Stanford GSE student named one of ‘30 under 30’ in environmental education worldwide

Veronica Lin, a doctoral student at Stanford Graduate School of Education, has been named one of this year’s “30 Under 30” by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).

The list recognizes “the next generation of environmental game changers from around the world,” said Judy Braus, executive director of NAAEE, in a statement announcing the honorees. The 2019 list comprises 30 young people from 16 countries: teachers, conservationists, researchers and social entrepreneurs who are addressing environmental challenges through education.

Lin is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the GSE’s Learning Sciences & Technology Design program. Her research combines computer science, learning sciences and environmental education, with a focus on how technology can engage young children in learning in an equitable, sustainable way. 

Before coming to Stanford, Lin studied computer science and economics at Wellesley College, where she also founded a campus chapter of Robogals, an international student-run organization that leads workshops in robotics for young girls to encourage them to consider engineering and related fields. After graduation she worked in Cape Town, South Africa, leading robotics workshops for hundreds of children in impoverished schools and communities. 

Lin said her experience as a woman of color studying computer science drew her to explore issues of equity around how technology is designed. Growing up in Boulder, Colo., she also developed a love of the outdoors that inspired her to integrate environmental education into her research. One of her current projects in Nicole Ardoin’s Social Ecology Lab examines how augmented reality can be designed for redwood park settings to strengthen climate change education.

The NAAEE’s “30 Under 30” program launched in 2016, and this year’s honorees join a growing network of 120 young leaders working on environmental issues from local to global levels. In addition to receiving professional development and networking opportunities, Lin was selected to be one of only three panelists at the closing keynote during NAAEE’s annual conference in October.