Stephen Ritz

About Stephen Ritz

Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator who believes that students should not have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. An internationally acclaimed award-winning educator, Stephen is the author of the best-selling book, The Power Of A Plant, and founder of Green Bronx Machine. Known as \"America\'s Favorite Teacher,\" and \"The Child Whisperer,\" Stephen is responsible for creating the first edible classroom in the world, which has evolved into the National Health, Wellness and Learning Center. He and his students have grown more than pounds of vegetables in the South Bronx, and in the process, Stephen has moved school attendance from 40% to 93% daily and helped provide 2,200 youth jobs in the Bronx- Stephen was a Top Ten Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, named Global Humanitarian, Food Tank Hero, TEDx Winner, a Global Food Educator, and a 2020 Gamechanger Of the Year. Stephen has presented at the Obama White House three times and a replica of his classroom was installed in the US Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC. His curriculum is being used in hundreds of schools across the United States, and internationally from Colombia to Dubai, from Canada to Cairo, to Doha, and beyond- To date, Stephen’s work has been featured by Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, TNT, Disney, Discovery TV, NPR, Teach Middle East, The Gulf National, and countless others. He was recently named a News12 education ambassador- His TED talk boasts more than 1.5 million views, ranks in the Top 10 Food/Education TED Talks of all time, and is used for teacher training/workforce development globally- Stephen was featured in the film adaptation of Michael Pollan’s best-selling book, In Defense of Food and appeared on ABC’s The Chew, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Food for Thought, NPR’s 50 Great Teachers, All Things Considered, and American Graduate- The State University of New York uses his curriculum to train teachers in all content areas. His recent appearance on PBS’ Growing A Greener World (Episode 808) won an Emmy Award, and he and his students were recently featured on the covers of TIME for KIDS and Scholastic Magazine- Stephen splits his time between his home in the Bronx and his residence in The Sustainable City in Dubai, UAE, where he serves as Director of Health, Wellness and Innovation for Esol Education at Fairgreen International School.

Experience

1. Teaching Faculty

   Eiis - European Institute Of Innovation For Sustainability

   Aug 2023 — Present

   Guest lecturer on food, education, urban farming, sustainability

Education

• State University of New York College at Potsdam

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

• The College of Saint Rose

  Master of Public Administration - MPA

• Purchase College, SUNY

  Bachelor of Arts - BA

• Arizona State University

  Master of Education - MEd

Skills

• Urban Farming
• Student Engagement
• Curriculum Innovation
• Lesson Planning
• Curriculum Development
• Fresh Produce
• Student Affairs
• Curriculum Design
• Healthy Communities
• Teaching
• Healthy Eating
• Public Speaking
• Youth Entrepreneurship
• Youth Empowerment
• Community Development