Jacqueline Labate is a veteran educator of over 40 years. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Vermont College of Norwich University, where she focused on Women’s Studies and Education.  She has taught all levels from PK through adults.

After a career of classroom teaching, Jacqueline spent over 20 years as an independent consultant to schools all across the US.  She believes deeply in teaching for understanding and empowerment, and has seen how programs that put problem solving at the heart of inquiry cultivate skills that go far beyond the classroom – giving learners the competence and confidence to meet challenges more effectively. She has collaborated with a number of national organizations, businesses, and leaders in education.

Jacqueline is the founding director of The Growing Peace Project, a peacemaking, social justice, and youth activism educational nonprofit. The organization’s national programs revolve around collaborations between schools across the country, where students create and implement action plans that address issues they care about. Its local programs address food insecurity in Vermont, where Jacqueline runs a free food teaching garden, family gardening and cooking workshops, and Wild and Free, a summer experience for young children revolving around gardening, nature-based activities, and earth stewardship.

When not teaching or working with kids who are saving the world, Jacqueline loves to garden, hang out with her people and pets, practice yoga, and cook big meals for family and friends.

Jacqueline lives in Vermont and acknowledges the following (with guidance from Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe): “We are on land that has served as a site of meeting and exchange among indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and is the home of the Western Abenaki People. We honor, recognize, and respect these peoples as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we gather. In that spirit, we acknowledge that we are guests on this land. We will respect and help protect the lands within our use.”