Archives: Speakers
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Mary Britton
As chair of the Environment Committee in Minneapolis’s Prospect Park neighborhood, Mary Britton led a groundbreaking initiative to reduce residential carbon emissions — and the results speak for themselves. Launched in 2020, her community-driven program focused on cutting natural gas usage, a major contributor to household emissions. By 2024, Prospect Park had reduced its natural…
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Beth Dooley
Beth Dooley, James Beard Award winning food writer, columnist for Star Tribune Taste, appears regularly on MPR Appetites and in NORTH Magazine. Co-author with Sean Sherman of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, James Beard Best American Cookbook, her 13 books include: Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland with Lucia Watson, James Beard finalist; The Perennial Kitchen: Simple Recipes for a Healthy Future, IACP finalist,…
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Sandra Richardson
Sandra Richardson has been an activist and facilitator in Minneapolis for most of her life, and currently leads The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond’s Undoing Racism workshops across the Twin Cities. Her involvements include: board member of African Community Services, Co-chair of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park Legacy Council and represents the…
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Joey Millet
Joey Millet started skating at five years old in Houston, TX. He competed in four U.S. Junior Championships in Freeskate and Ice Dance. He graduated salutatorian of his high school class and attended UCLA for his undergraduate studies while training in El Segundo, CA. In 2011, he placed fourth at Pacific Coast Sectionals at Junior level…
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Thomasina Petrus
Thomasina Petrus is a 25-year equity actor and professional jazz vocalist, a company member at Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, and Park Square Theatre, and has performed with the Twin Cities most beloved artists. Mentors and friends, James “Cornbread” Harris, Sr., Javetta Steele, T. Mycheal Rambo, Stokley, Walter Chancellor, Austene Cleopatra Van, and Prince, have encouraged…
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Roobi Starla Gaskins
Roobi Starla Gaskins is a NYC-based artist specializing in dance, choreography, and wearable art. While she has always had a passion for dance, her movement foundation was shaped by 14 years of competitive figure skating, during which she competed internationally as a member of the Puerto Rican national team. After an injury, she redirected her career…
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Darren Ranco
Darren J. Ranco, PhD, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, is a Professor of Anthropology, Chair of Native American Programs, and Faculty Fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine. He is also the Executive Director of the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, a non-profit land return, land-care, and…
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Nicholas Martin
Nicholas Martin is Director of Strategic Outreach & Advocacy on Xcel Energy’s Northern States Power Minnesota regulatory team. He and his team lead efforts to promote equity, affordability and decarbonization across a broad range of regulatory proceedings. He co-led the Company’s Equity Stakeholder Advisory Group, which developed a pilot providing automatic bill credits for energy…
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Keng Yang
Keng is an avid adult-onset hunter who discovered his love for the sport in 2017 when he got his first bird dog, Kaiya. He finds great joy in chasing pheasants and waterfowl in the beautiful wilderness of western Minnesota during the fall, and turkeys in the spring. But Keng’s commitment to hunting goes beyond just…
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Nick Bancks
Nick Bancks is a Project Manager at Trust for Public Land, where he helps protect and restore some of Minnesota’s most cherished landscapes. Since joining TPL in 2022, he has led projects that balance conservation, community, and access, ensuring that people and nature thrive together. Nick also leads TPL’s Mentored Hunts program, which pairs experienced…