Martina Guzman, Board Chair
Martina Guzman is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker from Detroit. She is currently the Damon J. Keith Race and Justice Journalism Fellow at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University
Sarah Alvarez
Sarah Alvarez is a journalist and founder and editor of Outlier Media.
Emilia Askari
Emilia Askari teaches environmental journalism at the University of Michigan, where her students regularly win writing awards. Emilia has a doctorate in education from Michigan State University, where she studied the intersection of technology, learning and civic engagement. Emilia is a former president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, where she co-chaired two annual conferences and currently serves on numerous committees. Emilia spent more than two decades as a reporter at newspapers such as the Detroit Free Press and the Miami Herald, focused on environmental issues. She is a former Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan, and has won numerous other journalism prizes and fellowships. Currently, she serves as a judge for Columbia University’s Oakes Award in Environmental Journalism.
Erika Block
Erika Block has spent her career moving between the worlds of art, politics, education, food systems, and tech startups. After founding three companies, she launched Sticky Lab, where she works with leaders and explorers who are solving sticky problems. Common threads across her work: Building collaborative environments that enable creativity, learning, and action. Facilitating conversations among people who don’t usually connect. Identifying and developing new business opportunities.
Laprisha Berry Daniels
Laprisha Berry Daniels is a native Detroiter and public health social worker. She earned master’s degrees from the University of Michigan in Public Health and Social Work. For 15 years, post-graduate, Laprisha has worked at the intersection of health and social justice. She now serves as the Executive Director of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ), where she is a servant-leader who partners with advocates, activists and allies to address environmental racism, environmental injustice, the related hazards and their impacts on Detroiters.
Briana Dubose
Briana DuBosehas extensive experience in the energy sector working with county and city governments to improve local sustainability policies. She is committed to supporting communities to become more climate-resilient and is passionate about social and environmental justice. She has managed various initiatives to bring energy efficiency statewide, supporting municipalities, universities, school districts, and hospital systems. Briana is the Director of the Strategic Community Initiatives department at EcoWorks.
Ben Dueweke
Ben Dueweke serves as the Director of Community Partnerships at Walker-Miller Energy Services where he works at the intersection of policy, community, and industry to drive equitable expansion of the clean energy economy. His work includes weatherization program management, energy efficiency workforce development, policy design and advocacy, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) oversight. Ben also serves as the co-chair of the Energy Waste Reduction Committee for the Detroit City Council’s Green Task Force and is an alumnus of Michigan Clean Energy Leaders program.
Stacey Grant
Stacey Grant is a Navigator for the Justice40 Accelerator, a national initiative led by Partnership for Southern Equity, The Solutions Project, Elevate, Groundswell, and The Hummingbird Firm to ensure the necessary tools and resources are in place for frontline organizations across the U.S. to access local, state, and federal climate investment opportunities through the Justice40 Initiative. She served as the Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager for Planet Detroit and continues to mobilize resources with the Highland Park Community Crisis Coalition.
Natalie Jakub
Natalie is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University where she holds a B.A degree with a concentration in Marketing and a Master’s degree in Social Foundations – EcoJustice Education. After completing her education, Natalie started as a Volunteer Coordinator at Green Living Science through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Natalie now serves as Green Living Science’s Executive Director. She is a certified TRUE Advisor, helping facilities achieve zero waste. Natalie has also worked on helping businesses reduce waste and establishing sustainable recycling programs. Natalie also serves as the chair of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Committee with Detroit City Council’s Green Task Force. Natalie is an alumnus of the MSU Extension Great Lakes Leadership Academy – Leadership Advancement Program and the Environmental Leadership Program.
Calandra Jones
Calandra Jones graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 with a B.A. concentrated in Geography and Urban Studies with a special focus on racial equity and sustainability. With a professional background in urban development including planning, construction, and community organizing, she works everyday to ensure BIPOC experiences and voices are centered as the world redevelops to meet the challenges of climate change. Having most recently served as the Land Use + Sustainability Coordinator at Detroit Future City, she currently serves as a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program and Eco-D program coordinator at EcoWorks, dedicated to creating neighborhood-based solutions to environmental justice issues on Detroit’s east side.
Jeremy Orr
Jeremy Orr is the director of litigation and advocacy partnerships at Earthjustice. With a background in grassroots community organizing and public interest law, Orr has served served as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, was the national state program director for the Peoples Climate Movement, and served as an environmental justice coordinator for the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic.
Justin Schott
Justin Schott serves as Project Manager of the Energy Equity Project at the University of Michigan. He is honored to work in a field full of creative, savvy justice-minded colleagues and allies and is fascinated by conversations about how to drive and measure equity in clean energy investments.
Nicholas Schroeck
Nick Schroeck is Associate Dean of Experiential Education and Associate Professor of Law at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He is an environmental law expert whose work focuses on air pollution, water pollution, environmental justice, transportation, and citizen suit enforcement. Prior to joining Detroit Mercy Law, he directed the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic and taught Environmental Law at Wayne State University Law School. Schroeck also previously served as Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center from 2010-2017. Schroeck has litigated cases for several prominent environmental advocacy organizations, including Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Michigan Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation, and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Given the depth of his expertise, Professor Schroeck is regularly sought after by National Public Radio, WDET-FM, and other national and local media to provide analysis on current environmental issues.
Tim Skrotzki
Tim Skrotzki is the Senior Market Development Lead for Elevate, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting smarter energy use for all by working to transform the energy system into one that is cleaner, more inclusive, and equitable. Tim’s role is managing Elevate’s strategic engagement team in Michigan by designing and delivering sustainable and equitable programs customized to lift disadvantaged communities and underserved markets. Tim was recently awarded 2020 Most Valuable Professional by Corp! Magazine; he is a graduate of the Great Lakes Leadership Academy Leadership Advancement Program; he has an MBA with a focus on Sustainable Real Estate Development from Portland State University; and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Iowa.
Leslie Tom
Leslie Tom is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. She came to this position by way of Wayne State University’s, Detroit Revitalization Fellowship in 2015. Originally from Tucson, Leslie has degrees in architecture from the University of Arizona and Information Management Systems from the Information School at UC Berkeley.
