Our Team
“Nothing without joy”
Jahbi Gaskin, M.Ed.
The Perigee collective education director
Jahbi is the Education Director and Lead Teacher at The Perigee.
Jahbi is inspired by children and believes in their magic. She has loved supporting children and families from all over the world both as a teacher, wilderness guide, as a homeschool consultant and as a mother.
Jahbi holds a Master of Arts in Education and a CA Teaching Credential. She graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service (International Diplomacy) in Washington, DC where she received a Bachelor of Science in Culture & Politics and Minors in Women's Studies and Spanish. She is licensed by the California Department of Social Services. She is also Infant CPR and First Aid Certified.
She enjoys combining her love for innovative approaches to learning, RIE principles, worldschooling, Montessori and the Reggio-Emilia Approach (a project-based, child-led, emergent curriculum). Her teaching career began over 18 years ago in the South Bronx and later in East Oakland as the Lead Teacher in Spanish, bilingual classrooms. She is from Oakland and has lived and taught around the globe in places such as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Germany, South Korea and Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Pronouns: she/her
Se habla español
Elena Canaris
Elena is a major collaborator and source of guidance, energy and light for The Perigee Collective. She also serves as a founding member of the 3Moons Council for The Perigee Preschool and Black Crown Microschool. She is the Co-Founder/Director of Hello Hills; Lead Instructor of Forest Learning Program & Summer Camp
she/her/they/them pronouns
Working with children has been a lifelong passion for Elena. She aims to empower children through nature exploration, story sharing and connecting deeply with each other and place…
…Elena
Elena obtained her BA in Environmental Education, with a focus on early childhood development, from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. During that time, she also co-led a multi-age nature awareness based homeschool group for the Forest Floor Program. She held a Lead Mentor position at the Living Earth School in Virginia, with their Woodland Girl’s, summer camp, and forest exploration programs for children K-5. Many of her positions focus on ancient ways & survival skills, wild/edible plant tending, and music/storytelling. In 2014, Elena was a Teacher-in-Residence at Slide Ranch, facilitating farm, trail, ocean and garden based pre-K-10 field trips, Family Days, and summer camp. She then taught Pre-School, Kindergarten and Family programs at Berkeley Forest School and was recently a mentor at Weaving Earth’s Wild Tenders program.
Trainings: Joseph Cornell's Flow Learning, 8 Shield’s Coyote Mentoring, and Weaving Earth: Center for Relational Education Beyond Boundaries and Fire Tenders.
Lily Uoka Chin
Lily Uoka Chin
Camp Perigee Co-Director and Resident Atelierista
Lily Uoka Chin grew up in Berkeley/Oakland, CA and is a seasoned teacher. She has a B.A. in Electronic Communication Arts, and has worked in Reggio-inspired education institutions for over six years. She is a Mixed Media Artist who is passionate about sharing in the joy of creative expression and traveling the world.
When not at Camp Perigee, she hosts Global Goddess Art Tours in Bali and Costa Rica. She has experience as a Camp Director for Camp Galileo, has taught numerous painting workshops, and lead splendid art courses for kids at Brushstrokes Studios in Berkeley, CA.
She believes her calling is to help others discover the world through creativity. She enjoys working with children because she's inspired by imaginative and curious minds.
…Lily Uoka
Alex Kane
Teacher Alex is a longstanding member of The Perigee’s Advisory Board. He is the founder of the The Capay Atelier, an academic nature school. An exemplary teacher, he has transformed the educational paradigm for hundreds of students by taking learning to the outdoors. He bases his teaching on the premise that thoughtful world citizens need to have an understanding of and a connection with nature. His pedagogical innovations and lesson plans have been featured in the books Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools by Tom Little and Maker Centered Learning: Empowering Young People to Shape Their Worlds by Clapp, Ross, Ryan and Tishman. He has been a featured speaker at conventions such as the Progressive Education Network National Conference and the Bay Area Schools Environmental Conference. Teacher Alex is also an aspiring firefighter and active father of two.
Mr. Calvin
Calvin is a natural with children. His puppet shows will go down in history as the most engaging, silly, and loving performances and the children love every moment. As an accomplished educator, activist, videographer and founder of Cali+King+Films digital media production company, Calvin co-created Film School Summer Camp, an immersive and creative movie making experience for kids of all ages. Before that he was the Director at Camp Iwalewa (which means Character is Beauty) a Yoruba-based summer camp in Oakland and thrived as a Kid's Club leader at the Claremont.
Calvanté
Calvanté will be sure to make an appearance at Camp Perigee.
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As a filmmaker, Calvin has teamed up with World Enabled Foundation on a documentary film project to spread awareness about accessibility for disabled populations around the world. He traveled to Haiti to raise money for a newly constructed school for youth, and to Thailand with a non-profit activist group to stop human trafficking.
Having explored 17 different countries, meeting people and collaborating on projects, Calvin understands the importance of health, nutrition and mindfulness to maintain a positive, productive attitude and healthy lifestyle. He loves sharing wisdom gleaned abroad, and also sharing his artistic skills with children most of all.
We can't wait to discover and grow with you!
