In this episode of Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope, Linda Anderson sits down with Nate Ivy, an educator and systems thinker whose work shows that sustainability isn’t just an environmental priority — it’s a leadership mindset.

Nate began his career as a history teacher, helping students understand their place in the larger human story. Today, he serves as an Instructional Coach in Fremont Unified, guiding the district’s climate literacy efforts through the CLEAN initiative, representing FUSD on the City of Fremont’s Environmental Sustainability Commission, and co-chairing CAELI, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative. A former member of the state’s Environmental Literacy Task Force, Nate has spent years bridging classrooms, communities, and local businesses to strengthen environmental health and community well-being.

In this conversation, we explore:

• How systems thinking connects people, purpose, and the planet
  

• What schools and businesses can learn from each other about building sustainable cultures
  

• How partnerships — like those with Alameda County StopWaste — model real collaboration
  

• Ways businesses can meaningfully support schools and local climate action
  

• Leadership strategies that unite diverse stakeholders around shared purpose
  

• How storytelling, service learning, and stewardship strengthen organizations
  

• What hope-driven environmental leadership looks like in education and the private sector
  

Whether you’re an educator, business leader, or community partner, Nate’s insights offer a roadmap for creating workplaces and communities that care for people and the planet — and move forward with purpose, collaboration, and hope.

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Instagram: @lluande1

Facebook: @Linda Unrath-Anderson

LinkedIn: @Linda Anderson

Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez

Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and HopeEpisode Title: Youth-Led Innovation, Environmental Justice, and Hope with Eco Innovate

In this powerful and deeply inspiring episode of Moving Forward, host Linda Anderson sits down with four remarkable high school students — Pooja, Sai, Harshitha, and Lisa — leaders of the youth-powered organization Eco Innovate.

This conversation centers on what becomes possible when young people are trusted to lead.

At the intersection of sustainability, technology, and the arts, Eco Innovate is redefining environmental action through creativity, data, and community connection. Through their Birdboxers Project, these students have implemented more than 15 autonomously monitoring birdboxes across California, collecting 40,000+ real-world climate and wildlife data points to support conservation and research. Through Brushstrokes for the Bay, they have transformed public spaces with youth-designed murals that raise awareness, spark dialogue, and heal climate anxiety through art.

But this episode goes beyond impressive statistics.

It explores identity, belonging, leadership, responsibility, healing, and hope — and what it truly means for young people to see themselves as changemakers in real time.What You’ll Hear in This Episode

Origin Stories & Purpose

• The moment Eco Innovate was born — and why it had to exist

• What draws young people to environmental justice work

• How problem-solving, creativity, and belonging fuel purpose

Impact, Skill & Identity

• The power of knowing your work may influence real scientists

• What youth-led teaching makes possible that adults sometimes miss

• How art helps process and heal climate anxiety

• Staying hopeful in an uncertain future

Community, Trust & Growth

• What it feels like when adults invest financially in youth vision

• Being underestimated — and rising anyway

• The emotional impact of public art and a growing audience

• Discovering personal power through collective action

Healing, Hope & Legacy

• What this work has healed in each of them

• How they imagine their future selves

• The legacy they hope to leave — through data, murals, and movement

Why This Conversation MattersThis episode is a reminder that:

• Innovation has no age requirement

• Identity can be a powerful source of purpose

• Environmental healing starts in classrooms, neighborhoods, code, and canvas

• Hope is not passive — it is something we actively build together

As Linda reflects in the closing, “The future isn’t something we wait for — it’s something we build, teach, paint, code, and believe into being.”

Follow us on:

Instagram: @lluande1

Facebook: @Linda Unrath-Anderson

LinkedIn: @Linda Anderson

Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez

Learning Through Story, Service, and Shared Voice

In this powerful 15th episode of Moving Forward, host Linda Anderson sits down with internationally recognized author, consultant, and thought leader Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., President of CBK Associates.

Cathryn’s work has shaped how educators, leaders, and organizations understand service learning, student voice, and learning through story. In this conversation, she invites us to rethink learning as something deeply human—rooted in relationships, reflection, listening, and purposeful action.

Linda and Cathryn explore how story opens understanding, how service deepens connection, and how learning through service extends far beyond classrooms into communities, public institutions, and the private sector.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• Cathryn’s early professional journey and the experiences that shaped her purpose-driven work

• Why learning is about more than content—and how relationships and real-world issues transform understanding

• How reading helps learners see themselves and others more clearly

• What true listening looks like in collaborative spaces—and why it’s essential for meaningful change

• How teams can move from compliance to collective ownership and shared voice

• The role of story and reflection in turning service into deep, transformative learning

• How service learning empowers individuals across education, public service, and private organizations

• Ways dialogue and reflection create healing and trust within school communities

• Simple, practical ways educators can begin integrating story and service—starting tomorrow

• Cathryn’s hopes for the future of education and learning centered on empathy, collaboration, and purpose

A Key TakeawayLearning is not confined to classrooms. It lives in our stories, our relationships, and our willingness to listen and serve.

As you listen, consider:

• Where might a story open new understanding in your life or work?
  

• Where might service deepen connection?
  

• And whose voice is waiting to be heard?

Listen & SubscribeBe sure to follow Moving Forward and return to previous episodes for more conversations centered on culture, identity, healing, and hope. New episodes drop weekly.

Thank you for being part of this growing community.

Instagram: @lluande1

Facebook: @Linda Unrath-Anderson

LinkedIn: @Linda Anderson

Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez