Dorianna Chessa (she/her) grew up on the stolen lands of  the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Lkwungen (Lekwungen) peoples, on the coast of what is colonially called, British Columbia (BC). She is a queer woman with ancestry from Europe, predominantly Italy (Calabria, Sardinia), Ukraine and Poland. She is a lifelong learner, and an educator, who strives to create learning environments where self expression and right-relationship with self, others and the land are at the centre. She loves to work with youth, who continually teach her to daydream, be present and be unapologetically herself.

Dorianna has worked on the fringes of the public education system for 14 years. She taught at a Democratic Free School called Windsor House in Vancouver, where she created the Coywolves Art and Nature Connection program. From there, she went on to teach at Saturna Ecological Education Center where students board in an off-grid cabin and obtain high school credit through curriculum embedded in experiential learning on the land. Next, she went to Salt Spring Island and taught the Middle Years Shared Ecological Education program.

She has post-secondary degrees in Photography, Geography, Education, and a Graduate Diploma in Critical-Literacy and Emerging Technology. She is a certified BC teacher, and holds certifications in Advanced Ocean Canoe Paddling, Equine Facilitated Wellness, and as a Level One Kayak Instructor. She has completed training in Non-Violent Communication, Creative Facilitation, and Decolonization and Anti-Racism training with Partners for Youth Empowerment Global and IndigenEYZE. She attended a week-long Art of Mentoring Training at the Wilderness Awareness School, which inspired her to further deepen her connection to land and learn more from indigenous people which took her to Hooksum Outdoor School. 

Like an otter, she lives on the land but makes her home near the water, where she loves to play, be silly, be curious, and share her gifts with others.