Lois Johnson-Mead

Lois Johnson-Mead

Director, Youth Programs; Student Climate & Conservation Corps (Sc3)

Lois Johnson Mead is the Director of GSA’s Student Climate & Conservation Congress (Sc3) and Sc3 Corps programs. She combines her love of nature and wild places with a strong commitment to enhancing the scientific and environmental literacy of her students. Whether inside and outside of the classroom, Lois wants her students to gain the skills necessary to help them tackle the challenges of the future.

Her latest efforts have been working with students at the Hill School in Middleburg VA, serving as science teacher and administrator. She is actively involved in Hill’s sustainability and energy conservation initiatives, which include a plastic bag recycling program, a rain harvesting program, removal of invasive plants, and a food recycling system in the lunchroom. Each quarter, she and her students conduct water quality assessments of the local tributaries in their area, using chemistry and environmental techniques. Working at such an environmentally conscious school has offered Lois a chance to participate in a variety of student led eco-initiatives, and to co-chair its Placed Based Education program, which looks at how to integrate across the curriculum. In 2006, Lois, along with several of her colleagues, was invited to the first Children and Nature Conference in Shepherdstown, WV at the National Conservation Training Center. This was a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of an essential movement in our nation and to listen to renowned experts in the field. It is from this initiative that she became involved with the Student Climate and Conservation Congress (Sc3) in June 2009.

Prior to working at the Hill School, Lois spent eight years as a lower school science teacher and administrator at the National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington, D.C. She worked hard to sprinkle nature projects into her elementary school program, encouraging walks through Olmstead Woods and bottle rocket launches on campus! Lois got her feet wet working with students through involvement with the Institute for Girl’s Leadership and Environmental Science, based at Friend’s Central School in PA. Camping and hiking with young women while encouraging them to reflect on their lives in a natural setting was a perfect fit for her.

From her earliest days in Philadelphia, PA, Lois was exposed a world mixed with outdoor play, reflection, and hours of making mud pies on the lawn! It is because of this rich background, that she has remained committed to sharing her passion and commitment to the natural world with the next generation of eco-stewards.