Allison Cohen is an Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Philosophy teacher at Langley High School in McLean, VA. She also teaches AP Capstone Seminar and Research classes. Allison is dedicated to bringing quality philosophy curricula to high schools across the nation and expanding opportunities for students to engage in philosophical questioning and reasoning. She also serves on the board for Street Law, a national nonprofit committed to preserving and enhancing civics education in our schools. 
Allison's resume

Ryan Jung is a junior at Harvard University studying Social Studies and Philosophy with a minor in Educational Studies and serves as the Graduate/Undergraduate Consortium Chair. His experience with bringing philosophical inquiry into K-12 classrooms began as a high school student when he designed its introductory philosophy course. His academic interests lie in the intersection of philosophy of education and political theory, particularly the role of educational institutions in improving democracy. At Harvard, he is an Undergraduate Fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics, leads a volunteer civic education organization, and works with faculty and university leadership to influence curriculum changes at the College. In his free time, you can find Ryan powerlifting and trying new coffee shops in Cambridge.

Alexandra Chang is a middle school English teacher in Michigan. Previously, she taught for four years in Boston Public Schools. Alex studied philosophy and education at Carleton College, where she first began teaching philosophy in local schools. As a teacher, Alex continues to develop philosophy lesson plans for middle school students, as well as consider the intersection between philosophy, social-emotional learning, and restorative practices. Most recently, Alex has collaborated with A2Ethics in Ann Arbor to develop a workshop for local teachers interested in expanding the use of philosophy in their core classes.

Erica Bigelow is a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington whose work focuses on emotions, disability, and emerging technologies. She is also a communications research assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. Through PLATO, Erica has facilitated philosophical conversations with students ranging from elementary school to high school, and she has taught a course on P4C at the University of Washington. PLATO has given her the ability to stoke the curiosity of older pre-college students, who often get overlooked in conversations about philosophy for children.

Jana Mohr Lone is PLATO's Executive Director and for many years was the Director of the University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children, before its 2022 merger with PLATO. She holds affiliate faculty appointments in philosophy at the University of Washington and the University of Maine, and is the author of the books Seen and Not Heard (2021) and The Philosophical Child (2012); co-author of Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools (2016); co-editor of Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People (2012); author of many articles about philosophy with young people; and author of a series of six picture books, What Would You Do? (2024), about moral issues facing children. Jana has been leading philosophy sessions with students from preschool to graduate school for more than 25 years. She has a Ph.D. in philosophy and a J.D. She lives in Camden, Maine.
https://phil.washington.edu/people/jana-mohr-lone/
https://umaine.edu/philosophy/people/jana-mohr-lone/  

Karen S. Emmerman has been working in philosophy for children since 2009. She has been the Philosopher-in-Residence at John Muir Elementary School since 2013, has taught numerous teacher trainings, and oversees PLATO’s Philosopher-in-Residence and Gerler Fellowship programs. Karen is an Affiliate Instructor in the philosophy department at the University of Washington and writes in ecofeminism, animal ethics, and philosophy for children as well as serving as senior associate editor of the journal Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice. Her book, Defending Animals, Disappointing People is forthcoming from Bloomsbury. 
karensemmerman.com

Mina is a senior at Oakwood Friends School in the Hudson Valley, NY. She grew up in London and moved to the US for high school. She became interested in philosophy through both ethics and philosophy classes at school as well as participating in Ethics Bowl. Her main area of interest is the integration of philosophy and ethics in social policy.

Mitchell Conway is a Facilitator at Cottonwood Agile Learning Center, a Community Philosopher at Merlin CCC, and a Philosophy Instructor at Carroll College. He is a student of philosophy, a theater maker, and a teacher who cares ardently about empowering young learners; his work often interweaves education, story, and inquiry. He has a Masters degree in Philosophy & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and he trained at the Institute for the Advanced of Philosophy for Children. In addition to serving on the Academic Advisory Committee for PLATO, he is also on the Editorial Board for the journal Questions.  

Melissa Diamond is a Ph.D. student in the University of Washington College of Education’s Social and Cultural Foundations program. She graduated from UW with a B.A. in philosophy and a B.S. in computer science in 2020 and earned an M.Ed. in Social and Cultural Foundations in 2023, also from UW. Her research is in the philosophy of education, with a focus on the ethics of education in the context of the global climate crisis. She also served as a Graduate Fellow with PLATO from 2021-2023. In her free time, Melissa loves to cook and bake, backpack, and dabble in various arts and crafts projects.

Ariel Sykes is the Director of Mindbridge Education. She has worked in the philosophy for children community for 17 years and specializes in dialogic teaching strategies, argumentation, and ethics instruction. She received her B.A from Mount Holyoke College and her M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in the field of Philosophy and Education. Ariel is the co-founder of the New York City High School Ethics Bowl and an endorsed practitioner of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.

Kevin Zhang (he/him) is a senior at BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour. He is the 2024 Grand Prize and Philosophy First Prize winner of the John Locke Global Essay Prize. Kevin has authored The Dialectic of Equality, published in the Pioneer Research Journal, graduated from the Research Mentorship Program, and founded his school’s Philosophy Club. He serves on the editorial boards of Questions, Philosopher’s Compass, and Zeitgeist, and is an editorial associate of Penguin Random House SEA. He is chiefly interested in contemporary analytic metaphysics, particularly the metaphysics of science.

Laurie Grady has been teaching for over 20 years in the Philadelphia area and has been teaching at Haverford Senior High School in Havertown, PA since 2004. Some of the courses she teaches are Advanced Placement Language and Composition, English Language Arts, and electives such as Shakespeare, Creative Writing, and Literature & Philosophy. She is committed to the inclusion of critical and philosophical thinking and communication in all her courses. Laurie has served in leadership roles for both students and colleagues, most recently as a sponsor for her school's nationally winning HI-Q team and as chairperson on the Faculty Advisory Committee. She is passionate about communicating the potential of philosophical inquiry to other teachers and dedicated to exploring practical ways to expand P4C to more schools and homes. 
LinkedIn profile

Melissa Diamond is a Ph.D. student in the University of Washington College of Education’s Social and Cultural Foundations program. She graduated from UW with a B.A. in philosophy and a B.S. in computer science in 2020 and earned an M.Ed. in Social and Cultural Foundations in 2023, also from UW. Her research is in the philosophy of education, with a focus on the ethics of education in the context of the global climate crisis. She also served as a Graduate Fellow with PLATO from 2021-2023. In her free time, Melissa loves to cook and bake, backpack, and dabble in various arts and crafts projects.

Kate Given is an undergraduate philosophy student at Columbia University in the City of New York. She began her work with PLATO as a social media intern in 2022 and has since furthered her involvement as a member of the staff, the student advisory council, and the graduate/undergraduate consortium. She was named a finalist in the 2023 American Philosophy Open and received the Girl Scout Gold Award for her work with Southern California school districts to create and implement hands-on, arts-based philosophy curriculum in local elementary school classrooms. She has also been published in PLATO’s pre-college philosophy journal, Questions: Philosophy for Young People, and continues to pursue her love of philosophical writing and inquiry at the collegiate level.

Marisa Diaz-Waian chairs the PLATO Education Committee. She is the founder and director of Merlin CCC – a public philosophy non-profit in Helena, MT. A community philosopher and generalist by nature, training, and practice, Marisa happily hangs her hat at Merlin Nature Preserve where she lives and serves as its trustee and steward. She has a special interest in ethics, ancient philosophy, existentialism, humor, and “fuzzy” topics at the intersection of philosophy and psychology. Her work focuses on philosophy in the community, frequently with an interdisciplinary, environmental, and intergenerational bent.  

Seoyoung is a student at Saint Paul Preparatory Seoul in South Korea. Her interests lie in the fields of philosophy, history, and the sciences (except for physics). At school, she leads the TEDTalk club as president and plays basketball with her friends.

Zoë Henry is a sophomore at SUNY New Paltz. As a member of PLATO’s Student Advisory Council, she participated in the organisation of and served as a panelist on the 2023 Webinar “The Splendor of Gender.” She served on the Student Advisory Council from 2022-2024. She currently serves on the PLATO Graduate/Undergraduate Consortium. Along with learning philosophy, Zoë is an avid writer, reader, language learner, low-effort backyard gardener, and armchair local/environmental historian.

Gayathri Kaimal is a second-year student at the University of Chicago. She joined PLATO’s Student Advisory Council in 2021 and served as a panelist on the 2023 webinar "Gen Z Perspectives on Technology and Privacy." Currently, Gayathri is a member of the PLATO Graduate/Undergraduate Consortium. In her free time, she enjoys reading, studying ancient languages, and playing every single NYTimes game.

Sarthak Dhole (he/him) is a junior at Jayshree Periwal International School in Jaipur, India. He is a firm believer in the ultimately rhizomatic nature of knowledge and loves to explore how philosophy threads through physics, ecology, language, and pop culture. Having experienced the power of insightful and convivial conversations during the International Philosophy Olympiads, he co-founded Philosium to help make such philosophical inquiry and dialogue more accessible worldwide. Aside from this, and strangely enough, he enjoys fighting over physics (see: IYPT physics fights).

Lori Morrison is a seasoned nonprofit and education professional with over 20 years of experience in both higher education and high school settings. She is passionate about the evolving landscape of education and advocates for the integration of philosophy-driven critical thinking skills. Lori has held roles in fundraising development and marketing with community-focused organizations like the American Cancer Society and faith-based institutions, including universities and missions organizations. She and her family embrace a unique lifestyle in Southern California, living in the Angeles National Forest, where her husband of 23 years serves as a Maintenance Manager at an overnight camp. Lori enjoys spending quality time with her husband, two children, and their yellow lab, Tilly.

Isla is a junior at Ransom Everglades School in Miami, Florida. Passionate about ethics, epistemology, and existentialism, she founded her school’s first philosophy club, and is creating an ethics bowl team this year. Outside of philosophy, Isla writes poetry. In her writing, she enjoys exploring questions such as, “What do we owe others?” and “To what degree can god and rationalism coexist?” In addition to Miami, she considers New York and Australia her home.

Mary Drayer has been a high school social studies teacher since 1993, promoting student agency and fostering academic and emotional growth in the classroom. She began her career at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City and is now an elective social studies teacher in Long Island. She teaches self-developed courses in Introduction to Debate and Introduction to Philosophy, along with AP Research. Throughout her career, she has coached Mock Trial, Ethics Bowl, and Debate teams. Recently, she expanded her involvement in the K-12 P4C community through PLATO’s professional development courses and organizing the Long Island Ethics Bowl.

Aaron Yarmel is the Associate Director of the Center for Ethics and Human Values at The Ohio State University, where his research interests include philosophy for children, social change, and two-level utilitarianism. In addition to overseeing all CEHV programs, Aaron leads its efforts on dialogue facilitation and skill building, outreach, and the ETHOS Fellows program. He is also the Founding Director of Philosophy Counseling and Consulting, an organization that offers philosophical counseling. He has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Outside his academic work, Aaron has been an animal rights activist and a vegan since 2011. 
LinkedIn profile

Luciano is a student at Nova High School in Seattle Washington. He has coached and competed in the ethics bowl, and has also studied philosophy at St. John's College where he discovered his love of philosophy and international relations. These two passions have led him to volunteer as an ambassador for international students coming to Seattle, and also as a Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellow as he hopes to explore philosophy further developing civic based projects with international students.

Paul Castles is a passionate supporter of the humanities and education alongside arts and technology. His work history in mission-driven non-profits includes Girls Who Code as a member of the Program Operations team, coordination of the development of digital learning applications for UNICEF Disabilities, and operations and administration for Weill Cornell Medicine. He is a graduate of New York University and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has received fellowships and residencies from the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, NYU Centre for Ballet and the Arts, Yaddo, and UKARIA.

Cassie Finley is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Iowa. She is the director of the Iowa Lyceum, a free precollege philosophy summer program run by University of Iowa graduate students. She has published on the Iowa Lyceum and graduate student education, and has current projects in public and precollege philosophy in the works. She also developed (with Jen Foster, USC) the free public philosophy workshop series, “Cogtweeto.” Her research interests include virtue education, metaphilosophy, social epistemology, ancient Greek philosophy, and philosophy of technology.

Carol Brumer Gliksman has an MSW from Indiana University and has worked with nonprofit organizations and higher education in fundraising/leadership development. She has also worked with schools of social work at the University of Illinois (Champaign), Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland) and Loyola University (Chicago). During the pandemic she served as the Chaplaincy Coordinator for JCFS in Skokie, Illinois, and most recently was the Volunteer Manager for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Originally from South Bend, Indiana, prior to coming to Atlanta to be with her partner, Richard, in 2022, she lived most of her life in several Midwest communities. In her spare time, Carol loves reading what she calls cookbook memoir, delving into contemporary issues, traveling everywhere, and walking through cultivated gardens.

Lee is lawyer and business executive who has spent nearly thirty years managing legal, finance, and operations functions across multiple technology businesses.  He believes strongly in the combined power of critical thinking skills coupled with a curiosity mindset, and the importance of nurturing each in young people.  In his spare time, in addition to philanthropic activities, he is an enthusiastic cook, cyclist, traveler, and reader.

Peter Fristedt served for twelve years at the National Endowment for the Humanities, first as a Senior Program Officer and most recently as the Assistant Director of Public Programs. In these roles he helped run grant programs supporting museum exhibitions, documentary films, podcasts, digital experiences, and public discussions. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Stony Brook University, and has taught at institutions including Hofstra University and Towson University. He has published research on the philosophy of language, moral philosophy, and the philosophy of history in journals including Philosophy and Social Criticism and European Journal of Philosophy.

Chris Freiler taught for 35 years at Morgan Park Academy and Hinsdale Central High school, primarily AP European History and Philosophy Honors. He also served in many capacities with the College Board in content development and test construction and assessment. Chris authored three editions of the Achiever AP review guide for European History, as well as the recently published with Steve Heller Crosscurrent: Aristotle’s Common Topics Meet the AP History Courses (both from Sherpa Publishing). Chris earned his M.A. in philosophy at NIU in DeKalb, IL, after having earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and M.A. from University of Virginia.

Kate Goldyn was for many years the outreach coordinator for the University of Washington Department of Philosophy and for the former UW Center for Philosophy for Children before its merger with PLATO in 2022. She enjoys sharing with others the importance of philosophy and how relevant it is to everything we do. She makes sure to take time to wonder with her three children and ask why questions

Pranish is a high school student in Nepal. He is passionate about philosophy including the New Thought and ancient philosophy from Greece and India. He is engaged in sports, loves hiking, and his further interests including reading books and poetry and learning about history, politics, and economics.

Sai Kuppili is a junior at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Neuroscience, Systems Biology, and Philosophy. His interest in ethics began while working at Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics studying policymaking surrounding psychiatric health and unhoused populations. His current interests in ethics are in clinical and community ethics, and he is working to establish community bioethics forums to integrate local voices in hospital decision making. Outside of ethics, Sai has research interests in neurodegeneration, spinal cord injury, and computer vision.

Dan Fouts has been high school social studies teacher since 1993 in the Chicagoland area, teaching US history, AP government, American studies and, most recently, a philosophy elective which he designed in 2011. Outside of the classroom, he has presented extensively at the state and national level on inquiry-based instruction techniques, in addition to working with PLATO and the American Philosophical Association to bring philosophy into K-12 classrooms in the United States. He is a co-founder of Teach Different, a professional development organization which helps teachers and students master the art and science of classroom conversations using a simple protocol which combines quotes, claims, counterclaims and essential questions.

Gopika is a sophomore at Wilton High School, Wilton CT. She is passionate about philosophy, and enjoys connecting this passion with her interests in history and classics. In school, she studies both ancient Greek and Latin, and participates in her school’s debate and mock trial clubs. In her free time, she loves to play the cello, sing, and read.

Rania Lwin Karim lives in London, and attends the Westminster school. She enjoys reading Latin and Greek texts, and is particularity interested in the intersection between classical philosophy and modern philosophy. She regularly gives talks at societies at school such as one recently exploring Derrida’s deconstruction theory in relation to Homer and colonialism. She is also interested in post-colonial thinkers such as Giyatri Spivak.

Sara Goering is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Washington, Seattle. She has worked with young people from Kindergarten through high school, in weekly philosophy discussions in school, all-day philosophy classes through outreach programs, philosophy summer camps, and middle and high school ethics bowls.

Steve Goldberg has taught philosophy and history over the past forty years in high school, college, and adult education settings. He has a doctorate in philosophy and has written two books as well as articles and essays in journals and magazines. Goldberg is a former member of PLATO's Board of Directors.

Yunah Kwon is an undergraduate sophomore at Columbia University studying philosophy with a minor in physics and music performance on a pre-law track. She is interested in aesthetics, intellectual property, and quantum mechanics. In her free time, she enjoys visiting new art exhibits in NYC and playing the oboe

Ondine Goedhuis is a senior at the Brearley School in New York. She is especially interested in the intersection of philosophy, science, and technology, specifically the confluence of bioethics, equity, and policy. Ondine aspires to make philosophy broadly accessible to younger students, and is currently designing an interdisciplinary philosophy curriculum with an emphasis on bridging Western and Eastern philosophical thought. Ondine also enjoys being a part of her school’s a capella group, running, and writing poetry.

Karis is a rising junior at Legacy Magnet Academy in Southern California. Her philosophical pursuits began as a collegiate debater and student at her local universities. Existentialism, Hellenistic era literature, and metaphysics are a few facets of philosophy she is passionate about.

Bob Gordon has years of experience dealing with legal and financial matters as a tax and corporate lawyer. While majoring in philosophy as an undergraduate, he developed a boundless intellectual curiosity and a passion for critical thinking that was essential to his success initially in educational publishing and then in law. In his spare time, he is engaged with several nonprofit, charitable, and community organizations and reads obsessively.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmgordon

Andrew Liu is a high schooler at Phillips Andover originally from New Jersey. Andrew first learned philosophy from some books at his public library, and since then he has loved moral and political philosophy. At school he participates in ethics bowl, and out of school he works to teach philosophy to senior citizens. Away from philosophy, Andrew loves rowing and running, and he is also a passionate hockey fan. 

Grey is a rising college freshman at the University of Virginia pursuing a Philosophy and Neuroscience double-major. As a graduate of Stanford Online High School, Grey was introduced to philosophy from middle school onwards and experienced first-hand the benefits of precollegiate philosophy. Grey has recently pursued further education through Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, applying philosophy and ethics to real-world applications. She is particularly interested in cognitive philosophy, neuroethics, and theories of self.

Justin Jho is a junior at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He leads his school’s Philosophy Club and is the founder and captain of his school’s Ethics Bowl team. Having taken university coursework in philosophy, Justin is particularly interested in moral philosophy, normative ethics and applied ethics. This is his second year serving on PLATO’s Student Advisory Council.

Chaeyeon is a philosophy Ph.D. candidate at the University of Iowa with research interests in social ontology, metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy for children. She organized and taught at Ewha Saturday Philosophy Class, a Philosophy for Children program in South Korea, and currently serves as the director of the Iowa Lyceum, a pre-college summer philosophy program.

Claire Katz is Professor and Associate Provost for Faculty Advocacy at Texas A&M University. She conducts research and teaches courses in two primary areas: 1. at the intersection of philosophy, education, gender, and Jewish studies and 2. K-12 philosophy.  She was named a Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence and a Piper Professor in the state of Texas. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, a national teaching award presented by Baylor University. She is the author of three monographs and six edited collections, including Growing Up with Philosophy Camp: How Learning to Think Develops Friendship, Community, and a Sense of Self (R&L, 2020) and Philosophy Camps for Youth (R&L 2021). She founded and now co-directs P4C Texas and the Aggie School of Athens Philosophy Summer Camp for Teens.

Hanan Rimawi is a medical student at Stanford pursuing a concentration in bioethics and the medical humanities. Previously, she earned bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and public health, then worked in English education before rediscovering her love for medicine. Her self-directed engagement with philosophy has enriched her life, seeding a passion for making philosophy more accessible.

Ashley Cheffer-Kalis works in Growth Science and Predictive Analytics for PepsiCo where she applies a scientific and evidence based approach for identifying growth opportunities within the business as well as across food and beverage categories. She holds a degree in Public Relations and Psychology, as well as an Executive Education Leadership Certification from MIT Sloan School of Management and CSAIL Computer Science in Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy.

Ashley is passionate about Philosophy and Philanthropy and making sure each individual has a safe space to explore life’s questions and to feed one’s curiosity. She is looking forwarding to lighting this spark for philosophy with children and adults of all ages.

Erik Kenyon, a classicist with a specialty in ancient philosophical dialogue, is author of Augustine and the Dialogue (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and co-author of Ethics for the Very Young (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). He taught for eight years at Rollins College. Since 2020, he has taught middle-school Latin and Humanities at Friends Academy, Dartmouth, MA, where he is helping integrate ethical reasoning into the curriculum. Erik serves on the board of the National Middle School Ethics Bowl. He is currently translating a collection of Greek and Latin philosophical texts for young readers.

Roberta Israeloff has directed the Squire Family Foundation since its inception in 2007. The Foundation advocates for the inclusion of philosophy in elementary and secondary schools, and co-founded both PLATO and the National High School Ethics Bowl. She co-edited Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People, and is on the editorial board of Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice. In her thirty-five-year writing career, she has published numerous essays, short stories, book reviews, and books including, mostly recently, The Ethics Bowl Way: Answering Questions, Questioning Answers, and Creating Ethical Communities, co-edited with Karen Mizell.
Roberta's resume

Miller Ming (he/him/his) is a high-school senior at Northfield Mount Hermon, interested in Comparative Philosophy, Information Science, and the Philosophy of Disabilities. As the founder of his school's Philosophy Club, he organized the 1st Interscholastic Philosophy Conference in New England. His social works include revising the Dewey Decimal System's #100 section (Philosophy) to combat Eurocentrism and tackling the misuse of clinical language around autism using digital humanities. With published work on the Philosophy of Language and active involvement in applied philosophy, Miller aspires to be a philosopher who not only thinks but also acts. Outside of philosophy, Miller is also a passionate poet, editor, frisbee player, and charity worker.

Rahsaan is a rising junior and a member of his school's philosophy club. He is particularly interested in Machiavelli, Sophocles, and Marcus Aurelius. He enjoys asking challenging questions, discussing complex ideas, and contributing to thoughtful dialogue.

Richa Shukla is a freshman at Columbia University studying Physics and Philosophy and serves on the Graduate/Undergraduate Consortium. Her experience with bringing philosophy into K-12 classrooms began as a high school student when she gave talks for the PLATO Student Advisory Council. Her interests are in the intersection of philosophy of science and metaphysics. In her free time, you can find Richa reading and playing the drums in New York City.

Rhea Narayanan is a rising senior at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY, with a deep interest in philosophy, ethics, and social justice. She’s especially drawn to questions about morality, identity, and the role of government, which she explores through academic research and writing. Rhea is the founder of Hyper Local Edu, a project that designs ESL resources grounded in community knowledge, and she serves as president of her school’s BIPOC Student Union. She also volunteers at the White Plains Youth Court, where she advocates for empathy-based approaches to justice. In her free time, Rhea enjoys dancing, traveling, listening to music, and watching sunrises.

Scott MacLeod attributes his success as an advertising executive, nonprofit manager, and educator to his early training in philosophy. He served as Senior Vice President for global advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson and Development Director for Breakthrough Collaborative, a national education nonprofit. After a successful bout with cancer, Scott pursued his lifelong passion for education as an award-winning teacher at a public high school, where he taught AP Language & Composition, Journalism and coached the Ethics Bowl team. When not pondering the great questions of life, Scott can be found mountain biking, snowboarding or playing guitar and bass in a rock band called The Role Models. Scott earned an AB cum laude in Philosophy from Harvard University and an MAT from University of San Francisco, where his master’s thesis was titled “Philosophical Inquiry in the High School English Classroom.”

LinkedIn profile

Colin Pierce has been an educator for 14 years and is a passionate advocate for equity in education and elevating youth voice and agency in the matters most important to them. He taught at Rainier Beach High School in south Seattle for eight years and coached teams in the Washington State Ethics Bowl for seven. Born in Oakland, California, he received his Bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College and his Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis & Clark College. He currently works for the City of Seattle's Department of Education and Early Learning and serves on the Washington State Leadership Board, among other volunteer activities. 

Lukas is a high school student at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH. His interests lie in Classics, languages, philosophy, and volunteer work. At school, he is a Latin and Greek student, a member of the Classics Society, and a frequent volunteer at a local elementary school. Outside of school, Lukas has engaged in independent philosophical study and taken philosophy courses, as well as read philosophical books.

Stephen Kekoa Miller, Humanities Department chair at Oakwood Friends School and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, has taught philosophy for the past 20 years in Poughkeepsie NY. Stephen has developed a wide range of courses from middle school philosophy through upper-level college courses, and a philosophy series for parents and community members.  Stephen’s research interests lately have included pre-college philosophy, philosophy of education, virtue ethics and philosophy of emotion.  Stephen is also the Chair of the APA's Committee on Precollege Instruction in Philosophy.  Stephen served on the Teachers Advisory Council of the National Humanities Center. He is the editor of Intentional Disruptions (Vernon, 2021). 
Stephen’s Resume

Joel Raj is a senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Metuchen, New Jersey. Currently, Joel is researching Nagarjuna’s catuskoti logic in contrast with Boolean systems to propose new ethical models for global governance. Joel also leads a student-led initiative focused on epistemic equity and philosophical access in under-resourced schools. His work bridges metaphysics, pedagogy, and systems of social change.

Lena holds a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington and has been a Children's Librarian since 2018. She is passionate about offering philosophy for children in informal settings, such as public libraries, while prioritizing an equity framework.

Ellen Sun is a student at Western Reserve Academy. She is interested in philosophy, sociology, and the humanities, and has taken courses on topics such as modern philosophy and psychoanalysis. She is interested in feminism and gender studies, and likes to analyze underlying inequalities in common instances in daily life.

Jane Rutstein Shay is a 5th-grade teacher and the Middle School Debate Coach at the Evergreen School in Shoreline, WA.  She received a bachelor's in philosophy from Tufts University and her master’s in teaching from Seattle University. Jane has been teaching elementary and middle school since 2008 and has sought to infuse philosophical inquiry into the curriculum and her work with children. In 2024, partnering with other middle school teachers, Jane spearheaded a middle school Ethics Bowl in the Seattle area and intends to continue growing this event. Jane began working with/(learning from) PLATO (formerly the University of Washington’s Center for Philosophy for Children) in 2015, most recently serving on the Programs (later Education) Committee and the Conference Committee.

Sid (he/they/she) is a homeschooled senior in Illinois who is also pursuing an associates degree in philosophy. Their philosophical interests include metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, language, and education as well as virtue ethics. He has also been published on PLATO’s blog, Wondering Aloud, where he talks about the value of philosophy and The Schola (forthcoming December 2025) where he discusses transworld identity. Outside of their studies you can find Sid writing on various topics like emotions, liminal spaces, or identity, listening to music, and reading literature.

Edgar Vasquez is a Master’s student in Philosophy at Eastern Michigan University. He’s also earned a B.A. in Philosophy at EMU. He’s organized the EMU Undergraduate Conference in Philosophy in 2023 and 2024. He’s had the pleasure of giving a lecture on Death and Meaning at the Oakland University Philosophy camp for young high school students. His research interests are primarily in Chinese and Indian Philosophy as well as Philosophy of Mind. Finding ways to cultivate a more virtuous mind is what drives his research.

John Torrey is Associate Professor of Philosophy and a contributing professor in the Africana Studies unit at SUNY Buffalo State. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Spanish from Morehouse College (2009) and an MA and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Memphis (2019). His primary research interests are in the intersection of political philosophy, applied ethics, and African-American philosophy, specifically with regards to calls for Black reparations in America. Additionally, he has interests in philosophy of education and pre-college philosophy. He also has developed precollege philosophy programs since 2010, Philosophical Horizons at the University of Memphis and the Buffalo State Lyceum.

Meera Patel is a Senior Director of Global Omnichannel Advanced Analytics at Kellanova, where she leads transformative initiatives leveraging AI in sales and marketing. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she has played pivotal roles at companies such as Kellanova, Pepsi, and Unilever. Furthermore, she has also founded a tech start-up and co-developed an Omnichannel executive leadership program at Cornell Tech. 

Reisha is a junior at Ransom Everglades High School in Miami, Florida. She has a deep passion for philosophy; she founded and runs her school’s philosophy blog called the Philosophical Mind. She spends her free time reading about different philosophies, especially existentialism. Outside of philosophy, Reisha is interested in medicine and healthcare- even bioethics!

Specializing in philosophy for children and the history of philosophy, Wendy C. Turgeon is presently the chair of the Department of Philosophy at St. Joseph’s College, where she has been teaching courses since 1991. One of the leading proponents of the freshman honors program, Dr. Turgeon coordinates the program in addition to teaching one of its core courses. She has also incorporated global education into many of the philosophy classes at the College and is a passionate advocate for study abroad. Dr. Turgeon was also instrumental in creating the College’s minor in women’s studies.

Mira is a senior at Oakwood Friends school in Poughkeepsie NY with a deep interest in philosophy, psychology, and theology. She's a co-captain of the school's Ethics Bowl team, and has a special interest in existentialism, and topics related to meta-ethics. She's attended the Reason & Rationality philosophy program at Princeton University, and theological and psychological pre-college programs at Brown University.

David Shapiro is a faculty member at Cascadia College, where he teaches college philosophy classes that draw heavily upon his experiences and lesson plans for doing philosophy with pre-college students. He has been doing philosophy with young people in and around the Seattle area since he was a graduate student at the University of Washington way back in the 20th century. David is the author and/or co-author of six books, including Plato Was Wrong! Footnotes on Doing Philosophy with Young People, a compendium of activities, exercises, and games he has developed for exploring philosophical questions in the classroom and beyond.

Dustin Webster is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania where he serves as the Co-Director for Penn’s Project for Philosophy for the Young. In addition to philosophy for children and pre-college philosophy, Dustin's research interests include normative evaluations of using education for social mobility, the relationship of education to work, character and virtue education, and educational ethics. He has a professional background in K-12 education with experience in a variety of contexts, including most recently as a 5th grade teacher. Dustin received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education where he studied the philosophy of education.

JC Wright is an instructor and curriculum advisor for philosophy and music classes at Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning. His work focuses on the use of tabletop roleplaying games and thought experiments to facilitate philosophical discussions among 4th-12th grade students while emphasizing the development of social-emotional skills. Examples of specialized high school classes JC has taught include board game design, the philosophy of consciousness, theories of jazz improvisation, the linguistics of constructed languages, and the history of corporate crime. JC holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Virginia Tech.

Angie Zhu is a high-school junior at Scarsdale High School. Her interests are in the philosophies of history and religion. She has taken a philosophy course in school, and outside of school, she has worked on getting her work published, and she was a finalist in the 2024 John Locke Essay Award for her essay in Philosophy. Outside of philosophy, she works at a local restaurant and volunteers her time at an animal shelter.

Stephen Kekoa Miller, Humanities Department chair at Oakwood Friends School and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, has taught philosophy for the past 20 years in Poughkeepsie NY. Stephen has developed a wide range of courses from middle school philosophy through upper-level college courses and a philosophy series for parents and community members. Stephen’s research interests have included pre-college philosophy, philosophy of education, virtue ethics and philosophy of emotion. Stephen served on the Teachers Advisory Council of the National Humanities Center. He is the editor of Intentional Disruptions (Vernon, 2021). 
Stephen’s Resume