Acknowledgments

The three of us met for the first time in the spring of 2009—and immediately hit it off. We had different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise but also a passionate common ground of interest in the potentially great benefit to be realized in the marriage of social and emotional learning with an ecological view of life. The rich conversations and good humor that we have been privileged to share since then have been both a treasure and a delight. And we have many people to thank for the journey that has ultimately resulted in this book—not the least of which are the many educators from whom we have learned so much. While writing this book, our already abundant store of admiration and respect for the work you do has only grown.

We wish to thank the Center for Ecoliteracy's esteemed board members—Fritjof Capra, physicist and cofounder of the Center for Ecoliteracy, for his brilliant and pioneering work in systems thinking, ecological principles, and leadership; Peter K. Buckley, Center for Ecoliteracy cofounder, for his tremendous insight, skillful blending of hope and realism, and unwavering commitment to education for sustainable living; David W. Orr, who not only originated the phrase “ecological literacy” but has long offered his inimitable inspiration and loyal friendship; and, of course, Wendy Williams, to whom we dedicate this book.

We are tremendously grateful to the entire staff of the Center for Ecoliteracy—especially Carolie Sly, education program director, who contributed the professional development components to the book and generously offered her wise and practical counsel, as well as her good-spirited collegiality, from beginning to end; and Michael K. Stone, senior editor extraordinaire, who contributed a deep knowledge of the subject, a keen ability to spot flaws, and an utterly reliable knack for making things better with the utmost grace.

We also extend our gratitude to Jim Koulias, deputy director, for gently keeping us on schedule and minding the myriad related details with a spirit of joyful support; Alice Lee Tebo, communications coordinator, for her impeccable research, writing, copyediting, and all-around excellence; Jeanne Henry, administrative coordinator, for her energetic and good-natured ability to juggle a multitude of (often simultaneous) requests; and Karen Brown, creative director, for her perceptive reading, engaging, and reflecting on this work. Our thanks also go to Jim Tyler for his exquisite photographs and Leslie Comnes for her dependable research and editing.

We are also immensely grateful to Center for Ecoliteracy friends and funders, especially Marcia Argyris, Erin Eisenberg, Michele Heller, Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Dr. Hanmin Liu, Nancy G. Schaub, Brooks Shumway, and Kat Taylor, as well as foundations including The California Endowment, Chilean Forests Preservation Fund, Heller Family Foundation, Orfalea Foundation, Small Planet Fund of RSF Social Finance, TomKat Charitable Trust, Trio Foundation, and S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

And of course, to our friends at Jossey-Bass: many thanks to Kate Gagnon and Lesley Iura for believing in this book long before it was one, and for your consistently kind support throughout the process of it becoming one. A special thanks to Tracy Gallagher, Justin Frahm, and Lisa Theobald for such keen and caring eyes, and to Dimi Berkner for sharing with us her extensive experience.

We are also ever grateful to our dear friend Candice Fuhrman for introducing us to the fine people at Jossey-Bass, and to Rowan Foster for all her help keeping we three authors connected.

Needless to say, this book would not have been written without the remarkable people featured in it. We are enormously grateful for the courage and caring with which you have lived your lives and the generosity and openness with which you shared them with us. It was a privilege to visit with each one of you, to learn from your experiences and your reflections, and, in some cases, to receive the further gift of your friendship. To Wendell Berry, Teri Blanton, Cristina Dominguez-Eshelman, Sarah James, Sandy Neumann, Laurette Rogers, Aaron Sharratt, Tony Smith, Allyn Steele, Jane Wholey, Rebecca Wiggins-Reinhard, and Aaron Wolf: our deepest appreciation and admiration.

We also wish to thank the many other individuals who took time to share their experiences and insights with us—including Emily Allen, Rosa Arciniega, Amber Augustine, Melissa Augustine, Angelamia Bachemin, Jo Baker, Kay Brandhurst, Betty Burkes, Mike Coulson, Danny Do, Chris Dorrance, John Elliott, Mallory Falk, Christopher Garcia, Manuel Garcia, Priscilla Garcia, Tom Gardali, Evelyn Gilbert, Sam Gilbert, Dudley Grady Jr., Kent Halla, Rick Handshoe, Xavier Hernandez, Darwin Jones, Siona LaFrance, Tom Little, Paul Martin, Omar ^{Mateo, Alfredo Matthews, Bev May, Aaron Mihaly, William “Bopper” Minton, Melinda Monterroso, Stephanie Nelson, Dara O'Rourke, John Parodi, Olga Pedroza, Kelly Quane, Christopher Riehle, Matt Roberts, Ricardo Salvador, Eddie Sam, Stanley Sturgill, Patty Tarquino, Shannon Taylor, Paul Vallas, Patty Wallace, Joan Wright-Albertini, and Vanessa Wyant. We offer a special thanks to Jib Ellison and Chris Jordan, who generously gave of their time and powerful perspectives. Thank you to Tom Komer and Alesha Reardon of SouthWings as well for providing an unforgettable flight over what were once the great mountains of eastern Kentucky.}

Finally, we offer both thanks and love to our families, for their many shades of support, patience, and good humor.