Chicago Team
Elisha Hall - Educator
Elisha is new to the environmental activism scene but experienced in creating change. Originally from Evanston, IL, Elisha was selected as a Chicago Posse Scholar and went to Carleton College in Minnesota. There he learned about community gardening and built a straw-bale warehouse during his summer break. For the last five years, Elisha has been working to empower youth from all over the country. Through interactive multimedia, youth organizing, and youth programs, Elisha has dedicated his life to enrich the lives of others. He understands the environmental injustice that communities face and sees great potential in a green economy propelled by green communities. Elisha also enjoys making short films, producing music, photography, and laughing with his 7month old daughter. He believes that the arts can inspire anyone to do anything and that our hearts are key to understanding each other and the planet.
Sophie Ostlund - Educator
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.
Leah Schwalenberg - Lead Educator
Leah has more than 5 years of experience in the non-profit sector as a volunteer, service-learner, market researcher 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.