plan environmental projects in the weeks leading up to April 22. And I’ll be encouraging students to participate in the great Earth Day events planned on the National Mall.

By my last count on Friday afternoon, there are well over 600 public schools alone in Washington, DC, Montgomery County, MD, Arlington & Fairfax — so I’m sure it will be a busy two months!

That’s why I’ll certainly need your help. If you are already involved with organizing environmental clubs or projects in your school, or are interested in starting new efforts — please contact me and I’ll be happy to meet with you to discuss possible collaboration.

A little about me: before coming to Earth Day, I worked with the Environmental Education Media Project, organizing worldwide stakeholder screenings and discussions of a new documentary film on ecosystem restoration. I’m a DC-area native and graduate of Dartmouth College, where I studied Asian & Middle Eastern History, and film. After graduation, I taught English to children orphaned by HIV-AIDS in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with an Ethiopian NGO called Hope for Children. For several years, I worked as a journalist, covering local news, music, film, arts and culture in Portland, Oregon, for the alternative newsweekly, Willamette Week. In 2008, I worked as a staff field organizer for the Barack Obama presidential campaign and Virginia Democratic Party in Prince William County, Virginia. I’ve also published a children’s book on Chinese history and have traveled and volunteered throughout Honduras, Mexico, China, Japan, Spain, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Turkey.

Look forward to working with you!