Annie De Alessi

Born in San Francisco, Annie moved to Bali, Indonesia, when she was eight. There, she attended the Green School (a place made of bamboo, with no walls), where she was fortunate to spend much of her childhood outside. Setting the stage for Annie’s interest in outdoor-centered education, she learned about animal and plant lifecycles, tides, and the underwater ecosystem by gardening, surfing, and scuba diving as part of the school’s curriculum. This connection between learning and the outdoors continued when she moved back to California for high school, highlighted by a backpacking trip that included a three-day solo. Her experience alone in the wilderness furthered her belief in the power of nature to teach, not only content, but also personal and emotional development. Alongside her own schooling, Annie coached sailing for five summers and taught English while studying abroad in Seville, Spain. She is passionate about inspiring a love of learning through hands-on experience and is very excited to spend time exploring place-based learning with students this fall. Annie recently graduated from Tufts University with a BA in History and International Relations, as well as a minor in Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys live music, hiking, cross-wording, skiing, sailing, and eating good food. She completed the John Muir Trail this summer and hopes to section-hike more of the PCT in years to come.