Staff

IonE Management Team

Jessica Hellmann
Executive Director
hellmann@umn.edu
@JessicaHellmann
Melissa Kenney
Director of Research & Knowledge Initiatives and Principal Research Scholar in Environmental Decision Support Science
makenney@umn.edu
612-624-2648
@melissakenney
April Snyder
Director of Administration
aprilsnyder@umn.edu
612-625-3516
Cathy Jordan
Director of Leadership & Education
jorda003@umn.edu
612-625-7591
Julie Etterson
Director, IonE @ UMN-Duluth
jetterso@d.umn.edu
Julie K. Hanus
Director of Communications
hanus018@umn.edu
612-624-6566

Administration

April Snyder
Director of Administration
aprilsnyder@umn.edu
612-625-3516
Jack Moebius
Projects Manager & Executive Administrator
moebi001@umn.edu
612-626-9553
Noah Greensweig
Grants Program Associate
gree2190@umn.edu

Communications

Julie K. Hanus
Director of Communications
hanus018@umn.edu
612-624-6566
Kate Nyquist
Manager of Communications & Content
muehe001@umn.edu
Kimberly Long
Event Strategist & Project Manager
longx296@umn.edu
612-626-1143
Megan Guerber
Managing Editor, Special Projects; Communications Manager, DAWN project
guerber@umn.edu
Rupsa Raychaudhuri
Communications Assistant
raych006@umn.edu

Development

Marin Byrne
Director of Donor Relations & Advancement Operations
byrn0085@umn.edu

Environmental Media Lab

David Doody
Interim Editor in Chief, Ensia
dldoody@umn.edu
612-626-1211
@dlukedoody
Elise Bernstein
Communications Assistant

Leadership and Education

Cathy Jordan
Director of Leadership & Education
jorda003@umn.edu
612-625-7591
Aaron Hanson
Energy Program Specialist
hans4732@umn.edu
Barrett Colombo
Lead Education & Communications Platform Development
colom008@umn.edu
612-626-2167
@barrett_colombo
Beth Mercer-Taylor
Co-Program Director, Sustainability Education
bethmt@umn.edu
612-624-9430
Christina Lundgren
Student Engagement Coordinator
lundg131@umn.edu
Grant McCormack
Academic Advisor
grantkm@umn.edu
Mary Hannemann
Co-Program Director, Sustainability Education
oldha012@umn.edu
Megan Voorhees
Program Director of Experiential Education and Graduate Programs
voorhees@umn.edu
415-336-1340
Sabine Engel
Program Director of International Partnerships
engel056@umn.edu
Joe Warren
Graduate Research Assistant
warre665@umn.edu
Kathryn Burden
Graduate Research Assistant
burd0133@umn.edu
Khaled Abdellatif
Graduate Research Assistant
abdel236@umn.edu
Betty Huynh
Cleantech Research Intern Assistant
huynh498@umn.edu
Domenico Jose Diaz
Blooming Energy Project Intern Assistant
diazx230@umn.edu
Ella Rodewald
Sustainability Education Communications Assistant
rodew026@umn.edu
Erik Ren
Accounting and Administrative Assistant
ren00067@umn.edu
Firdaus Hasbollah
Agrivoltaics Financial Assistant
moha1216@umn.edu
Grace Madson
Project Assistant
madso201@umn.edu
Jacob Bechtold
Program Assistant
becht113@umn.edu
Jessica Jurcek
Sustainability Education Lead Assistant
jurce003@umn.edu
Lane Welshinger
Agrivoltaics Engineering Assistant
welsh187@umn.edu
Luisa Santos Nothaft
Clean Energy Program Assistant
santo344@umn.edu
Luke Bendickson
Project Assistant
bendi068@umn.edu
Manashree Padiyath
Undergraduate Communications & Research Assistant
padiy004@umn.edu
Piper Gallivan
Sustainability Education Communications Assistant
galli120@umn.edu
Priya Shenoi
Project Assistant
sheno022@umn.edu
Sarah Dunn
Project Assistant
dunn0512@umn.edu
Sophia Fisher
Communications Program Assistant
fish00550@umn.edu
YuQi Zeng
Project Assistant
zeng0079@umn.edu

Knowledge Initiatives

Melissa Kenney
Director of Research & Knowledge Initiatives and Principal Research Scholar in Environmental Decision Support Science
makenney@umn.edu
612-624-2648
@melissakenney
Eric Lonsdorf
Principal Research Scientist in Natural Capital
lons0011@umn.edu
717-358-4840
Akisha Everett
Project and Engagement Coordinator, Energy Transitions
aeverett@umn.edu
Amanda Farris
Social Science Research Coordinator
farri134@umn.edu
Becky Chaplin-Kramer
Principal Research Scientist in Natural Capital
bchaplin@stanford.edu
Chris Nootenboom
Research Specialist in Natural Capital
cnootenb@umn.edu
Deepak Ray
Senior Research Scientist in Global Landscapes
dray@umn.edu
612-626-4029
Elizabeth Abraham
Postdoctoral Scholar in Research and Extension
abrah475@umn.edu
Felix Wolfinger
Social Science Research Specialist
wolfi014@umn.edu
Heidi Ries
Research Specialist in Carbon Neutrality Policy
hries@umn.edu
James Gerber
Principal Research Scientist in Global Landscapes
jsgerber@umn.edu
612-624-2639
@jsgerb
Jennifer Schmitt
Senior Research Scientist in Sustainable Food Systems
jorg0206@umn.edu
612-626-3637
Lingling Liu
Senior Research Specialist in Data Science
liu02034@umn.edu
Matthew Gabb
Program & Research Coordinator
gabb0029@umn.edu
Megan Guerber
Managing Editor, Special Projects; Communications Manager, DAWN project
guerber@umn.edu
Nathaniel Springer
Research Scientist in Economics and Sustainability
sprin126@umn.edu
Rylie Pelton
Research Scientist in Industrial Ecology
olso4235@umn.edu
Sarah Skikne
TNC NatureNet Fellow
sskikne@umn.edu
Kayla Peterson
Graduate Research Assistant
pet04078@umn.edu
Linda Herbrand
Undergraduate Research Assistant
lim00121@umn.edu
Manashree Padiyath
Undergraduate Communications & Research Assistant
padiy004@umn.edu

Project Leads and Researchers

Read about all IonE funded projects.

Bharat Jalan
Affiliated since 2016
Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Direct Conversion of Heat to Electricity
Chris Leighton
Affiliated since 2016
Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Low-cost Renewable Electricity
Craig Packer
Affiliated since 2016
College of Biological Sciences
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Whole Village
Elizabeth Borer
Affiliated since 2016
Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Nutrient Network
Eray Aydil
Affiliated since 2016
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Tandon School of Engineering (NYU)
Related Projects: Low-cost Renewable Electricity
Eric Seabloom
Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Nutrient Network
Erik T. Brown
Affiliated since 2014
Large Lakes Observatory
University of Minnesota Duluth
Related Projects: Global Great Lakes
Jeff Marr
Affiliated since 2016
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Controlling Wind Plant Power
Jiarong Hong
Affiliated since 2016
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Controlling Wind Plant Power
Jill Baumgartner
Affiliated since 2013
Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health
McGill University
Jonee Kulman Brigham
Affiliated since 2014
College of Design
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Katey Pelican
Affiliated since 2010
Veterinary Population Medicine
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Health and Environment in Africa
Laura Gagliardi
Affiliated since 2016
Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Low-cost Renewable Electricity
Lawrence Wackett
Affiliated since 2012
Biotechnology
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Cleaning Pollutants in Drinking Water
Lian Shen
Affiliated since 2016
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Controlling Wind Plant Power
Mark Pedelty
Affiliated since 2010
Communication Studies
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Michele Guala
Affiliated since 2016
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Controlling Wind Plant Power
Mike Greco
Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Resilient Communities Project
Murti Salapaka
Affiliated since 2016
Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Interface for Renewables & Storage
Nick Jordan
Affiliated since 2011
Agronomy & Plant Genomics
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Patrick Hamilton
Affiliated since 2010
Global Change Initiatives
Science Museum of Minnesota
Related Projects: Science on a Sphere
Peter Reich
Affiliated since 2010
Forest Ecology
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Boreal Forest and Community Resilience| Plant Data Synthesis
Peter Seiler
Affiliated since 2012
Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Controlling Wind Plant Power| Interface for Renewables & Storage
Peter Snyder
Soil, Water & Climate
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Islands in the Sun
Richard James
Affiliated since 2016
Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Direct Conversion of Heat to Electricity
Sairaj Dhople
Affiliated since 2016
http://ece.umn.edu/directory/dhople-sairaj/
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Interface for Renewables & Storage
Sarah Hobbie
Affiliated since 2011
Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Urban Ecosystems| Sustainable Cities
Shashi Shekhar
Affiliated since 2012
Computer Science & Engineering
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Terra Populus
Stephen Polasky
Affiliated since 2010
Applied Economics
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Sustainable Cities
Steven Manson
Affiliated since 2010
Geography
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Terra Populus| U-Spatial Data Locker
Tim Smith
Affiliated since 2010
Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Tracy Twine
Soil, Water & Climate
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Related Projects: Islands in the Sun