Our Team - Green Schools National Network

Board of Directors

The GSNN Board of Directors represents leadership in public education from elementary through university, environmental education and healthy schools experts along with green student activists groups.

Executive Officers

Jennifer Seydel, PhD.

Executive Director, Green Schools National Network

Jennifer Seydel brings more than 40 years of experience preparing youth for success in an ever-changing world to her role as Executive Director of Green Schools National Network (GSNN). Jenny has taught at grade levels from kindergarten to graduate school, worked in public schools and nonprofits, has been involved with starting numerous public charter schools, has extensive experience with at-risk children, and has worked with educators across the country and eastern Asia. Prior to her role with GSNN, she was a school designer with Expeditionary Learning for twelve years, providing school coaching, leadership development, and curriculum design support to schools nationwide. She was the lead author of one of the first integrated curriculum modules that combines Common Core State Standards in ELA with Next Generation Science Standards.

Geoff Deigan, President

Executive Director, Prairie Crossing Charter School

Geoff Deigan is Executive Director of the highly acclaimed, award-winning Prairie Crossing Charter School, an environmentally-centered public school in Grayslake, Illinois. In 1997, Geoff founded and serves as President and CEO of WRD Environmental, an ecological consulting firm. Well-versed in sustainable development, Geoff has led a variety of large-scale environmental projects, job training programs, and community-engagement initiatives focused on environmental best practices. Geoff’s extensive board experience includes service for land conservation organizations, public libraries, and charter schools. He has spoken at numerous national conferences on environmental education, sustainable land use, green infrastructure and more.

Luseni Pieh, Vice President

Head of Policy, Chewie Labs

Luseni (Lou) Pieh is an attorney, strategist, and policy professional who is currently working on organic waste policies and the implications for communities. Previously, he held roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors working primarily on environmental and sustainability issues. Most recently Lou served as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris Transition and before that held senior roles in the Obama Administration in the U.S. EPA and White House.

Lou has a B.A. from Michigan State University, a J.D. from Indiana University-Bloomington, and an LL.M in Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy from the University of Denver.

Alison Suffet Diaz, Secretary

Founder & Director of Growth & Sustainability, Environmental Charter Schools

Alison Suffet Diaz is Founder and Director of Growth and Sustainability of Environmental Charter Schools, Lawndale, CA. In her current role, Alison focuses on school growth; manages mission-aligned green school facilities development, management, and operations; spearheads sustainability initiatives; liaises with national and local green school partners; and oversees development, partnerships, and advocacy. Alison earned her teaching credential from Cal State Dominguez Hills, B.S. in Business from State University of New York, Albany and Juris Doctorate from Temple University Law School.

Diana Cournoyer, Treasurer

Executive Director for the National Indian Education Association (NIEA)

Diana has been a key driver in expanding NIEA’s work beyond the U.S. Capitol to communities across Indian Country. She has shaped broader teacher hiring initiatives, created more opportunities for visits to tribal communities, acquired millions in grant funding for NIEA, testified before Congress in support of Native education, and inspired professional trust and collaboration among staff, colleagues, organizations, and Native nations across the country. Her work has ensured that Native students have the best possible outcomes and educators have the best possible resources to support their efforts.

Board Members

Danielle Allen

Managing Director at Centered Advising

Danielle M. Allen serves as a trusted advisor, strategist, and coach to decision makers and collectives in education and philanthropy. She has supported the distribution of more than $250M and the launch of a dozen organizations across the country. Previously, Danielle was the Managing Partner at Building Impact for seven years. She also worked at Mass Insight Education and NewSchools Venture Fund. Danielle holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and an MBA from Stanford GSB. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Economics from UNC-Chapel Hill. Danielle is a member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLOC), a 21/64 Certified Advisor, and a CaPP Institute Certified Coach.

William D. Almond, FASLA, CLARB

President, Principal Landscape Architect, WPL

William D. Almond, FASLA, CLARB is a licensed Landscape Architect with 41 years’ experience on a wide range of residential, commercial, municipal, military, and institutional projects. Prior to establishing the landscape architectural division at WPL, Mr. Almond was Senior Associate at the Norfolk based architectural firm of Shriver and Holland Associates for over 21 years. He has extensive ties to his local community, serving on city council appointed boards and commissions and local neighborhood civic leagues. Mr. Almond received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture with Distinction degree from Virginia Tech in 1978.

Bridgitte Alomes

Founder and CEO, Natural Pod

Bridgitte Alomes, CEO of Natural Pod, is a thought leader dedicated to better environments for play, learning and collaboration using sustainable furniture. In her work with Natural Pod, she has helped create over 10,000 learning environments throughout the world. She’s engaged over 40,000 educators through her workshops and presentations and has been dedicated to creating play-based pedagogy and sharing the importance of the learning environment design. Bridgitte also serves as President on the board of the Green Schools National Network, creating broad-based initiatives and successful strategies aimed at fostering healthy, sustainable K-12 schools across the United States.

Timothy Baird

Superintendent of Encinitas Union School District, Retired

Dr. Timothy Baird recently retired as superintendent of Encinitas Union School District (EUSD). His retirement caps 10 years of service to EUSD, 16 years of service as a superintendent, and 39 years of service as a public educator. During Dr. Baird’s tenure at EUSD, the district was recognized as a 2014 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School District and won recognition for its innovative use of technology, being one of the first districts in the nation with a one-to-one iPad program starting in 2011. EUSD also received state and national awards for developing learner personalized teaching practices and for its focus on teaching to the whole child. Since retiring, Dr. Baird has remained active as a writer, presenter, and educational leadership consultant. He is a frequent presenter at environmental, technology, and curricular conferences.

Adam Bienenstock

Founder and Principal Designer of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds Inc.

Adam is an internationally acclaimed designer, builder, and researcher of nature-based play spaces and the founder of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. Adam has traveled globally to advocate for children’s rights to nature play and to collaborate on the creation of spectacular natural parks and playgrounds.

His resume in the natural playground industry is unparalleled; highlights include creating campuses, trainings, working on projects for the US Army, Parks Canada, and Australia, and city projects for Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary, New York, Austin, Denver, Chicago, and Miami.

Caroline Hill

Founder, 228 Accelerator

Caroline Hill is a thought leader who lives, works, and designs at the intersection of education, innovation, and equity. Her work inspired the creation of equityXdesign, a design framework that merges the values of equity work and innovation with the intentionality of design. Her latest venture, 228 Accelerator, catalyzes the redesign of relationships that normalize mistreatment and oppression, builds bridges between the powerful and the powerless, and accelerates our journey to a more inclusive society.

Caroline’s work is rooted in more than 20 years of experience in public education, education innovation, management consulting, and engineering. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, a Master of Education in Learning and Teaching from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an M.S. in Administration through New Leaders for New Schools, a principal training fellowship.

Kate Mraw

Principal, and Director of K-12 at LPA Design Studio

Kate Mraw is a national leader in educational research, sustainable school design and the development of learning environments to support the whole student. Since joining LPA in 2004, she has led the design efforts on many of LPA’s most innovative and award-winning projects, focusing on a collaborative, research-driven process, and innovative strategies for developing more efficient, effective learning environments. Her experience covers a wide range of schools, with extensive work in master planning, early childhood learning, strategic planning, activating outdoor learning environments and career technology.

Jennifer Tabola

Acting Director, Global Climate Strategy, The Nature Conservancy

Jennifer is an expert global climate and conservation program director and strategist. She currently serves as a Global Strategy Lead supporting the mobilization and implementation of the Mangrove Breakthrough, uniting non-state actors and governments to collectively restore and protect mangroves at the scale needed to secure the future of these vital coastal forests. Most recently, Jennifer served in executive leadership roles for Climate Leadership Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, and the “Climate for Health” program at ecoAmerica. Her early career includes roles in strategy, program, and partnerships with the National Environmental Education Foundation and in the federal government launching the National Civilian Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps.