Leah has more than 7 years of experience in the non-profit sector as a volunteer, educator, and development professional. She has worked with organizations such as: Global Impact, Growing Power, Punta Mona and Heifer International. She is also a working musician, chess teacher, collector of vinyl, and advocate for global environmental justice through youth empowerment.  A proud native Midwesterner. Leah was raised in northern Wisconsin, and learned to care for, respect and cultivate the earth at a very young age--she was “an outdoor kid,” and never has trouble getting her hands dirty.  

Before ACE, Leah served as a the Midwest Regional Development Consultant for an international federation of charities, and she considers herself a “lifer” in the non-profit sector. She has hopes of melding her background in the life sciences, her experiences working with the developing world, and her adventures with ACE, to realize the passionate vision she has for transforming Chicago into an ecologically sustainable environment. Leah adores reading ethnographies, hanging with her dogs at the beach and cooking Indian food. You may also find her shopping the local farmers’ markets or jamming to NPR, where she hopes to be a guest someday.

sophie.ostlund@climateeducation.org

 

Sophie comes to ACE with a background in theatre, arts education, and youth volunteerism. An actor for 14 years and a creative drama teacher for 5, she believes in the power of creative expression and helping young people make their voices heard through the arts. Her experience with service learning began with a 3-month stay in Uganda in 2007, where she worked at a local high school with internally displaced refugees. Since then, Sophie has been committed to helping young people find their voice through activism and community engagement.

Her own passion about the environment stems from growing up in central New York, where trees, lakes, and waterfalls outnumber people (or so she would like to believe). She has lived in Chicago for the past 5 years, and loves it here--even in the winter! She believes that young people are our most powerful agents for change, and is excited to see what this generation can accomplish by taking a stand for a greener future. 

Page May - Educator

page.may@climateeducation.org

Originally from Vermont, Page graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Environmental Studies. Her academic and professional experiences have focused on studying the geography of hunger and building sustainable food systems. Her background in environmental education includes facilitating sustainable development programming with Heifer International, researching agriculture in the Amazon, and leading a crew of student farmers at Healthy City Youth Farm. Before joining ACE, she was an Emerson Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center. As a fellow, she focused on anti-racism and anti-hunger initiatives while working for Growing Power in Chicago and organizing the Mind the Gap! Campaign with NETWORK in D.C. 

Page’s passion for social and environmental justice motivates her work as an adult ally. She is extremely excited to support the youth led movement against climate change in Chicago. In her free time, Page usually seeks thrift stores, boot-stomping live music, and delicious vegan food.