Climate Impact Corps Member Promotes Sustainable Careers for Better Public Health
Before joining Climate Impact Corps, Katie got their bachelor's degree in two disciplines that might seem unrelated at first glance: environmental geography and public health. But the more Katie learned about the subjects, the more they connected.
“I was really interested in the relationship between people and place,” they say. “For infectious diseases, it really matters who is where. The more I got into spatial studies with geography and learning GIS, I realized how much that connects with public health.”
While looking for their next step, Katie was excited to learn AmeriCorps offered a variety of options to gain experience while making a local impact. After reviewing opportunities to serve with Public Health Corps and Climate Impact Corps, Katie chose to serve with Climate Impact Corps because it worked better with her schedule and her interest in equity-focused climate solutions. Serving on the sustainability, healthy homes, and environment team at the City of Minneapolis Health Department has been the perfect fit. As part of Climate Impact Corps, she is gaining experience making community connections, collecting data, and putting their education to great use.
Just three months into service, Katie is already seeing a real-life connection between their areas of interest. By looking at asthma statistics in Minneapolis, they can illustrate the relationship between personal health and the local environment. Rates of asthma closely match environmental pollution sites, with the most-polluted neighborhoods – like those near former industrial and manufacturing sites – having significantly higher rates of the condition.
Through the city’s partnership with Climate Impact Corps, Katie aims to address the disparities in environmental and public health. One of their current projects involves comparing areas of high need to Minnesota environmental justice maps to find publicly owned lots that have been approved for green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, urban farms, or rainwater filtration systems. Katie then calculates the lots’ potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere over the next 15 years. This information will be used by city planners when designing future green infrastructure projects.
In addition to compiling this data, Katie also supports recruitment efforts for the city’s youth development and training programs! As a Climate Impact Project Coordinator, part of her role is to collaborate with community partners and local media. The goal is to increase awareness and create informational materials to spread the word about opportunities the City of Minneapolis has for green career pathways.
“I've made so many connections and have learned about different community-based organizations doing work in Minneapolis that I didn't know existed,” Katie says. “It's been an amazing experience already.”
Recently, Katie helped to promote the City of Minneapolis’ programs among national partners at the Urban Sustainability Directors Network Conference! In October 2024, sustainability leaders from across the country gathered in Minneapolis for their annual meeting to learn from each other and promote collaboration between organizations. Katie showed them the City of Minneapolis’ solar center and led a roundtable discussion about renewable energy career pathways.
“Being the city lead for the tour was a fun experience to practice professionalism in event planning and coordination,” they say. “It was exciting to see how impressed the sustainability professionals were with the green career workforce development infrastructure in Minneapolis!”
Service has given Katie a strong foundation in the environmental community that will set them up for success in graduate school and beyond. We are so thankful to Katie for their dedication!
Interested in making an impact yourself? Climate Impact Corps is hiring for January starts all around Minnesota at a variety of different partner sites. Visit ampact.us/environment to learn more and start making a difference in your community!