In the fall of 2019 the University of Minnesota Morris received funding from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment to launch the Morris Intercultural Sustainability Leaders (ISLe) program. Tammy Berberi, associate professor of French, who previously served as Interim Director of Equity, Diversity, and Intercultural Programs (EDI), co-created the program with Clement Loo, assistant professor of environmental studies and EDI student success coordinator, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and Sustainability Director Troy Goodnough.
A key part of the program is connecting students with sustainability leaders representing a broad range of identities working across many areas related to sustainability. A student intern prepares for meetings and invites speaking guests. Speakers are mostly from Minnesota, with some from other states. They are asked to share stories about their life trajectories and offer connections between their journeys and sustainability as an idea.
For the past several months Loo has presented to several audiences and shared more information about the program via his podcast Just Sustainability. Loo reflects, “A goal of this program is to help everyone see how they fit into sustainability work and the larger environmental justice movement. Our invited mentors share stories that help our team understand that sustainability is lived and practiced in many ways by different communities and people—but there are a lot of commonalities when it comes to elements that improve flourishing for people and the planet.”
ISLe student intern Dylan Young ’23 adds, “I like hearing the stories of these amazing people. For example, I really appreciated Teresa Peterson ’91 sharing more about her work to support Dakota language revitalization, how she is working with her Tribal community, her passion for food and community, and her efforts to grow all kinds of nutritious edible beans.”
In fall 2021 the ISLe program launched its third cohort of nine Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) student leaders. The organizing team sent an application to the student body and selected participants from the applicants. Co-coordinating the program are Young, Loo, and Goodnough. They are joined by Michelle Montgomery, associate professor at the University of Washington Tacoma, who serves as external Indigenous advisor to the program and as a coordinator. Montgomery recently partnered with UMN Morris on the West Central We Are Water program and also participated in the ISLe program in 2021. Montgomery is excited to share her time, expertise, and resources.
Montgomery shares, “I have enjoyed partnering with UMN Morris the past several years. Much of my work is on Indigenizing and decolonizing the climate justice narrative and is focused on amplifying the voices of Indigenous people in my region. I want to support that work across the country, including in Minnesota. The fact that UMN Morris is a Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution, with such a large Native student body, is such an important responsibility. I look forward to partnering on the ISLe program this year.”