Tom deWit

tom@teachearthaction.org

Tom deWit is a co-lead at Teach Earth Action (TEA). In addition to his work for TEA, Tom has been a classroom teacher for over three decades. He is a founder and currently an elder in the statewide Umoja Community which works with over seventy community colleges and the UC system. He has also had the great fortune of teaching in the Chabot College Umoja Program, formerly known as the Daraja Project, for thirty years. Tom performed many roles in the Umoja Community, including Co-Director, Regional Coordinator, Trainer, and Volunteer. 

Tom has been involved in many projects and initiatives, some of which include: the RISE Program for formerly incarcerated students; the Faculty Inquiry Network, a Hewlett supported project that worked with twenty colleges over several years, Co-Director of Acceleration in Context which supported faculty and their colleges to reimagine their Developmental Education programs so students could reach their transfer goals, and the Chabot Climate Action Workgroup, focused on bringing the existential Climate Justice crisis into the center of curriculum and college goals. 

Besides providing professional development across the state and country to many faculty and staff, Tom has supported many college teams and administrators to start Umoja, Equity, and revamped Developmental Education programs and initiatives on their campuses. Tom has presented at numerous conferences, convenings, including on several occasions before the California Community College Board of Governors. He is especially proud of the many occasions where he supported student teams in presentations and initiatives that had great impact, including recently, a team at Chabot that started a Black Cultural Resource Center. He is also Chief Negotiator of Chabot-Las Positas Faculty Association.