NY Sun Works Welcomes New Board Member Uche Amaechi
October 5, 2023
In the wake of Climate Week NYC, we’re honored to welcome Dr. Uche B Amaechi to the NY Sun Works Board of Directors. Uche brings extensive experience working with nonprofits in the world of education and has an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cultures, Community, and Education, as well as an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Technology, Innovation, and Education, an MBA from the University of Phoenix online, and a BA in Biology from Harvard College. Uche currently serves as a Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), with a focus on helping education-focused nonprofits effectively scale for impact. Beyond Harvard, he also works in the Cambridge Public Schools on school leadership, collaboration, and previously served for eight years in roles directing out-of-school programming in Cambridge.
“I’m inspired by NY Sun Works’ commitment to providing high-quality education where it’s most needed, in service of inspiring future generations of innovators to create and contribute to solutions to our global climate challenges.” Said Uche about joining the NY Sun Works Board. “I’m excited to join the capable and passionate team, board, and staff members in furthering this most important and urgent work.”
By incorporating Uche’s expertise in the world of education nonprofits into our Board of Directors, we hope to effectively and sustainably scale our organization to meet the needs of our growing community and to bring climate change education to more students at a pace that is commensurate with the need. With over 100 new Hydroponic Classrooms in schools this year alone, it’s critical that we continue delivering the in-depth and comprehensive support a program like ours needs to thrive. As a mission-focused organization, our work is naturally resource-limited, making the effective use and application of our resources tantamount to achieving our mission. We envision a world where every New York City public school – and beyond – includes opportunities for students to learn about the health of our planet and their role in preserving it in a way that captures their attention, forms long-term habits, and builds the awareness necessary to create climate-conscious New Yorkers. Every child deserves a sustainable future, and Uche’s insights in this realm will be instrumental in making our vision a reality.
While serving on the board of Community Charter Schools of Cambridge, City Sprouts, and Farrington Nature Linc, Uche also worked to target low-income and minority populations, which aligns with our focus on working with underserved communities and schools. From Brooklyn to the Bronx, communities of color are often on the front lines of climate change, facing the effects first and most severely while being excluded from major environmental resiliency efforts. Making climate education happen for schools with profoundly limited opportunities isn’t an easy task, but now more than ever, we believe it is an achievable one. Only through intentional acts of transformative change can we solve the systemic inequity that has loomed over sustainability efforts and its educational awareness in recent years. Teachers and students have made their voices heard: The thirst for knowledge is there, and it’s up to us to imagine, build, and be the change we want – and need – to see in NYC and beyond.
