Jackie Victor, President
Jackie Victor is the owner and co-founder of Avalon International Breads. Opened in Detroit’s Cass Corridor in 1997, Avalon International Breads has since expanded statewide while maintaining its roots in the community. Jackie, who began her career as a grassroots organizer, incorporated the spirit of the local food movement into Avalon’s business model, which is founded on the triple bottom line of Earth, community, and employees. A thought leader among small business owners, Jackie’s recent New York Times column on the federal Payroll Protection Program was circulated widely, and she’s a prominent voice in community affairs. Currently, Jackie serves on the advisory board of the Detroit Food Academy, a non-profit that works to inspire young Detroiters through culinary arts and food entrepreneurship.
Madeline Walker Miller, Vice President
Madeline Walker Miller is the Founder and CEO of NexTiles, a Detroit-based textile recycling company that converts textile waste into building insulation. Her professional background focuses on reducing textile waste and its harmful impacts to our natural environment. Her company specializes in creating secondary uses for textiles and engaging more Detroiters in creating circular economy solutions. She is an alumna of Spelman College and earned a master’s degree in Coastal Zone Management from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Madeline’s passion lies in empowering young Black people and people of color to embrace environmentally sustainable behaviors. She is a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), studying in the Urban Energy Justice Lab. In her spare time, she enjoys family outings and playing with her boxer, Maximus.
Jason Coleman, Treasurer
Jason Coleman is a Managing Partner and Owner of McLaren Wealth Strategies. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dome and a masters degree in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan&bsp:School of Natural Resources and Environment. In his role at McLaren, Jason serves as the lead advisor, bringing his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the forefront. He is deeply committed to helping clients achieve their financial goals, from retirement income and security to wealth accumulation strategies. He has a particular interest in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). His other specialities include tax-efficient and low-cost diversification strategies, as well as charitable giving planning. Jason also leads management of non-profit endowment clients. He has been volunteering on the Ecology s Finance Committee since 2021.
Monique Taylor-McCants, Secretary
Monique Taylor-McCants (she/they) was born and raised in the D.C. metro area and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in French & Francophone Studies at Bucknell University. She works as a Technical Project Manager for an anti-corrosion materials manufacturer in Ann Arbor. She's been on Recycle Ann Arbor's Board of Directors since the Fall of 2022 and is a passionate advocate for justice in all its forms. Her wife, Anna, is the pastor and executive director of FedUp Ministries, a food justice ministry in southeast Michigan working to address food insecurity and more. Taylor-McCants, her wife, and kids, Laynee and Ezra, spend much of our time serving the housing and food-insecure communities in Washtenaw County.
Michael Garfield, Executive Director
Mr. Garfield has served as Director of the Ecology Center since 1993. He has led advocacy campaigns that successfully raised over $200 million in public funds for land preservation, recycling, and public transit. He has testified before federal and state legislative committees, participated in various stakeholder committees, and served on public advisory boards.
Darren Riley
Darren Riley is the Co-founder and CEO of JustAir, a Detroit-based environmental tech company dedicated to protecting the 20,000 breaths we all take every day. Darren was in his mid-twenties when he developed asthma while living in Southwest Detroit, which made him more aware of the environmental health impacts. JustAir began as a project to equip environmental justice leaders with the data and tools needed to understand air quality, educate the public, and organize for change. Today, JustAir has developed outcomes-oriented technology that addresses major air quality data and management challenges nationwide. With a formal education from Carnegie Mellon University and over a decade of experience as a software engineer, Darren leads a mission-driven team dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to clean air.
Michelle Deatrick
Michelle Deatrick is a national environmental leader, a battleground state organizer, and a champion for climate and workers. She is the Chair of both the Democratic National Committee’s Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis and the Washtenaw County Environmental Council, and serves on the National Advisory Boards for Climate Power and OnePointFive Climate Pledge. Michelle is the Michigan Chair of the National Writers Union, a delegate to her regional labor federation, and a Board Member of the Huron Workers’ Organizing and Research Center. Former Vice Chair of her County Commission, Michelle is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and an internationally recognized poet who lives on and cares for her family’s 80 acre farm and rewilded prairie in Superior Township, Michigan.
Marcus Jones
Mr. Marcus Jones is President of Legacy City Group a Design Build Real Estate Development Firm & MJ Construction Service; a Detroit Based Commercial / Residential Construction firm, that specializes in green building, carpentry, and structural steel. Jones is also very active in the Detroit Workforce Development Community, being a founding member and former President of the Detroit Training Center and Construction Instructor for SER Metro Detroit's Construction Pre-apprenticeship Program. He works with the local organizations to help train and recruit local residents for the skilled trade industries. Most recently, Jones opened the Detroit Pizza Bar restaurant located in Detroit's Live(6) Neighborhood. He's using the development as a way to spark economic redevelopment in a traditionally underserved community here in Detroit. Jones is passionate about sustainability, economic development, and in creating jobs for minority residents.
Chris Kassotis
Chris Kassotis, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology at Wayne State University in Detroit. He completed his PhD at the University of Missouri working with Susan Nagel and Fred vom Saal to assess unconventional oil and gas operations (i.e., "fracking") as a novel source of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and the potential for adverse human and animal health outcomes from exposure. He then pursued postdoctoral training with Heather Stapleton's group at Duke and Seth Kullman's lab at North Carolina State to assess the ability of complex chemical mixtures (e.g. indoor house dust) to promote fat cell development, using both cell and zebrafish models. Now in his own laboratory at Wayne State, he is pursuing novel environmental sources of endocrine disrupting chemicals, examining mixture effects from combinations of these chemicals, and determining the pathways through which they act.
Rhonda Conner Warren
Rhonda Conner Warren (PhD, RN, PNP-PCP) is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University College of Nursing, Health Practice. She currently practices as a nurse practitioner at Willow Community Health Center, Ingham County Health Department, and Focus Hope Detroit Michigan Pop Up Peds Clinic, Willow Community Health Center, and the Michigan State University College of Medicine Popoff Clinic in Detroit. She is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2023 Billie Gamble Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. She is a graduate of the Ecology Center’s Health Leaders Fellowship.
Mary-Jacqueline Muli
Mary-Jacqueline Kavivi Muli (BSN, RN), founder of The Climate Justice Nurse and practicing critical care nurse at Michigan Medicine, is a native of Nairobi, Kenya who has called Detroit, Michigan home for over two decades. An alumna of the University of Detroit Mercy and a ReBUILDetroit Scholar—an NIH initiative promoting minority participation in research—she champions health equity in Detroit in the face of the climate crisis. She recently began her Doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Nursing. Beyond her professional work, she is passionate about community engagement through volunteering, mentoring emerging leaders, and exploring cultures through travel and food.
Bill Beuche
Bill Beuche is a corporate lawyer at Hooper Hathaway. He serves as outside general counsel to clients in a broad range of industries. An Ann Arbor native, Bill serves on the board of the Treeline Conservancy, has previously served on the boards of Emerson School and The Neutral Zone, and has volunteered with many other community organizations. Outside of work, Bill enjoys listening to and playing music, taking pictures with old film cameras, riding bicycles, and spending time with family, especially exploring Ann Arbor by bike with his daughter.
Jennifer Cornell Queen, Immediate Past President
Jennifer Queen is executive director of the A2AC. Her prior experience includes serving as a public relations consultant, handling media relations and marketing communications for notable clients such as ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, HealthMedia, the University of Michigan, Hallmark, Ann Arbor SPARK, the Michigan Venture Capital Association, and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. In addition to the Ecology Center, Jenn also serves on the boards of the Main Street Area Association, Destination Ann Arbor, and Family Learning Institute.
Riyaz Kanji, Past President
Mr. Kanji is a partner in Kanji & Katzen, PLLC, a law firm with offices in Seattle and Ann Arbor that represents Indian nations and tribes across the country on a wide variety of issues including sovereignty and governance, treaty fishing and hunting rights, Indian gaming, and environmental protection.