Sachiko Graber (Sachi, she/they) is a south Minneapolis resident and aspiring farmer. She is the founder and director of Waxwing Consulting LLC, which provides climate and equity support to mission-aligned organizations.

She formerly served as the Associate Director for Climate with The Nature Conservancy’s Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota chapter, where she led the climate mitigation and climate policy programs and authored several papers on the mitigation potential of natural climate solutions. Sachi previously worked with RMI and the U.S. Peace Corps. She holds an M.S. from the University of Michigan’s School for Natural Resources and Environment and a B.A. in Physics from Grinnell College.

Amanda Holloway serves as the Director of Mayo Clinic’s Office of Sustainability, which she played a pivotal role in establishing in 2018. With 23 years of experience at Mayo Clinic, Amanda has previously held key positions as recycling coordinator and as section head in facilities operations, overseeing waste management, recycling, and environmental services.

In her current role, she leads the development and execution of sustainability strategies across Mayo Clinic, driving efforts in energy and waste reduction, climate action, water conservation, sustainable food and supply chain practices, green building initiatives, employee engagement, and more.

Amanda holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Outside of work, she actively supports community sustainability initiatives and enjoys birdwatching on the trails with her spouse and their lively Labrador.

Ariel Kagan joined the Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) team as the Climate and Working Lands Program Director in February 2023. Her background is in agricultural economics and policy and she has worked across sectors to support farmers, climate resilience, and policy development.

At Farmers Union, she works on topics related to climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, market development, and environmental policy. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College and a graduate degree in agricultural economics from University of British Columbia.

Markeeta Keyes is the Director of Public Health Infrastructure and Organizational Development at the Minneapolis Health Department. Through her efforts she endeavors to ensure a competent and skilled public health workforce, development of strong leadership and cultural competency, with investment in training to meet the modern and emerging public health responsibilities and services for a healthy Minneapolis. Her purview includes advancement of diversity, antiracism, employee wellbeing, trauma mitigation, and professional development. Through this work she also leads the Department’s Green Careers Exploration Program. The program centers Black, Indigenous, Latin/e/x, and other communities of color to advance intentional, equitable and inclusive education and training opportunities that lead to green sector careers.

With the aim to reduce inequities, the Green Career Exploration Program centers BIPOC representation and participation by reducing barriers to access, elevating diverse industry representation, and enlisting a framework that mitigates trauma. 

Markeeta believes experiential learning opportunities and investment in strong, collaborative relationship building ensures this program is instrumental in gaining ground for racial and environmental justice across our communities. The GCEP endeavors to collaborate and build partnerships with those leading the environmental justice movement through education, awareness, and career readiness, offering students experiences that prepare them for a just and sustainable future. 

Charlie Sellars is the author of What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist’s Guide to Sustainable Living. Building from his experience as a prominent sustainability leader in the private sector, Charlie’s book offers readers pragmatic, data-driven steps to maximize sustainability in their personal, professional, and political lives.

Charlie is also a Director of Sustainability at Microsoft, which pledged to become Carbon Negative, Water Positive, Zero Waste, and Protect Ecosystems by 2030. He has overseen sustainability for both the Devices and Cloud Operations portions of Microsoft, helping launch several sustainability-forward products ranging from new Windows PCs with repairable and recycled components to the Ocean Plastic Mouse. Charlie also serves as a governing body member of the iMasons Climate Accord, an industry coalition united to decarbonize the digital infrastructure that underpins the next generation of cloud and AI services.