Meet Victoria Canby
25 years as an educator
Nonprofit Executive Director
Middle school parent
I am a lifelong student with deep roots in our local schools. Like my father before me, I attended Wade Thomas and Archie Williams. Midway through high school I realized my learning style and goals we’re different from other students. I transferred to Independent study at Tamiscal where I received credit for working full time, took classes at COM, and graduated a semester early. The freedom to guide my education and independence I experienced at Tamiscal had a lasting impression on me, showing me that a students success is dependent on finding the right educational setting for them.
My passion for learning has helped me to achieve a BA in art history from Sonoma State and a Masters in Humanities from Dominican University. For over 25 years I have worked in educational spaces including public school classrooms leading workshops, in preschools, as extra curricular teacher, in summer programs and in afterschools. As an educator, I strived to remain patient and compassionate to all students, showing respect for each individual's needs and uplifting their uniqueness. My passion in education was to create safe spaces to explore their individuality and creative through art and nature.
I spent two years at Gathering Thyme Herbalism school studying the plants and their medicinal uses which fostered a deeper connection with plants and ways to offer community healing. At the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas with Penny Livingston and other outstanding educators I received a certification in Permaculture, which helped when I taught gardening at Brookside Elementary School. My certification in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Art, which is almost a BA, helped me understand the duties and role as the Executive Director of the Museum of the American Indian. While at MAI some of my achievements were developing an educational program that served hundreds of students annually with historically accurate and culturally sensitive content, co-created a series of educational videos for students all over the Bay Area during the pandemic, curated educational exhibits, developed resource pages for educators and worked in partnership with many local Indigenous organizations.
Currently working with the Alliance for Felix Cove as an educational consultant creating curriculum and working with educators and students to learn about the organization's work and culturally sensitive Indigenous histories and perspectives. We are engaging with BIPOC & LGBTQA+ groups from all over the Bay Area to get them on the waters of Tamal liwa (Tomales Bay) and reconnecting with nature through Traditional Ecological Knowledge.