Sustainability

Mindy Granley - Sustainability Officer

As Sustainability Officer at the City of Duluth, Mindy Granley is responsible for improvement of City policies, programs, and initiatives in support of local environmental, economic, and social systems. She works to incorporate sustainability into decision making, measure and communicate progress, and build partnerships for change. Previously, Mindy served for 12 years as Sustainability Director at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), where she advanced operational improvements and integrated sustainability into the learning experience for all students. She championed campus projects and promoted energy and greenhouse gas emission reductions, all while connecting students to learning opportunities in the community. Before working at UMD, Mindy spent 6 years working on watershed management in the Lake Superior watershed at local, regional, and state levels.

she/her/hers
218-730-5334
mgranley@duluthmn.gov

City Sustainability Advisory Team (C-SAT)

Various City department members and leaders – including Planning and Economic Development, to Public Works and Utilities, Finance, Workforce Development, and more – meet quarterly to discuss City-wide sustainability efforts, ensure alignment of actions, and identify synergy between goals as related to the Climate Action Work Plan. The Team first met to participate in the creation of the Work Plan, and membership continues to evolve. Yearly membership details may be found in Climate Action Work Plan progress reports.

Brett Crecelius – Community Resilience Project Coordinator

As the Community Resilience Project Coordinator, Brett is leading the implementation of the City of Duluth’s RACER (Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience) award from the Department of Energy to plot out the City’s solar investment future. The project will allow the City to evaluate solar sites to create a comprehensive technical framework for solar development, as well as gather community feedback to better understand residential solar needs. When completed, Bret’s work will guide City solar deployment strategies in the future and inform resilient energy improvements for other cold climate communities. Brett joins us from his previous position as an Economic Developer within the City’s Housing team. Prior to joining the City, he worked in the construction industry for close to a decade, where he gained invaluable experience in land management, infill site and green space work, and project management.

Alayna Johnson – Geothermal Project Coordinator

As Geothermal Project Coordinator, Alayna will be helping the City contract with partners to analyze the geo-exchange opportunity for recovering heat from wastewater effluent for use in decarbonizing buildings in Lincoln Park. Alayna graduated from the University of Minnesota Morris with degrees in Biology & Environmental Studies. Prior to joining us, Alayna worked for the University of Wisconsin Superior and Duluth Parks. She also served as a Minnesota Green Corps member for Park Maintenance for the City of Duluth, where she evaluated the park-wide waste system and implemented more recycling. She has a background in ecological research, waste systems, and project management with hopes to continue working on infrastructure, especially efforts to make infrastructure more sustainable.

Service Members

Issabelle Cervantes -Ecolibrium3 Energy and Sustainability VISTA

Isabelle is serving as the Ecolibrium3 Energy and Sustainability VISTA at the City of Duluth from August 2024 – 2025. She graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Sustainability Science and Society with a focus on sustainable agriculture and transportation. In her service, Isabelle will support implementation of the Climate Action Work Plan and the Imagine Duluth 2035 Comprehensive Plan, energy use and greenhouse gas inventory analysis, and conduct outreach and engagement activities that aim to reduce resident’s energy burden and increase climate resilience.  In her free time, Isabelle enjoys exploring town on foot, live shows, crafting, and spending time by Lake Superior. Isabelle looks forward to better understanding the energy needs of the City and community through her service term and building that needed capacity.

Interns

Anneliese Mann – University of Minnesota Duluth Intern

Anneliese graduated from UMD with a double major in Environmental Sustainability and German Studies. She will be assisting with community outreach through the Instagram page and helping kickstart the newsletter. Anneliese is looking forward to getting to see sustainability initiatives in action in the community and learning about different roles in this field! In her free time, she enjoys experimenting with coffee and recipes at home, running on our amazing Duluth trails, and exploring the city.

Mya Schultz – MPCA Gold Leaf Intern

Mya will be going into her senior year at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities this fall, where she is studying Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management with a minor in Corporate Environmental Management. Throughout her educational career, she has found herself passionate about soil science and hydrology, along with the renewable energy transition. Mya has experience in building foundations for climate action planning and researching methods to implement sustainability within cities. She believes that emphasizing sustainability in everything from daily tasks to city-wide planning is necessary for increasing community climate resilience and achieving carbon neutrality. Outside of school, Mya enjoys reading, snowboarding, baking, and being outside whenever she can!

Past City of Duluth Sustainability AmeriCorps VISTAs, Green Corps members and Interns

• Annika Frazer
• Cassidy Laib
• Faith Breeden
• Sydney Schulz
• Kaleb Montgomery
• Lily Strehlow
• Hannah Zahn-Helss
• Julia Forberg
• George Masson
• Nils Hoselmann
• Caroline Wortham
• Parker Angelos
• Lydia Peterson
• Olivia Goulet
• Sam Schmall
• Emma Hill
• Maddie Gaudette
• Chloe Grenzow
• Ella Stewart