Projects

Change Narrative Consulting projects: A Sampling of collaborations, workshops, and public speaking engagements.

National Consulting Projects:

- Project Drawdown – ongoing contractor on Drawdown Stories Project Team, supporting Drawdown’s Neighborhood, a city-by-city video series (Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Twin Cities, New Orleans, and NYC Tri-State Area) featuring underrepresented climate heroes around the theme of “passing the mic” to voices who often go unheard in climate conversations.
- Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs) – Supporting the open call for California climate stories in collaboration with the University of California – California State University systems to advance PK – 12 climate justice literacy.
- Taproot Earth – Providing narrative coaching to support the development of first-person narratives from the Gulf South to Appalachia, demonstrating shared struggles and visions for climate reparations supporting the #WeChooseNow Climate Action Strategy. Additionally, drafting a Narrative Justice Toolkit, which documents the history and process of the Gulf South Rising Community Controlled Fund, created by and for frontline communities.
- Coastal States Organization – Great Lakes stories, featuring three written stories co-produced with Change Narrative and adapted into public service announcement posters in collaboration with Heartseed Creative, on display at the 2024 National Adaptation Forum.
- Climate Advocacy Lab – Supporting Narrative Skill Building Trainings for four (Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, and Southern) Regional Climate and Health Cohorts across the United States.
- McKnight Foundation’s Midwest Climate & Energy Program – Leading climate storytelling campaign, co-producing first-person narratives through one-on-one coaching with individuals across the Midwest. The goal is to amplify a diverse range of stories that resonate with various identities, geographies, sectors, solutions, and lived experiences.
- River of Nourishment – An annual multi-day rafting retreat on Oregon’s Rogue River for climate professionals experiencing burnout. Set along the wild and scenic Rogue River Valley, the River of Nourishment offers an immersive experience in a pristine natural setting, designed to spark renewal, foster community, and rekindle a sense of love and connection with the world. Created for both first-time and experienced rafters, the retreat is guided by expert river leaders from Momentum River Expeditions and includes all meals, equipment, and facilitated programming. Practices are led by facilitators from Change Narrative, Good Grief Network, and the Climate Psychology Network, weaving together storytelling, reflection, and collective care. Applications for participants open on a yearly basis.

Minnesota-based Projects:

- Indigenous-led nonprofit in MN, Oyate Hotanin, to facilitate climate grief to joy programming, called Society of Mother Earth or S.O.M.E., which incorporates artistic and somatic programming (music, poetry, stage performance, and circle keeping) as an invitation for people to connect, and move through informal processes that acknowledge climate emotions, and promote ways to cope.
- COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina) and Take Action MN (Fall 2023) to develop five climate stories about climate migration connections as preparation for video testimonials to support MN Environmental Justice Cumulative Impacts Bill. (Spring 2025) Developed a Climate Story Mapping Activity in collaboration with COPAL staff to ensure cultural sensitivity and translation for COPAL’s Annual Member Conference.
- Resilient Landscapes for Reimagined Futures (2024-2025) – a year-long pilot project in partnership with artist Julie Marckel, to amplify an Elder and Youth’s narratives and their cross-generational visions of climate justice. In support of the EPNI and the East Phillips “Roof Depot” environmental justice community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and re-imagined futures.
- Somali Museum of Minnesota (Summer 2023) to support the We Are Water MN exhibit through the MN Humanities Center to develop a community engagement event featuring Gabay (Somali poetry).
- Hopkins Climate Stories (Spring 2025) – Co-production of three Hopkins community member stories, published in the City of Hopkins Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (Adopted by city council in Summer 2025), and shared live by storytellers at a 2025 Earth Day community event.
- Fresh Energy (2024-25) – Led a series of staff storytelling workshops, leading to the production of a gallery walk of staff stories displayed at Fresh Energy’s Breakfast Gala.
- Environmental Justice and Nature Immersion course, North Hennepin Community College, community partner, providing ongoing support for high school and college climate story production to stage events.
- Freshwater Society (Summer 2023) – Curated program for the annual gala, Water Connects Us, to celebrate water as a vital life way and resource, including content, music, and storytelling.
- Institute on the Environment (Summer 2023) – Environmental Justice Leaders Storytelling Project
- “Testify: Americana from Slavery to Today” (Winter/Spring 2023)- Project lead for Testify Tuesday Public Narrative Workshops in collaboration with partners ACLU of MN and The Loft Literary Center, held weekly during the eight-week run of the public exhibit at the Minneapolis Central Library. Change Narrative curated and moderated the culminating storytelling slam featuring a range of social justice issues.
- Environmental Justice Narratives: Personal Stories from the Field (Summer 2022) worked with Minnesota Transforms to support six student interns in developing environmental justice narratives
- Partnership with Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership Team (MCAP) – co-drafted the Environmental Justice module and designed the Climate Storytelling activity for the Community Climate Leaders Program (2024), co-led a delegation of climate leaders to Aspen Ideas Climate Festival, Miami (Spring 2024)
- Community Faculty Mentor (Spring Semester 2022) SUST 3017- Environmental Justice Course, University of Minnesota. Community Faculty (Fall 2025) Change Narrative workshop in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Climate Literacy
- Sustainability Alumni Mapping Project (Spring 2022) University of St. Thomas, Office of Sustainability

Community Events / Stage Productions:

MN Fringe Festival Show: Changing the Narrative: Climate Stories for Justice (Summer 2022) -recipient of the 2022 Golden Lanyard: Best in House ‘Venue Pick’ Award as first-time Producer
Change Narrative is a collaborative partner of The Buffalo Show, with a standing segment providing climate context, introducing a community storyteller to share live from the stage, and inviting the audience to “turn and talk” and reflect on ways to deepen action. Held at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis, The Buffalo Show is a variety show hosted by the non-profit Oyate Hotanin, and the musical duo, The Buffalo Weavers
Testify: Storytelling Slam: Hosted by the Testify Exhibit and the Minneapolis Central Library to celebrate the culmination of the TESTIFY exhibit and TESTIFY Tuesdays workshops. Change Narrative curated the slam program, featuring stories, music, and poetry, representing diverse experiences and perspectives, and various issues of concern to Minnesotans.
Change Narrative partnered with the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s Next Generation of Parks series and Minnesota Public Radio for a screening of Belonging in the Outdoors, a film by Bair Stories, followed by a student panel discussion at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Spring 2025). Change Narrative moderated student climate stories, crafted through coaching and support from Change Narrative, which were shared live at this public event.

Sampling of Storytelling Workshops:

Macalester College Storytelling Workshop Series (Summer 2023)
Climate Impact Corps Climate Storytelling Training – Serve Minnesota, Americorps (Spring 2023)
Mary’s Pence Grantee Retreat (Spring 2023)
University of Minnesota, Environmental Studies and Sciences Forum (Fall 2022)
Fresh Energy, Climate and Housing Justice Community Convening (Fall 2022)
College of St. Benedict & St. John’s University, Upper-division environmental literature class (Spring 2022)
New York Public Schools, 5th Grade Teach-In (Spring 2022)
Minneapolis Climate Action, Community Engagement Facilitation (Spring 2022)
Science Museum of Minnesota, Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (Spring 2022)

Public Speaking (since 2023):

Freshwater Society, Water Connects Us, Keynote Speaker (Summer 2023)
Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership Awards Ceremony, Keynote Speaker (Winter 2023)
Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs) ReLaunch Event Speaker (Fall 2022)
MBooth, Climate Series Speaker (Summer 2022)
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, Unity IFTAR Speaker (Spring 2022)
Northern Illinois University, Speaking Panel (Spring 2022)
Climate Generation, #TeachClimateChat Twitter discussion (Spring 2022)
Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) Storytelling Presentation (Spring 2022)
Grand Valley State University, Sustainability Series Speaker (Winter 2022)
Opening keynote for the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) (Fall 2024)
MinnPost Festival Speaker, ‘Hope and Purpose for Minnesota’s Climate Future’ In conversation with Climatologist Kenneth Blumenfeld (Fall 2024)
Opening keynote for the Climate, Water, and Equity Workshop hosted by the North Central Region Water Network (Fall 2024)
Speaker at the ECCLPs (Environmental and Climate Literacy Projects) 2024 Annual Symposium, Virtual (Spring 2024)
Speaker at the Great Northern Festival: Keynote MCAP Awards (2023), Planetary Health Panelist (2025), Stage Interview with Pattie Gonia (2024), Moderation in conversation with James Thornton, ClientEarth (2025), Interview with Canadian Minister of Northern Affairs, the Honorable Dan Vandal (2022)
Nest Climate Campus, Main Stage Panelist ‘The Art and Science of Storytelling for Climate Action’, New York Climate Week with Imagine 5 and Project Drawdown (Fall 2024)
Closing Joint-Session Keynote, US Green Building Council‘s 2025 Green Schools Connect x ADAPT Conference, Orlando (Spring 2025)
Closing Keynote “Envisioning the Future” at Hennepin County‘s 10th Anniversary Celebration of Diversity, Minneapolis (Fall 2025)
Opening grounding for Weathering Together EJ Fashion Show, North Minneapolis (Fall 2025) in collaboration with Red Light House.
Luncheon Keynote “Resilient by Design” Women In Green, 2025 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Los Angeles (Fall 2025)
Speaker at Climate Strides walk/run in Central Park, New York Climate Week with Where the Climate Things Are (Fall 2025)
Luncheon Keynote, Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Annual Symposium (In Winter 2026)