Eve Smith – Folk Alliance International / Artist
Eve is an arts and cultural leader with 20 years of experience in management, civic engagement, and community development. She has developed school garden programs, led local food security initiatives, and now seeks to build community gardens in Kansas City neighborhoods facing limited access to healthy food.
Bryton Stoll – Endeavor Home Performance
Bryton owns a home performance company specializing in residential energy audits and building code compliance. His mission is to improve the environmental performance and resilience of homes across the region, reinforcing the belief that household sustainability is foundational to climate action.
Elizabeth Snell – Mid‑America Arts Alliance & Hyde Park Neighborhood Association
Elizabeth blends arts leadership with community‑based climate action. She supports creative climate‑focused partnerships, including the Brush Creek Film Festival, and advocates for arts‑driven engagement strategies that connect environmental issues with cultural expression.
Nicholas Garcia – National Young Farmers Coalition / KC Young Farmers
Nicholas has 25 years of urban agriculture experience and is a national policy representative for the Young Farmers Coalition. A former urban farm owner, he advocates for equitable access to farming, community‑driven food systems, and climate‑smart green space integrated into urban design.
Lamartt Holman – Spire Natural Gas Company
Lamartt oversees statewide energy efficiency programming, helping customers reduce utility costs and avoid energy crises. His work prioritizes expanding access to preventative energy measures for households, multifamily owners, and commercial clients, improving affordability and sustainability.
Charlie Bentley – Kauffman Foundation
Charlie leads workforce development strategy and brings a decade of diplomatic service focused on global inequality and climate crises. His local work includes building the Hyde Park Farmers Market to expand urban agriculture and fresh‑food access in Midtown Kansas City.
Shakedra Easterwood – Resilience to Brilliance
Shakedra founded Resilience to Brilliance to support youth and families through programs tied to storytelling, agriculture, mental wellness, and public health. She partners with creative and community organizations to expand opportunities for young people, particularly young women in film and media.
Jackson Ward – Johnson County Department of Health & Environment
Jackson is an environmental epidemiologist who studies links between environmental exposures and health outcomes. He helped lead the region’s Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign and is building systems to strengthen regional climate‑health data for cities and counties.
Georgia Eckett – Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium
Georgia manages conservation and sustainability initiatives at a major regional institution serving over 1.1 million annual visitors. She focuses on demonstrating sustainable practices at the zoo while educating the public on ways to protect wildlife and ecosystems.
Emily Randel – Climate Action KC
Emily is a regional climate leader with experience in local government, regional climate planning, and community‑centered grant development. She currently supports Douglas County in implementing a federally funded community engagement and climate knowledge‑building initiative.
Hannah Zimmerman – Marshall Sustainability
Hannah is a consultant who guides organizations through greenhouse gas inventories, sustainability certifications, and climate communication. Her work emphasizes behavior change and practical climate solutions that the public can readily adopt.
Gayle Bergman – City of Overland Park
Gayle works on municipal sustainability policy, helping cities implement the KC Climate Action Plan through strategic playbooks, federal funding alignment, and climate‑forward policy development.
Courtney Green – Missouri Department of Conservation
Courtney supports MDC conservation programming while pursuing graduate research in climate science. She is focused on understanding how conservation and funding strategies can advance regional climate resilience.
Allison Smith – Kansas Department of Transportation
Allison is a long‑tenured KDOT transportation planner who manages federal carbon reduction and climate‑resilient transportation programs. She collaborates closely with MARC on regional resilience frameworks integrating transportation and climate priorities.
Antwan Daniels – Educator & Author
A celebrated chemistry professor, Professor Daniels integrates sustainability, urban heat mitigation, and economic mobility into science education. He develops place‑based learning models that prepare students for careers in technical and green‑sector fields.
Joby Glymph – U.S. Air Force Civil Engineering Officer
Joby works globally on expeditionary engineering projects and domestically on large‑scale military energy upgrades. He joined the council to better understand civilian climate policy and apply it within Department of Defense infrastructure systems.
Jeremy Knoll – BNIM & Climate Action KC
Jeremy is an architect and sustainability director working on major urban design challenges, including reconnecting neighborhoods divided by highway infrastructure. He also advances regional climate implementation through Climate Action KC.
Bob Lawler – City of Kansas City, MO
Bob is a veteran architect and former energy engineer with nearly 50 years in local government. He previously served on the U.S. Conference of Mayors Urban Energy Task Force and now shares his expertise in sustainable urban systems.
Joe Wheelock – Bridging the Gap (Heartland Tree Alliance)
Joe manages regional tree‑planting initiatives and is a certified arborist committed to urban canopy expansion, community engagement, and environmental education.
Jensen Adams – City of Kansas City, MO (Chief Environmental Officer)
Jensen oversees the city’s climate protection, air quality, water quality, and environmental policy portfolios. He works across city departments to align infrastructure, regulation, and climate resilience strategies.
Linda Hezel – Prairie Birthday Farm
Linda is a regenerative farmer, land steward, and educator who operates a 14‑acre agroforestry farm. She mentors students, practices prescribed fire, and manages an agrivoltaics demonstration project that integrates solar energy with food production.
Leslie Scott – Re.Use.Full & KC Digital Drive
Leslie is a leader in circular economy innovation, managing donation networks, large‑scale recycling events, and Repair Cafés that preserve repair knowledge and reduce landfill waste.
Paige Kincaid – Climate + Energy Project
Paige works at the intersection of climate resilience, public health, and community engagement. She leads an energy navigator pilot program supporting households facing energy instability in Wyandotte County.
Dr. John Neuberger – University of Kansas Medical Center
Dr. Neuberger is a professor emeritus with 40 years of experience in environmental health teaching, research, and community engagement across public health organizations.
Karen Bala – DRAW Architecture and Urban Design
Karen is an architect focused on sustainable and affordable housing. She recently completed a major project producing seven pre‑approved high‑performance home designs for Kansas City.
Carl Stafford – Kansas City, MO Innovation Team
Carl is a civic designer supporting the city’s Bloomberg‑funded climate initiative. He also founded a nonprofit that converts vacant land into community‑owned assets that generate neighborhood wealth.
Makenna Nickens – Missouri Coalition for the Environment
Makenna is a community outreach specialist focused on environmental legislation, policy education, and the connection between environmental quality and human well‑being.
Not in attendance:
Caitlyn Eberle – United Nations University
Michael Laverty – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Jennifer Helber – Resident
Alyssa Marcy – Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas
Christian Galindo – Olsson
Jay Jones – MORE2
Dana Knapp – ArtsKC
Lisa Maione – KC Art Institute
Joseph Nelson – Resident
Luz Ortiz – Wyandotte County Health Equity Taskforce
Beth Sarver – Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools
Josh Thede – Resident
Mata Townsend – Resident
