In this critical year-end period of 2025, we bring you an interactive group conversation with a truly special person with whom I’ve had the honor to collaborate closely all year.
Meet Imène Ghernati, PhD — scientist, educator, nonprofit steward, facilitator, mother. She’s an Algerian French educator in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula who shares thoughtful perspectives in this podcast conversation to help others navigate these times — times with extreme funding challenges and changes.
This podcast conversation is the 💯 first in a series called #ImpactThreads — at the end Imène recommends the next incredible person to talk with — and it will be a global adventure seeing where the in-depth conversations lead in 2026. I will map it geographically and conceptually.
Watch the episode:
Imène’s goal is not just teaching STEAM. She says:
“We’re nurturing the next generation of truth-tellers, change-makers, and nature lovers. Let’s ensure that learning remains a site of joy, play, truth-telling, liberation, and culturally responsible teaching — not silence and othering.”
As a flow funder for Kinship Earth, I was honored to be a sponsor for the STEAM Learning Institute’s field sketching workshop that Imène facilitated for educators last summer — see one visually in a video below.
These are intentional, connected, artistic, and scientific workshops that give educators activities and experiences to bring science to life with their students. The educators repeatedly come back to her sharing how the blend of science, art, and nature is tangibly helping their students learn and grow.
You’ll hear questions from the fantastic group of Q&A audience participants, who are themselves founders and stewards of impact initiatives. You’ll also hear Imène’s reflections and advice about finding donors aligned with your organization and its mission, and deepening relationships with them.
Imène is incredibly inclusive and one thing she excels at is inviting funders to the educator events she creates so they can live it and be connected to the work. What will she inspire you to create?
📝 Get your own copy of the exercise she developed to help organization stewards deepen and lengthen their roots in community relationships — Resource Mobilizers: Deepening Relationships with “What I Have”.
If you are interested in making a big impact with a donation, please give to Imène’s year-end campaign — even a small amount adds up with others and helps to fund scholarships for K-12 teachers who can’t afford the full price of the upcoming workshops on January 7 and 14: https://givebutter.com/STEAMsupport
For an event called “Turn on Your Senses” with talented biologist and science illustrator Sami Chang on June 7, 2026, STEAM Learning Institute is looking for sponsors on nature journaling.
Also:
See Imene’s nonprofit organization, STEAM Learning Institute and use the Contact page to reach out to her: https://www.steamlearninginstitute.com
Watch her video Nature Journaling sponsored with Kinship Earth funding:
Watch her video Beyond Belonging sponsored with Kinship Earth flow funding:
🌟 Enjoy!
— Adriana Dakin, Co-Host, The ImaginePodcast and Co-Facilitator of the ImaginePod Impact Incubator
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