House Warming - Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago

Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago

11/04/22 • 42 min

House Warming Podcast, Episode 019: Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago with Katherine Tellock and Miranda Carrico, Co-Founders of Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Katherine and Miranda about founding their group Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago.
Katherine Tellock is a citizen activist who wants to dedicate her life to fighting climate change. She strongly believes that an environmentally sustainable society is the best long-term economic and social decision, and is within reach for all people. Having grown up next to an EPA superfund site, she has always cared about the environment and been acutely aware of the impact of industrial pollution. However, she didn’t get heavily involved in environmental issues until spring 2020, when she started tackling litter through Friends of the Chicago River's Summer Challenge. She eventually started Chicago Environmentalists group with Miranda, as well as Cleanup Club Chicago. She took the CCC sustainability leadership training in 2021, and for her final assignment, she is running the Guerrilla Recycling Reporting (GRR) Project. It aims to hold property owners accountable for violating the recycling ordinance and change the way the policy is enforced. She also completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, and wants to get more involved in environmental legislation.

She currently works as a Business and Brand Developer for Block Bins composting service, and has a bachelor's degree in Economics and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently lives in Irving Park with her very sweet cockapoo. In her free time, she enjoys true crime, volleyball, and comedy shows.

Over the past ten years, Miranda Carrico has transitioned toward a "Zero Waste" lifestyle and has become very familiar with Chicago's sustainability scene; especially related to recycling and waste reduction. Miranda is passionate about educating individuals on actions they can take to lessen their environmental impact, as well as advocating for sustainable business practices and environmental legislation. She became more involved in Chicago’s larger environmental scene after teaming up with Katherine on the first Cleanup Club event. This led to brainstorming ways to improve environmentalism in Chicago and the creation of Chicago Environmentalists. She is Co-Founder of Chicago Environmentalists, Assistant Director of Cleanup Club Chicago, and completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in 2021.

Miranda works in healthcare and has been a Chicagoan for over 10 years, residing in Lakeview. When she's not finding creative ways to reduce waste, she enjoys traveling, exploring the city via bike and by foot, making "mixtapes," and spending time with her husband and dog, Greta von Goof.

Chicago Environmentalists provides a forum for discussing topics like zero waste living, recycling, composting, environmental justice, renewable energy, eco policy, local businesses, wildlife conservation, environmental news, events, and more. As of March 2022, the combined total membership of these groups was about 5,500 and growing.

Chicago Environmentalists Website: https://www.chicagoenvironmentalists.org/
Cleanup Club Chicago Website: https://www.chicagoenvironmentalists.org/cleanupclubchicago
Facebook: @Chicago Environmentalists
Instagram: @chicago_enviro

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Lobbying for Change: The Veto Session Explained with Jen Walling

House Warming Podcast, Episode 018: Lobbying for Change: The Veto Session Explained with Jen Walling, Executive Director of Illinois Environmental Council

In this episode, Sarah talks with Jen about the veto session, the lame duck session and her expectation for environmental legislation in those sessions.
Jen Walling has served as the Executive Director for the Illinois Environmental Council since January of 2011, where she oversees the strategic direction and management of the organization and lobbies decision makers on environmental issues. Jen is dedicated to building the power of Illinois’ environmental community to secure policy outcomes that protect the environment.

Over the last decade, Jen has worked to grow IEC staffing five fold, increase the budget and member affiliates, all with a focus on serving and representing IEC’s over 90 affiliated organizations. With the board of directors, Jen worked to secure IEC’s partnership with the League of Conservation Voters, a national organization which has helped IEC network and build on a national level.

Jen has drafted, negotiated, lobbied and passed hundreds of bills in Springfield while working to build the power, expertise and relationships of the entire environmental community. On energy issues, she worked to fix the renewable energy portfolio standards and increase energy efficiency through the Future Energy Jobs Act, and as a steering committee member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, she is working to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Jen has been a statewide leader in composting policy since 2009, when she worked to pass the first commercial composting law in Illinois. She has fought to protect state parks and natural areas through increasing funding to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, increasing recreation liability protections and funding stewardship through the Natural Areas Stewardship Act. Through Jen’s leadership, Illinois was the first state to ban microbeads in personal care products in 2013.

Jen holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also received a juris doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law and is an attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Jen loves to spend her free time with her rescued standard poodle, Sally. She enjoys baking and in 2015, she and Rep. Kelly Cassidy baked fifty different blondie recipes during May in legislative session. She is a compost enthusiast and loves running, yoga and sewing.

The Illinois Environmental Council works to safeguard Illinois—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.

Since our founding in 1975 by a group of dedicated grassroots environmentalists, IEC has led issue advocacy campaigns by allowing environmental organizations to pool their resources and create a higher profile for environmental issues.

Today, IEC represents more than 100 environmental and community organizations and nearly 500 individual members from throughout Illinois.
Website: https://ilenviro.org/
Facebook: @ilenviro
Twitter: @ilenviro
Instagram: @ilenviro
Youtube: @ilenviro

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Human Composting: A Cleaner Greener End with IL Rep. Cassidy

House Warming Podcast, Episode 020: Human Composting: A Cleaner, Greener End with Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Rep. Kelly Cassidy about her bill to bring human composting to Illinois and an update on what to expect on environmental bills in the near future!
As an organizer, a legislative director and a mom, Kelly Cassidy has spent the past 20 years living her values. Whether fighting for the rights of women and the LGBT community as an activist, working for a smarter criminal justice system within the state’s attorney’s office, or ensuring that her three boys have safe spaces to play in our community, she has devoted the last two decades to making government more accessible, efficient and effective.

Those experiences, both inside and outside the system, have afforded her great insight into how to be a better, more responsive and effective State Representative for the 14th district.

Cassidy’s top goal as State Representative is to use the district office in the same manner — helping constituents address their needs, while also looking for ways to prevent problems from recurring.

Through the years, Cassidy has worked both as an advocate and as a professional on issues such as choice, equality, social justice, access to quality health care and child care.

Cassidy’s combination of non-profit sector, state and local government experience provides her with unique perspective, expertise, and understanding that empowers her to serve as an outstanding representative for the 14th district.

Cassidy lives in Rogers Park with her spouse and three sons.
Find her full bio here: https://www.repcassidy.com/background

Website: https://www.repcassidy.com/
Email: [email protected]

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