Welcome to TeachKind, the humane-education division of PETA! Our mission is to help schools bring animal rights and compassion into the classroom. We work with hundreds of teachers and school staff across the country to help them incorporate humane education into their lesson plans, start animal-rights clubs, replace animal dissection with humane alternatives, get healthy vegan options in their cafeterias, and more.
We provide schools with free educational materials and even host classroom presentations on many different animal rights issues. Whether you want to get your entire school district to ban field trips to the circus or just want some information on teaching kids about vegan eating, TeachKind is here to answer your questions and provide free resources so that you can make a difference for animals.
We know that educators have the power to plant seeds that can grow into a passion for helping others, so we want to make humane education easy. We hope that with TeachKind, you’ll find what you need to bring animal rights into your school!
Meet Lisbet Chiriboga, M.S. Ed., Our TeachKind Program Manager
Hello! I’m Lisbet Chiriboga, PETA’s TeachKind program manager. I work out of PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the Sam Simon Center. Before joining PETA, I was a teacher in New York City for 12 years. I hold teaching licenses in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) for kindergarten through 12th grade and in elementary education for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, with an additional Bilingual Extension Certificate. I have served on the Executive Board of the United Federation of Teachers’ Humane Education Committee for the past decade. I was also one of the original founders of Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART).
Throughout my teaching career, I’ve incorporated animal issues into classroom lessons. I’ve witnessed reluctant readers become motivated after learning about the plight of animals. I’ve also seen apathetic students with difficult behavior issues become the fiercest protectors of animals. Kids love animals, and we can use this inclination to help them not only learn academic content but also develop compassion.
As a former classroom teacher, I’m well aware of the demands placed on educators as well as their daily stresses. I also know that there are many teachers who understand that bringing animal issues into their classroom has great benefits to animals and children alike. Teachers have so little time these days, and in many cases, so little freedom to include “extra” lessons on anything that isn’t in the mandated curriculum. So I’m here to help you! Our lessons and other resources help you teach academic skills and foster empathy for animals simultaneously.
Here at TeachKind, I create lesson plans, visit schools to conduct teacher workshops and classroom presentations, and correspond with educators who want to make a difference for animals. Don’t hesitate to contact me for help with incorporating animal issues into your curriculum, and please share with us the great lessons that you create on your own.
I look forward to working with you.
Meet Megan Snyder, Our TeachKind Manager
Hello! I’m Megan Snyder, PETA’s TeachKind manager. I work at the Sam Simon Center, PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Before joining PETA, I taught in various public school systems in Virginia for two years. I’m certified to teach English to middle and high school students—although I’ve worked in some capacity with every age group—as well as to students with special needs. I’m an active member of the National Education Association and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. I am also Google for Education–certified and love incorporating technology into my lessons.
My time in the classroom taught me that all students carry with them the beliefs and practices of their families and that if those customs are rooted in ignorance, education is the key to changing them. Since going vegetarian in 2008 and then vegan in 2013, animal activism has been a large part of my personal life. Together, these experiences led me to PETA, where I’m thrilled to be able to combine my love of language, rhetoric, and education with my mission to help end animal suffering.
Here at TeachKind, I strive to make the world a kinder place by helping teachers around the world bring humane education into the classroom. Whether it’s by mailing out coloring books, answering e-mails from teachers and replying to comments on TeachKind’s Facebook page, or writing creative and fun features and lesson plans for the TeachKind website, I hope to be of service to educators, learners, and animals everywhere.
Meet Samantha Crowe, M.A., Our Science Education Manager
Hello! I’m Samantha Crowe, PETA’s science education manager. I work remotely from sunny South Carolina, but you may have seen me at a science teacher conference in your town.
As an undergraduate, I deliberated between majors in modern dance and biology but ultimately decided to study plants and animals—and the rest is history! I earned my undergraduate degree in biology from the College of Charleston and my master’s in biology from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. I began teaching at the college level soon after graduation.
I am a member of the TriBeta National Biological Honor Society, the National Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Association for Science Teacher Education, and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. Before coming to PETA, I worked in the biotech industry developing hematopoietic stem cell expansion and cryogenic media. Microscopy, particularly fluorescence, is my favorite!
In my position at PETA, I help educators replace animal dissection and experiments with comprehensive and interactive software programs. My team and I have helped implement several statewide and district-level dissection-choice policies with software donations to schools all around the world.
As an educator and a parent, I know that animals are not ours to use for education—or for any reason. My passion for animals and humane science is paramount, so I’m thrilled to effect ethical change in science education.
Meet Sally Sanders, M.S., Our Science Education Strategist
Hello! I’m Sally Sanders, PETA’s science education strategist. I work remotely from Tallahassee, Florida. I taught high school chemistry for 20 years before serving as a science curriculum and assessment specialist with the Florida Department of Education and the Wyoming Department of Education. My other work includes providing consultant services to support standards-based science teaching and learning; giving humane education presentations to middle school, high school, and college classes; and teaching Animal Sentience and Impacts of Our Food Choices courses at Florida State University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
My experience growing up on a small farm with cows, pigs, and chickens in rural northern Florida played a significant role in developing my view of animals as fellow sentient beings. I have been vegan since 2009 and have advocated for animal rights all my life. I am certified as a vegan lifestyle coach and educator and received my certification in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. I also serve on the board of the Tallahassee Vegan/Vegetarian Community.
My role at PETA combines my advocacy for animal rights with my background in science education and policy. I provide teachers, school districts, state education agencies, and legislative bodies with support and guidance in developing humane education policies to end animal exploitation in schools, especially in science classes, which often use animals in the curriculum. Children and teenagers have a natural empathy for animals, and it’s very rewarding to help schools promote compassion for all sentient beings by implementing policies that foster and guide that natural empathy to make the world a better place for all of us.
Meet Morgan Apperson, M.S., Our Science Education Coordinator
Hello! I’m Morgan Apperson, PETA’s TeachKind science education coordinator. I work remotely in the beautiful mountains of northern New Mexico. For the past six years, I’ve been a STEM field educator at various institutions, applying effective teaching strategies that engage students. During that time, I also worked in chemical research and earned my M.S. in sustainability. I’m now an active educator at the University of New Mexico and independently lecture on animal issues as a public speaker. With my science background and public communication experience, I coordinate ethical solutions for education curricula that are economically and environmentally sustainable for students and animals.
As a science instructor, I believe that educators are important role models for young people and that the principle of showing kindness to all should be reflected in their work, providing students with the opportunity to exercise compassion in a space where core impressions and ideas are developed. At PETA, I work closely with educators and policymakers, helping them make the transition to ethical practices.
I’ve been vegan for seven years, since the age of 18, when I truly started to understand the magnitude of animal exploitation. By then, I had finished 12 years of standard schooling but was just discovering compassion for animals. It all starts with education, which is why it’s a pleasure to lead a new way of teaching and learning that extends consideration to all sentient beings, both inside and outside the classroom.
Meet Andrew Burton, Our TeachKind Assistant
Hi there! I’m Andrew Burton, PETA’s TeachKind assistant. I work remotely out of Milwaukee. Before joining PETA, I taught instrumental music at a small private school in Kentucky. I regularly worked with children of all ages, ranging from first to 12th grade. I’m Google for Education–certified, and I’m an active member of the National Association for Music Education.
During my first of three years teaching in Kentucky, I decided to go vegan. I hated the feeling I got while eating animal-derived foods, knowing that an animal had suffered for my meal. Eventually, I came to the realization that teaching in the classroom wasn’t the best fit for me. But I’m still passionate about education, and through TeachKind, I’m able to combine that passion with animal advocacy—something that is paramount in my life.
At TeachKind, I communicate with teachers and schools, write lesson plans, and brainstorm ideas for getting more humane education into the classroom. My goal is to help teachers teach and help animals live happy lives.
Meet Kayla Noel, Our TeachKind and PETA Kids Social Media Coordinator
Hello! I’m Kayla Noel, the social media coordinator for TeachKind and PETA Kids. I work remotely from sunny Los Angeles. I grew up with many different types of animals, including cows and chickens, and spending time with them helped me develop some of my core values, such as empathy and respect. Because of these values, I became a member of PETA’s youth division at age 14 and began my animal rights journey.
After graduating from college with a degree in English, I became an educator through Teach For America. During my time with the organization, I committed to teaching in a low-income school district in eastern North Carolina. I wanted to create positive, meaningful change for students, regardless of their circumstances. I believe that all kids have the right to an excellent education, just as I believe that all animals have the right to live free from exploitation.
Here at TeachKind, I combine my passions with my knowledge of education in order to help educators and inspire them to make a difference for animals and students. Whether I’m crafting social media posts, answering e-mails from teachers, replying to comments on TeachKind’s social media channels, or researching the latest and greatest online educational content, my work helps make the world a kinder place for students, educators, and animals!
Meet Julie Everett, Our TeachKind and PETA Kids Correspondence Coordinator
Hi there! I’m Julie Everett, the correspondence coordinator for TeachKind and PETA Kids. I work remotely from the rolling foothills just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Before joining PETA, I taught a personal blend of storytelling, meditation, and restorative yoga for children in preschools, in K–5 public and private schools, and at summer camps. I hold certifications in Radiant Child yoga, Karuna yoga, and mindfulness meditation, and I maintained my E-RYT 500 yoga teacher registration with Yoga Alliance for over 10 years. Additionally, I have worked with students as an atelierista (studio teacher) and helped make the learning process visible by using various artistic representations. Through opportunities to connect with children via the languages of art and yoga, I have seen the extraordinary capacity for kindness, empathy, and compassion that’s naturally within each of us, and I’m continually inspired to help it grow.
I grew up in a family with lots of animal companions, and my parents were known always to be available to take in an animal in need. From an early age, this fostered in me a deep love for all sentient beings and a fierce desire to support and protect those who are taken advantage of or are unable to meet their own needs. After briefly pursuing what I believed would be an idyllic career of caring for goats and making cheese from their milk, I quickly learned through studying the processes involved that there’s nothing compassionate about taking another animal’s milk. I went vegan and never looked back.
The opportunity to combine my love for all animals with the joy I experience when connecting with children is what brought me to TeachKind. I’m here to support teachers, kids, and families as they help end speciesism. I consider it an honor to assist you and your students in building a kinder world together, and I look forward to working with you.
