Alessandra Carreon
Chief Climate Officer
Office of Climate & Energy Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, & Energy
Alessandra Carreon is the Chief Climate Officer. In this role, Carreon oversees the Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) driving action to fulfill the state’s mission to address climate change impacts as outlined in the state’s MI Healthy Climate Plan. The office works on developing and implementing policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and support the transition to renewable energy sources. Through collaboration with varied partners and engagement with community, the OCE aims to create a resilient and sustainable future for all Michiganders.
Before joining EGLE, Carreon was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Public Service Commission as the first Asian-American commissioner in state history. Previously, Carreon also held key roles in the private and nonprofit sectors, including leading projects focused on electric vehicle battery circularity and equitable fleet electrification in carbon-free transportation at RMI and managing responsible raw material sourcing at Ford Motor Company.
Carreon brings nearly two decades of experience in sustainability and an equitable clean energy transition, including environmental consulting, regulatory compliance, and corporate responsibility.
Her extensive experience and passion for environmental sustainability, clean energy, and public engagement are at the forefront of Michigan’s climate initiatives.
Alessandra is a licensed Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Rice University, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University
of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
She lives in Detroit with her family. In her free time, Alessandra enjoys planning and preparing elaborate meals for her loved ones and community, making Neapolitan pizza, and studying enology.
Marcene Mitchell
Senior Vice President of Climate Change
World Wildlife Fund
Marcene Mitchell is the senior vice president of Climate Change at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Marcene is advancing WWF's important climate agenda in the US and globally and building greater synergies across WWF's climate change mitigation and resilience initiatives—with a particular focus on nature-based climate solutions. Marcene’s role is crosscutting because addressing the climate crisis cuts across all aspects of work at WWF.
Marcene previously served as the Global Head of Climate Strategy and Business Development at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. In this role at IFC and in previous positions, Ms. Mitchell’s expertise has been on creating new markets for business to invest in low carbon technologies and infrastructure. She’s pioneered work at IFC in resource efficiency for the built environment and established new market transformation programs for developing countries in distributed solar generation, offshore wind, and waste and water management.
In addition to her work internationally, Marcene has been part of Green Bank initiatives in the United States, which scale climate finance by leveraging public sector funds with private investment. She is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Montgomery County Green Bank which brings renewable energy and energy efficiency to small businesses and moderate- and low-income households in Maryland.
Marcene holds a degree in International Relations from Brown University and an MBA in Finance from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
It’s Complicated: The Real Story of Sustainability at MSU
| Douglas D. Buhler is Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation at Michigan State University. As Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation Buhler supports the broad research and innovation mission at Michigan State University. His work focuses on the food, environment, and international research portfolios of the University. Buhler who is also Professor of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences joined MSU in 2000 following positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. Since joining MSU he has served as the Chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Associate Director and Director of MSU AgBioResearch, Senior Associate Dean for Research for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), as well as interim Dean of the CANR. Buhler's professional activities have generated over 330 publications including 130 refereed articles. Buhler has been an author or editor of three books and presented over one hundred invited seminars, symposia, and workshops. He has made presentations or represented MSU in over twenty countries. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Weed Science Society of America and is a Distinguished Alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. |  |
| Carla Iansiti has served Michigan State University for 28.5 years, beginning her career as a Food Supervisor and evolving into her current role leading sustainability initiatives within the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS). Throughout her career, Carla has been a self-driven leader committed to advancing sustainable practices across campus operations. With extensive experience in dining and residential systems, Carla works to inspire meaningful shifts in behavior and cultivate a culture of sustainability through innovative programming and alignment with industry best practices. She view my role as a catalyst for change—prioritizing integrity, collaboration, and strategic partnerships to drive measurable impact. Carla founded the RHS Student Eco Rep Fellowship to develop student change agents within the residence hall systems and built a team of full-time Staff Eco Ambassadors to support sustainability efforts within Culinary Services. She also led the development of operational sustainability programs in recycling and food waste reductions, while strengthening academic partnerships that enhance student engagement and experiential learning opportunities. Through cross-campus collaboration and operational leadership, Carla remains dedicated to embedding sustainability into daily practice and long-term institutional strategy. |  |
| Kris Jolley has been at Michigan State University since 1997 where he’s held a variety of positions within the Surplus and Recycling departments including Education Coordinator, Contract Administrator and Sales Manager. He currently manages the award winning MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center whose mission is to manage waste as a resource through an integrated system of reuse, recycling, collaboration and education. The program collects and manages over 30 million pounds of materials per year and returns over $4 million dollars in value to the university annually. |  |
| Ruth Kline-Robach is a Senior Water Resources Outreach Specialist for the MSU Department of Community Sustainability and Institute of Water Research. She has more than 30 years of experience in community-based water resources management issues and provides training programs and technical assistance related to watershed planning and management, source water protection, and stormwater management. In addition to teaching two undergraduate courses, Ruth works with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to promote the development of local source water protection programs and coordinates MSU’s federal stormwater permit activities in partnership with communities throughout the Greater Lansing area. |  |
Concurrent Session: Strengthening Michigan’s Circular Economy
Rex LaMore is Director of Michigan State University’s Center for Community Economic Development, and an affiliated member of the faculty in the Urban and Regional Planning Program. Dr. LaMore has 50 years of experience in Community and Economic Development where he has focused his career on the challenges of revitalizing distressed communities and promoting equitable and sustainable development. His teaching encompassed over 20 years of teaching in environmental planning, community economic development, urban policy, ethics and the field-based planning practicum course that brought students and community partners together in local planning projects. In the fall of 2024, he co-taught MSU’s first honors college section on Circular Economy. He is the founding director of the MSU Regional Economic Innovation partnership which co-creates, disseminates, and applies innovative community and economic development tools, models, policies, and practices and is the founder of the “Science of Domicology” a fundamentally new conception of the built environment and the circular life cycle of structures. Dr. LaMore received his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Michigan State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. |  |
| Chelsea Jensen is the Business Operations Manager at Llink Technologies, a Michigan-based advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing company specializing in automotive lighting systems. Her work focuses on developing and scaling circular manufacturing models that recover, remanufacture, and reintegrate complex vehicle components—such as headlights and electronic assemblies—back into OEM supply chains, extending product life while reducing waste, cost, and environmental impact. She facilitates collaboration between automakers, national laboratories, universities, and public agencies to translate circular economy research into deployable industrial programs. Through these partnerships, she has secured nearly half a million dollars in combined federal and state grant funding to support circularity pilots, data generation, and manufacturing validation. Her work includes coordinating life-cycle assessment and systems modeling with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); she is a co-author of a PNNL- LCA report on automotive lighting remanufacturing, and the author of a research paper to be presented at the 2026 REMADE Circular Economy Summit. Chelsea is also the 2026 Innovation Fellow at Michigan State University, where her fellowship project is focused on determining the feasibility and developing a roadmap for the Michigan Industry Circular Economy Council (MICEC). In partnership with MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development, this work brings together manufacturers, recyclers, researchers, and policymakers to design the governance, data infrastructure, and funding model needed to scale circular economy adoption across Michigan’s industrial base. |  |
| Abby Carrigan is a Research Assistant at the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED), where she serves on the Circular Economy Research Team to advance Michigan’s transition toward a regenerative, low-waste economy. Her research focuses on building statewide collaboration and informing policies that reduce waste, create local economic opportunity, and improve environmental resilience. Her most recent work at the CCED involves end-market coordination to identify and strengthen local supply chains, ensuring high-quality materials are diverted from landfills and repurposed into productive economic feedstock. As a recent graduate of Michigan State University, Abby’s work is centered on the intersection of stewardship, equity, and governance. In addition to her research at MSU, she supports these values through farmland preservation and countywide planning initiatives within the Livingston County Planning Department in Livingston County, Michigan. Her expertise in community-level engagement was recently recognized by the Michigan Association of Planning with the 2025 Outstanding Student Project Award for her sustainable food systems plan. |  |
| Henry Jerred is an undergraduate in his fourth year at Michigan State University (MSU) studying Social Relations and Policy in James Madison College with minors in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Anthropology. He joined the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) as a senior research assistant in October of 2024. Since then, he has worked to advance Michigan’s circular economy through research, knowledge dissemination, and network building. His work includes conducting surveys, organizing educational events, and facilitating communication and collaboration across the CCED’s Circular Economy Network. Henry also serves as the internal hub coordinator for Sunrise Movement MSU, a youth-led social and environmental justice group. Phil Howard is a Professor of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University whose research examines the structure and power dynamics of food systems. He is widely recognized for his data visualizations that reveal consolidation in global food and agriculture industries. His work informs both scholarly audiences and the public, shaping conversations about transparency, equity, and resilience in food networks. Howard’s research has been featured in numerous academic publications as well as major media outlets. He also mentors graduate students committed to transforming food systems toward greater sustainability and justice. |  |
Concurrent Session: From Forks to Futures: Cultivating Change in the Food System
| Phil Howard is a Professor of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University whose research examines the structure and power dynamics of food systems. He is widely recognized for his data visualizations that reveal consolidation in global food and agriculture industries. His work informs both scholarly audiences and the public, shaping conversations about transparency, equity, and resilience in food networks. Howard’s research has been featured in numerous academic publications as well as major media outlets. He also mentors graduate students committed to transforming food systems toward greater sustainability and justice. | |
| Stacy Dawson serves as the Associate Director of Support Services for MSU Culinary Services, where she oversees operational logistics that sustain one of the largest selfoperated dining systems in the country. She leads teams responsible for distribution, safety, and systems management that ensure highquality experiences across campus dining facilities. Dawson is known for her strong commitment to operational excellence and her ability to integrate sustainability practices into food service operations. She collaborates with campus partners to advance waste reduction, sourcing transparency, and student wellbeing. Her leadership continues to shape MSU’s reputation for innovative, studentcentered dining services. |  |
| Jude Barry is the Associate Director of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, where she supports statewide and national initiatives to strengthen equitable and community-rooted food systems. She focuses on coalition building, systems-level strategy, and partnerships that advance healthy, sustainable, and locally grounded food environments. Barry plays a central role in program development across farm-to-institution initiatives, supply chain innovation, and efforts to embed racial equity in food system transformation. She works collaboratively with practitioners, policymakers, and researchers who are committed to improving food access and community resilience. Her leadership helps position MSU as a key national resource for applied food systems research, education, and action. |  |
| Sydnie Burnstein is a graduate student in Community Sustainability at Michigan State University whose work focuses on participatory, community-engaged approaches to food and environmental issues. She is passionate about understanding how local food systems can support equity, resilience, and community wellbeing. Burnstein brings experience in qualitative research, collaborative facilitation, and sustainability education. She works closely with faculty and community partners on projects that elevate marginalized voices and promote systems-level change. Her emerging scholarship reflects a commitment to bridging academic insight with real-world impact. |
Lunch Book Talk
David P. Warners has been at Calvin University since 1997 and has earned multiple awards for teaching and community service. He co-founded and currently directs Plaster Creek Stewards. Heffner and Warners received the Urban Waters Learning Network’s Signature Award in 2019, for significant achievements toward improving urban waterways and revitalizing the neighborhoods around them. | |
Shaping MSU's Sustainability Future: The Sustainability Systems Think Tank
| Laurie Thorp currently is a consultant to the MSU Executive Vice President for Administration (EVPA) Vennie Gore. In this role she has been charged with convening a cross-cutting committee to develop a framework, guiding principles and recommendations for MSU Sustainability. Prior to her retirement in August of 2025, she was on faculty in the Department of Community Sustainability and director of the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE), an interdisciplinary living/learning program at Michigan State University (MSU). Dr. Thorp assisted with the curriculum development of a competency-based sustainability specialization at MSU as co-investigator of a $625K Department of Education grant to assess student learning outcomes. She has served on the MSU Vice President for Finance and Operation’s Environmental Stewardship Systems Team as technical team leader for behavioral research associated with strategic change initiatives advancing campus sustainability. Her research interests are focused on participatory/emancipatory methodologies and alternative knowledge construction for sustainable food systems. She is co-founder of the MSU Student Organic Farm (SOF) and Bailey Urban Farm. She has collaborated with colleagues in the departments of Animal Science and Philosophy to study environmental boundary crossing and student ethical development funded as a Hub Faculty Fellow. Most recently she received a $50,000 grant from Organic Valley Foundation to support the development of indigenous foodways at the MSU Student Organic Farm. Thorp’s work has been published in Qualitative Inquiry, Agriculture and Human Values, The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, The Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, and The Journal of Experiential Education. | |
Life After Graduation: Real Stories from Sustainability Alumni
| Cody Evans is a passionate advocate for improving energy management. In his current role as the Community Programs Coordinator at the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment, Cody works directly with municipalities to provide the technical and financial assistance necessary to meet their energy management goals. His education and experience at Michigan State University equipped him with the programmatic and analytical skills required to tackle the sustainability challenges facing our communities. Cody remains dedicated to accelerating the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy across the State of Michigan. |  |
| Jeremy Rapp is a dual major PhD student in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department & Environmental Science and Policy Program at Michigan State University. His research focuses on detection and trend analysis of irrigated agriculture in the United States and the implications that has for water resources and security. He is a long-term Spartan, having received two Bachelors of Science degrees, one in Geological Sciences and one in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) in 2018, Graduate Certificate in Spatial Ecology in 2020. Jeremy also has an interest in science communication and applied sciences, having participated in NASA’s DEVELOP program in summer 2018 at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and in the NOAA-CUAHSI Summer Institute at the University of Alabama in 2023. |  |
| Dani Vincent is a passionate and driven sustainability professional with a deep-rooted commitment to creating positive environmental change. With a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability from Michigan State University, she’s spent the last few years turning that passion into action—leading peer-based sustainability programs, building recycling initiatives from the ground up, and helping teams stay on track with compliance and training efforts. Dani brings energy, dedication, and a collaborative spirit to every challenge. She currently serves an Environmental Analyst at RSI Logistics/Trinity Industries. |  |
Breaking Into Sustainability: Real Talk from Experienced Changemakers
Emily True is the Director of Sustainability at Pizza Hut, where she was brought on to spearhead the development of the brand’s first global sustainability strategy, focused on more equity, less carbon, and better packaging, and now drives cross-functional, market-wide sustainability initiatives. Previously, Emily spent four years at Conagra Brands, integrating sustainable practices into brand marketing and product development, including the launch of a carbon-neutral product. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University. With over a decade of experience in the sustainability field, Devan Dodge-Frye is dedicated to advancing sustainability efforts. A graduate of Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Natural Resource Management, Devan spent 10 years at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, focusing on materials management, pollution prevention, and energy initiatives. Devan now serves as the Sustainability Systems Manager for the City of Royal Oak, where she is continually seeking opportunities to collaborate for a more sustainable community. |
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| Denise Keele, PhD, brings a holistic understanding of the need to rapidly reverse global warming to her role as Executive Director of the Michigan Climate Action Network, having been a farmer, a forester, a grassroots organizer, a political scientist, and a professor. Denise received her doctorate in Environmental Politics from Syracuse University and was an Associate Professor of Political Science at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her research and teaching focused on environmental policy and law, particularly on using the courts and interest groups to influence public policy. At WMU, Denise chaired the interdisciplinary Climate Change Working Group from 2014 to 2022, bringing over one hundred faculty, students, and staff together to create and implement several academic and outreach programs, including a minor in climate change studies. She served on the Kalamazoo Township Climate Committee and the City of Kalamazoo Sustainability Committee, and as a Board of Trustee with the Kalamazoo Nature Center, led the development of a climate action plan with a carbon neutrality goal of 2035. From 2019 to 2022, she founded and led the grassroots Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition, coordinating more than 2000 members and 40 affiliate organizations to take collective action and address climate change. For Denise, a leading priority is inspiring, educating, and connecting people—particularly by assessing how policy aligns with lived experience. Before her tenure as director, Keele was honored with its inaugural Climate Champion award in 2021. |
| Rose Spickler is the Director of Education and Engagement at Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (MiSBF) where she leads engagement and educational programming across the state. She develops and manages statewide grant-funded initiatives, cultivates new partnerships and projects, and advances community-based sustainability outreach throughout Michigan. Rose supports member engagement and leads sustainability campaigns spanning food systems, waste reduction, climate action and more. Her work is grounded in building practical, cross-sector solutions that support businesses and institutions and communities in advancing sustainability goals. She is also the lead for the Michigan Campus Sustainability Collective. In addition to her role at MiSBF, Rose is a proud MSU alumni and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Business from Michigan State University, with a specialization in sustainability, as well as a Master's degree in Sustainable Business from Aquinas College, and is currently earning her doctorate in Organizational Change Leadership from Western Michigan University. |  |