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
Alex Jackson – Energy Coordinator
Alex Jackson is the Energy Coordinator for the City of Duluth. As a member of the Property and Facilities Management team, Alex develops and leads energy efficiency projects and documents project savings to be reinvested in the City’s energy fund. He also monitors energy and utility consumption within 148 buildings and numerous other park assets and public areas. Prior to working for the City of Duluth, Alex spent five years as the Air Program Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. There he was responsible for tracking the Band’s air emissions and assisting in the operation of their air quality monitoring station.
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.
Service Members
Parker Angelos - Ecolibrium3 AmeriCorps VISTA Energy and Sustainability Assistant
Parker Angelos is serving as the Ecolibrium3 AmeriCorps VISTA Energy and Sustainability Assistant. He studied at Indiana University and graduated in 2019 with a BA in International Studies and Spanish. In May of 2022, he earned his Master of Environmental Sustainability with a concentration in municipal sustainability at IU from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Serving the Duluth community this year, he hopes to support the creation of a more equitable and sustainable society through combating the effects of climate change. His work will include a variety of things such as implementing actions in both the Duluth Climate Action Work Plan and the Imagine Duluth 2035 Comprehensive Plan, along with greenhouse gas accounting, energy and sustainability data quality assurance/quality control, grant work, community outreach, and other activities. In his free time, he enjoys being in nature such as camping or hiking, traveling across the country and abroad, and trying new cuisines. He is excited to join the city government, to meet and learn from the Duluth community, and to explore the natural beauty of Northern Minnesota.
Lydia Peterson, AmeriCorps Community Resiliency and Energy Fellow
Lydia is joining the Sustainability Office as a Community Resiliency and Energy Specialist with Lead for America, an AmeriCorps program that brings fellows back home to “start where they live.” Born in Minneapolis but raised in Duluth, Lydia is a recent graduate of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she obtained a BA in International Relations and Anthropology. As an undergraduate student, she served as Co-Founder and Head of Marketing for the St Andrews Law Review and President of the St Andrews Law Society, as well as interning with various political and environmental organizations. She’s excited to be back home to engage with the community on issues of energy transition and environmental justice, particularly through the utilization of the 2022 Department of Energy Communities LEAP grant project.
Interns
Ella Stewart – University of Minnesota Duluth Intern
Ella is in her second year of study at UMD, and will graduate this spring with a major in Environment Sustainability & Geography, Political Science, and International Studies. Upon graduation, she plans to take a gap year before pursuing a graduate degree in environmental policy and/or law. Her work as an intern for the Sustainability Office will focus on projects that align with her interest in environmental policy and justice, as well as her past and present involvement in the world of sustainability! Ella comes to us with a wide breadth of experience. She has interned with Senator Amy Klobuchar (focusing on immigration casework) and the DNR (writing articles, newsletters, and social media content). Currently, she serves as the Director of Sustainability for UMD’s student government, and interns with the Just Solar Coalition, assessing barriers and pathways for equitable solar in the Duluth area. Recently, Ella was awarded the UMD Zenith Award, and accepted a position at LHB, and architecture and engineering firm, where she will begin work in May.
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