We believe education is the solution for creating a sustainable future.
Meet the Founder
Eugene Cordero, a climate scientist at NASA, was concerned about the future health of the planet. While solar rooftops and electric vehicles were great, he felt one solution often overlooked was education.
So he went on to lecture college students as a professor at San Jose State University in the Department of Meteorology & Climate Science. He has taught over 3,000 students in the last 10 years but then thought, “what if we could reach an even younger audience to empower the youth?” And so the birth of Green Ninja, a climate action superhero character was born.
Green Ninja started out with short films to engage students about environmental topics. But a 3-minute video in class wasn’t enough, Green Ninja needed to be a part of science classrooms everyday. Since 2015, Eugene has brought together a team of dedicated educators, artists, and engineers and created what you see today.
Creating Impact with Our Partners
Green Ninja started as a research program at SJSU. This partnership continues through ongoing research and development.
The PocketLab environmental sensors in our kits help students use real-time data to study and improve the world around them.
Working with World Centric helps reduce the carbon footprint of our kits and the amount of waste generated in our partner school districts.
“We hope that as our community of teacher colleagues continues to grow, so does our shared understanding that education can be relevant, purposeful, and transformative for all of our students in ways that benefit society.”
Get to Know Our Company and Team
Highlighting the Original Designers to Our Program
Dr. Matthew d’Alessio
Curriculum Director
Matt leads the curriculum team and helped design the program from the ground up using the NGSS as the core framework. Matt has some good NGSS experience as one of the chief authors of the 2016 CA Science Framework. In the past, Matt was a high school Earth Science teacher in an urban public school, a research scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and now he also works a Professor at CSUN where he teaches science to university students and future teachers.
Rebecca Collins
Lead Curriculum Developer
Becky joined the curriculum team six years ago after teaching science in middle and high school for 12 years. One of her key roles on the team was to ensure that the content is designed for and helpful to other teachers. Becky holds a BS in Biology, a Life Science Teaching Credential, and M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.
David Chai
Animation & Film Director
David is the producer of all things Green Ninja. He directed the Green Ninja shorts and is currently working on two secret Green Ninja projects, a graphic novel and board game. He is a professor and chair of the Department of Animation/Illustration at SJSU where he also received his MA in Animation. When he’s not teaching, you’ll find David working on short films to be screened at film festivals across the world.
Ellen Metzger
Science Education Specialist
Ellen provides PD support and advises the PD team with her experience working with teachers since 1990. She is currently a professor of Geology and Director of Science Education at SJSU. She co-directs the Bay Area Environmental STEM Institute (BAESI), a professional development program that has served over 4,000 teachers in the SF Bay Area.
Meet More Friendly Faces
You can check out more friendly faces that help run our company and provide the best support for teachers. From creating beautiful visuals to coding a new feature on our website, our team brings a wide variety of skillsets to Green Ninja.
“Our team educators, artists, and educators all work together towards one goal—inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.”
Sustainability and Company Norms
Zero waste for teachers
We don’t believe in letting things go unused—we’ll work with your district to only supply the materials you need to teach each year.
Net-zero Headquarters
Our main office is powered by renewable energy and you may find a chicken or two!
Printed Materials
Our printed books are made in the USA with FSC certified paper and and 70% bionewable ink.
Healthy Office Culture
We encourage sustainable practices at work such as healthy snacks, no trash bins, and walking breaks.
Kits and Packaging
We ship our kits with recycled and/or compostable packaging.
Transportation and Travel
When we need to travel, we’ll find ways to lower our carbon footprint such as taking the train, carpooling, or carbon offsetting air travel.