Mark Stefanski

Background

About Mark Stefanski

Mark began his career as a science teacher in 1986, and he has been teaching science at Marin Academy since 1988. He served as the school’s inaugural H.D. Thoreau Faculty Chair for promoting education for sustainability and interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and he has helped to lead the school's Senior Vision Quest program for the past 21 years. Mark is the co-founder of MA's Conference on Democracy, and he currently is the faculty advisor to the school’s Peace and Justice Club and Mindfulness Group. Collaborating with colleagues outside of MA through the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley, Mark is a Teacher Advisor and Project Advisor for the Understanding Science website, winner of the 2010 Science Prize for Online Resources in Education from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also serves as Teacher Advisor for the award winning Understanding Evolution website. Mark has served as the High School Director for the California Science Teachers Association and he is a member emeritus of the California Teachers Advisory Council (CalTAC), working with educators, industry leaders and policy makers to strengthen science and math education. He is the recipient of the Access Excellence Fellowship, and he has received the Gustav Ohaus Award from the National Science Teachers Association for innovative teaching strategies in high school science. He is an editor of The Nature of Life: Readings in Biology. Mark is a volunteer teacher for the Insight Garden Program at San Quentin State Prison, and he serves as a steward for Rick Hanson's San Rafael Meditation Group. He has served on several local non-profit boards. Mark owes the bulk of his ability to follow his bliss to his wife, Johanna Stefanski, a retired middle school science teacher who now works part-time as a vegan chef and professional organizer. Together, Mark and Johanna live in San Rafael with their garden, two cats, and box turtle Wallace.