Authentic Relationships: Youth, Community & Positive Change (featuring Alice Whitehead)
Welcome to another episode of the Edvolution Podcast! In this episode, we sit down with Alice Whitehead, CEO and founder of Orenda Learning, an organization dedicated to guiding young people to build deeper relationships with themselves and their communities while taking action for positive change.
Alice shares her unique journey as a third-culture kid raised in Singapore, her full-circle return to United World College (UWC) as an educator, and how that deep commitment to peace and sustainability inspired her to launch Orenda Learning and its globally recognized Be The Change program.
We talk about how to move service learning away from performative, one-off events and toward deeply authentic, sustainable partnerships.
- Scaffolding Student Agency: Putting tools directly in students' hands so they can navigate community dynamics and drive real impact.
- The Educator as Facilitator: Using structured, "living workshops" to make leading global citizenship manageable and rewarding for teachers.
- Mindfulness and the Self: Starting community action with self-regulation to ease eco-anxiety and build genuine compassion.
- Long-Term Partnerships: Committing time, budget, and succession planning to sustain deep community relationships over time.
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Stay tuned for upcoming Season 3 episodes covering service learning, sustainability, edible education, and global citizenship!
