Warren values the classroom as a learning opportunity for himself and his students to foster hopeful, counter-hegemonic, and creative thinking in the face of destructive socio-environmental discourses.

Warren’s early teaching experience was as an undergraduate at the university writing center, where he was trained by Chris LeCluyse to conduct non-directive, collaborative, one-on-one consultations with students across the curriculum. At the same time, Warren developed a deep commitment to interdisciplinary, problem-posing pedagogy thanks to his time learning from the radical, entirely team-taught, and entirely interdisciplinary curriculum of the Westminster Honors College (explained by founding-dean Badenhausen, with a nod to Warren, here).

Warren soon after started working at two community writing centers, where he conducted in-person and at-home consultations for people with disabilities and severe trauma as well as taught workshops on personal, practical, and civic writing for community shelters, underserved K-12 after school programs, and jail and prison writing programs. These experiences convinced him of the now-legendary SLCC CWC’s motto: Everyone can write.

At the University of Colorado Boulder, Warren continues to develop innovative teaching methodologies. He has been fortunate to learn from faculty and teach courses within Communication, Environmental Studies, CU Upward Bound for Native American Youth, and the Program for Writing & Rhetoric. In 2021, he was inspired by a summer fellowship on carceral systems with the Just Transition Collaborative and by faculty in Ethnic Studies (shout out to mentors Clint Carroll and Jennifer Ho) to adopt contract grading into his classroom as a restorative justice approach to student evaluation. In 2022, he was competitively selected by faculty to serve as a Lead Graduate Teacher fellow with the Center for Teaching and Learning and was later recognized with teaching awards from both the Communication Department and CU Graduate School.

Today Warren helps students of environmental studies to navigate issues of science, values, and policy as rhetorical controversies and to frame environmental problems for academic and public audiences. In addition, Warren mentors students through internship opportunities and facilitates student relationships with industry professionals by leading the Careers in the Environment (CITE) talks (see speakers). He also co-founded the now-annual CITE Fair with MENV’s Laura George, which involves dozens of organizations and a State of the Field panel in which professionals in private, public, and nonprofit sectors discuss the future of jobs and sustainability.