I’m beyond thrilled to join the team in the role of Clean Communities Manager. In this position, I will work with community groups, allied organizations, businesses, city officials, and more across the state to achieve equitable, just, and comprehensive clean energy and climate solutions. An example of this that has been in the works for several years is the city of Des Moines’ 24/7 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2035. That goal was passed by the city council 1 year ago, on January 11, 2021. Now the urgent work is ahead of us to implement policies to achieve that goal. I look forward to working on this and other climate resiliency measures in Des Moines and communities across the state.
Before this role, I worked for over 15 years doing nonprofit issue advocacy and community organizing on clean energy, climate, clean water, and agricultural issues in Iowa and the Midwest. I graduated from the University of Iowa in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and knew I wanted to pursue a career in the nonprofit environmental and public interest sector.
After graduating, I worked as a rural community organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement to stop the expansion of concentrated animal feeding operations and to support independent livestock producers. After over 3 years with Iowa CCI, I worked for Food & Water Watch as a Midwest regional organizer based in Iowa. In this role, I continued to work on local, state, and federal policies to support a sustainable and fair food and farm system, as well as transitioning to work on climate and energy issues. I then rejoined Iowa CCI in 2016 to help develop their climate justice program, with a focus on an equitable and just clean energy transition.
I’m extremely fortunate to have had these opportunities and to have worked with many amazing people over the years. This has included IEC and many of its partner organizations. I’ve looked to IEC staff for technical and policy expertise on a number of issues over the years. The organization continues to provide this expertise while expanding its grassroots organizing work and its focus on equity and environmental justice. This is an exciting and urgent time to work on these issues, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to help achieve a 100% clean energy vision for Iowa.
