Tashanda Giles-Jones

Over the past 8 years, Tashanda has led her students at Environmental Charter Middle School - Inglewood through interactions with the campus environment and introduced them to challenging issues in the world around them.  Her classes composted, planted, picked weeds and harvested her beautiful Inglewood gardens with more than 20 fruit trees. Beyond the campus, Tashanda teaches students about environmental justice and toxic racism. She helps them understand the political and historical forces that have led to these inequitable dynamics, and encourages them to strengthen their voices in order to advocate on behalf of their communities.  She believes her students’ voices can be cultivated and heard. As students progress through middle school, they experience opportunities to advocate beyond the campus walls. She is an inspirational and relentless educator, a true advocate!