Andrée Collier Zaleska ’85

When she last checked in with the Crossroads community through a class note, Andrée Collier Zaleska intriguingly mentioned that she was “living happily on 10 acres in southern Vermont, homesteading and teaching in a forest kindergarten.” When we followed up recently, she explained: “My main work is as a forest school teacher for kids ages 4-6. I came to this work after a decade of climate activism. The oppositional nature of that work wore me out, and I wanted a way to work toward harmony between humans and nature that wasn’t always a fight. Grounding little kids in their bodies, the forest and an environment of free play is just the thing.” 

After graduating from Smith College and earning a master’s in Slavic languages from Harvard University, Andrée spent her 20s living in Ireland and Czechoslovakia, giving her “a front-row seat for the fall of the Soviet empire.” Back in the U.S., she raised two sons, became a climate activist and created an energy-positive urban homestead in Boston. 

Many of Andrée’s favorite memories of Crossroads involve teachers she loved, like Ann Colburn, Jeff Cooper and Jim Hosney. “Crossroads was the best educational experience in my life,” she said. “I believe my basic critical thinking skills, and much of my essential creativity, were fostered there.”

Today, when she’s not teaching, Andrée is creating gardens and orchards, foraging and communing with the chickens on her homestead. She also has side projects: the Collaborative Culture Project, which seeks to replace “cancel culture” with healthier behaviors, and Greenery, a local houseplant delivery and design service. She loves the Vermont lifestyle: hiking, river-swimming and enjoying outdoor concerts with friends. She invites anyone from the Crossroads community to look her up if they’re passing through Brattleboro.