Linda Gancitano
Physical Education/Peer Counselor Teacher
Driftwood Middle School (DMS) Academy of Environmental Health and Wellness
Linda Gancitano is a physical education teacher at Driftwood Middle School (DMS) Academy of Health and Wellness, a 2013 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School in Broward County, Florida. Linda has been an educator for 27 years and has received recognition as a White House Champion of Change for Climate Education and Literacy, SHAPE Florida Teacher of the Year and Florida Green School Teacher of the Year. Linda started the DMS Green Team in 2008 and subsequently created a school-based challenge to reduced energy/water use called "How Low Can You Go?" that gets students engaged as they perform energy auditors for classrooms (this program has been expanded districtwide through a partnership with the Miami Heat NBA team). Prior to working as an educator, Linda was a collegiate soccer player at the University of Central Florida and a member of the first-ever U.S. women’s national soccer team; she was also the first girl to play on a high-school boys’ soccer team at Coral Springs High School for the state of Florida.