Justina Buller, Ph.D.

About Justina

I was born and raised in California. Despite spending quite a few years on the East Coast and abroad for college and grad school, I ended up back in California because of a deep love for this place--the ocean, the mountains, the sequoias, the redwoods, the valley oaks, the delta swamps, all the animal critters and spring poppies and wild lilacs. All these things shaped me and are still a part of me. In addition to my (quite large) human family, they are also my ancestors.

I became a teacher because of my own struggles with severe depression when I was in high school and college. Although this made it difficult for me to show up for class and complete assignments, I eventually found in many of the subjects I was studying (especially History) a bigger world with answers to questions that no adult around me had ever been able to provide. Most importantly, I realized that I was not broken, but rather the culture in which I was raised--rooted in sexism, racism, and capitalism--was the problem. This experience has made me into an advocate for mental health awareness and a healing-centered approach to college education.

My other passions include devising unique ways to limit my environmental impact (growing my own food and biking to work), but all the while noting that I do this imperfectly. As much as I hate plastic, I do love riding plastic water sleds in the ocean (also known as surfing). Perhaps when I retire from teaching I can invent a plastic-free surfboard and mountain bike--if I’m not in the classroom, garden, or ocean, you can find me on the mountain trails!

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