Welcome to TeachKind, PETA’s humane education arm! Our mission is to help schools bring animal rights and compassion to classrooms. We work with hundreds of teachers and school staff across the country to help them incorporate humane education into their lesson plans, create animal rights clubs, replace animal anatomy with humane alternatives, get healthy vegan options in their cafeterias, and more.
We provide schools with free educational materials and even give classroom presentations on various animal rights issues. Whether you want an entire school district to ban circus travel, or just want some information about teaching kids vegan nutrition, TeachKind is here to answer your questions and provide free resources so you can make a difference.
We know educators have the power to sow seeds that can grow into a passion for helping others, so we want to make humane education easier. We hope that with TeachKind you will find what you need to bring animal rights into your school!
Meet Lisbeth Chiriboga, MS Ed., TeachKind Program Manager
Hey! I am Lisbeth Chiriboga, program manager for TeachKind PETA. I work at PETA headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia at the Sam Simon Center. Before joining PETA, I was a teacher in New York for 12 years. I have a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) license for kindergarten up to 12 years old.th grade and in primary education from kindergarten to sixth grade with an optional bilingual renewal certificate. I have served on the Executive Board of the Humanitarian Education Committee of the United Federation of Teachers for the past decade. I was also one of the original founders of Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART).
Throughout my teaching career, I have incorporated animal questions into classroom lessons. I have witnessed reluctant readers become motivated after learning about the plight of animals. I have also seen apathetic students with complex behavior problems become violent animal advocates. Children love animals, and we can use this tendency to help them not only internalize learning materials, but also develop compassion.
As a former homeroom teacher, I am well aware of the requirements for teachers as well as their daily stresses. I also know that there are many teachers who understand that talking about animals in their class has tremendous benefits for both animals and children. Teachers have so little time these days, and in many cases there is so little freedom to include “extra” lessons in something that is not part of the required curriculum. So, I’m here to help you! Our lessons and other resources can help you teach academic skills while developing empathy for animals.
Here at TeachKind, I make lesson plans, visit schools to give teacher workshops and classroom presentations, and correspond with educators who want to change the lives of animals. Feel free to contact me for help with incorporating animal questions into your curriculum, and please share with us some great tutorials you create yourself.
I will be glad to work together with you.
Meet Megan Snyder, Assistant Manager of our TeachKind
Hey! I’m Megan Snyder, assistant manager at TeachKind PETA. I work at the Sam Simon Center, PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, VA. Before joining PETA, I taught at various Virginia public schools for two years. I am certified to teach English to middle and high school students (although I have worked to some extent with every age group) and also to students with special needs. I am an active member of the National Educational Association and the International English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta. I am also Google Certified for Education and love to use technology in my lessons.
Time in class taught me that all students carry with them the beliefs and customs of their families and that if these customs are rooted in ignorance, education is the key to changing them. Since becoming a vegetarian in 2008 and then a vegan in 2013, animal activism has become an important part of my personal life. Together, this experience led me to PETA, where I am 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 to the classroom. Whether it’s sending out coloring books, answering emails from teachers and responding to comments on the TeachKind 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 Suiter, MA, Our Science Education Manager
Hey! I’m Samantha Suiter, PETA Science Education Manager. I work remotely from sunny South Carolina, but you may have seen me at a science teachers conference in your city.
As a student, I pondered between majors in modern dance and biology, but ultimately decided to study plants and animals – and the rest is history! I received my BS in Biology from Charleston College and my MS in Biology from the Military College of South Carolina Citadel. I started teaching at college shortly after graduation.
I am a member of the TriBeta National Life Sciences Society of Honor, National Science Teachers Association, National Biology Teachers Association, Science Teacher Training Association, and Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. Prior to joining PETA, I worked in the biotech industry, focusing on hematopoietic stem cell decomposition and cryogenic media. My favorite is microscopy, especially fluorescence!
In my position at PETA, I help educators replace animal anatomy and experimentation with complex interactive programs. My team and I have helped implement several state and district autopsy selection policies by donating software to schools around the world.
As an educator and parent, I know that animals are not ours use for education or for any cause. My passion for animals and the humanities is paramount, so I am thrilled to make an ethical change in science education.
Meet Mary Junking, our TeachKind assistant
Hey! My name is Mary Ashley Youngking and I am a TeachKind Assistant based at the Sam Simon Center, PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, VA. I am
c
urrently in my senior year at Old Dominion University (go ahead monarchs!) And I plan to graduate next year with a degree in communications and a concentration in public relations, advocacy and persuasion. I have worked as a teacher’s assistant in the classroom for several years, and my experience with children and teens motivated me to share humane education with the younger generation. My goal in life is to advocate for the welfare of all animals in new and creative ways to reach many people. I am thrilled to be able to work with local schools to help teachers integrate humane literature and alternative materials into the classroom.