 John Bailey — Development Director
John is the Director of Development and is responsible for coordinating fundraising and related outreach for ILSR. He was a senior researcher at ILSR from 1992 until 2011, specializing in decentralized energy policy and analysis including topics of renewable energy, climate change, efficiency, tax policy and electric vehicles.
Contact – Twitter |
Linda Bilsens — Project Manager, Composting for Community Initiative and Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Program
Linda is the Project Manager for ILSR’s Composting for Community project and Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders community composter training program. Her role is dedicated to fostering a skilled, collaborative network of composters who are regenerating their communities, both socially and ecologically.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Hannah Bonestroo — Intern, Community Broadband Networks Initiative
Hannah is an intern with ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative. She graduated from Macalester College in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and a concentration in Urban Studies. She utilizes her GIS mapping skills to visually supplement ILSR’s many projects focused on promoting broadband access.
Contact |
 Jessica Del Fiacco — Communications Specialist
Jessica Del Fiacco is a communications specialist with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. She received her B.A. from Macalester College in 2016 and has since worked with a variety of local nonprofits committed to social and environmental justice. She works within ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative to promote their published research reports, articles, and other materials.
Contact – Twitter
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Marie Donahue — Research Associate, Community-Scaled Economy & Energy Democracy Initiatives
Marie Donahue works with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Energy Democracy and Community-Scaled Economy Initiatives. She analyzes and writes about the implications of corporate concentration and monopoly in these sectors.
Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Colton Fagundes — Intern, Composting for Community Initiative
Colton Fagundes is an intern with ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative. He was the lead researcher for the Yes! In My Backyard: A Home Composting Guide for Local Government report. He has a Masters degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University where he focused on agriculture, food security/sovereignty, and environmental justice. He is also working with the Rural Coalition to publish research analyzing the institutional barriers to federal conservation programs faced by Black farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma.
Contact – LinkedIn |
 John Farrell — Director, Energy Democracy Initiative
John Farrell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and directs its work on energy democracy. John is best known for his vivid illustrations of the economic and environmental benefits of local ownership of decentralized renewable energy.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Lisa Gonzalez — Senior Researcher, Community Broadband Networks Initiative
Lisa Gonzalez researches and reports on telecommunications and how those networks impact life on the local level. Her background includes experience in state politics, law, writing, and freelance journalism.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Daniel Hanley — Antitrust Policy Intern, Community-Scaled Economy Initiative
Daniel Hanley is an Antitrust Policy Intern within the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community-Scaled Economy Initiative. At ILSR he provides assistance in the writing and researching of antitrust issues, specifically concerning technology platforms. Daniel is a current 3L at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Katie Kienbaum – Research Associate, Community Broadband Networks Initiative
Katie is a Research Associate with the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. She researches and writes about rural Internet access and community-owned networks.
Contact |
 Linda Knapp — Director, MACREDO Project
Linda Knapp is a Senior Program Manager for ILSR, overseeing the Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Recycling and Economic Development Officials, a recycling market development group funded by US EPA Region 3. Her current work focuses on increasing on-farm composting.
Full Bio – Contact |
 Olivia LaVecchia — Senior Researcher, Community-Scaled Economy Initiative
Olivia LaVecchia is a senior researcher with ILSR’s Community-Scaled Economy Initiative, where her work focuses on building awareness and support for public policy tools that strengthen locally owned businesses and that check concentrated economic power.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Maria McCoy — Intern, Energy Democracy Initiative
Maria McCoy is an intern with the energy democracy initiative. A rising senior at St. Olaf College, she plans to finish majors in Latin American studies and environmental studies, where she focuses on economics and policy. As part of the energy democracy initiative, she contributes to blog posts, podcasts, interactive features, and new reports.
Contact |
 Hibba Meraay — Communications Manager
Hibba Meraay is the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Communications Manager. She works closely with all of our initiatives to build community power and combat monopolies. She runs ILSR’s social media networks on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Hibba also produces the Institute’s Building Local Power podcast.
She joined ILSR after working with economic empowerment organizations in Oakland, California and Hartford, Connecticut. Outside of work, she is active in social justice initiatives and enjoys cooking for friends. Find her on twitter @hibbameraay.
Contact Hibba for media inquiries.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Christopher Mitchell — Director, Community Broadband Networks Initiative
Christopher’s work focuses on telecommunications — helping communities ensure the networks upon which they depend, are accountable to the community. He has published several reports, articles, and interviews while also offering technical assistance to communities around the country.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Stacy Mitchell — Co-Director & Director, Community-Scaled Economy Initiative
Stacy Mitchell directs ILSR’s Community-Scaled Economy Initiative, which produces research and analysis, and partners with a range of allies to design and implement policies that curb economic consolidation and strengthen community-rooted enterprise.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 David Morris — Distinguished Fellow
David Morris is co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and currently ILSR’s distinguished fellow. He writes the blog, From the Desk of David Morris. He has served as an adviser or consultant to local, state and national governments and to private businesses large and small.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Jeffrey Neal, PE — Urban & On-Site Compost Consultant, Composting for Community Initiative
Commander, Jeffrey H. Neal is a retired United States Navy Civil Corps Engineer Officer and a graduate of ILSR’s Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders (NSR) Composter Training Program program. He provides his unique skill-set and expertise in composting, and facilities and program management to organizations and businesses that are considering composting.
Full Bio – Contact |
 Brenda Platt — Co-Director & Director, Composting for Community Initiative
Brenda Platt is a recycling expert and composting advocate, and co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). She directs ILSR’s Composting for Community project.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts – Twitter |
 Hannah Rank — Intern, Community Broadband Networks Initiative
Hannah Rank is a Public Policy Research Intern for the Community Broadband Networks initiative. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include local economic and social development and wealth equity, as well as local government sustainability work. Hannah enjoys hiking and biking around Minnesota’s countless parks and wilderness areas. She was born and raised in the Twin Cities.
Contact |
 Neil Seldman — Director, Waste to Wealth Initiative
Neil Seldman, Ph.D., co-founded the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and is Director of the Waste to Wealth Initiative. Seldman is a leading recycling and zero waste activists assisting citizen, environmental and small business organizations in stopping garbage incinerators in scores of US cities. Subsequently, he works with these cities to increase recovery of materials from the waste stream and grow the local economy by adding value to materials through local processing, manufacturing and job creation. Prior to founding ILSR Seldman was a manufacturer of consumer products and professor of political science.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts |
 Virginia Streeter — Research Associate, Composting for Community Initiative
Virginia Streeter is a Research Associate for the Composting for Community Project. She produces written reports and articles regarding the world of community composting, provides support on ILSR’s legislative work in composting, and gets to meet and interview lots of amazing people working in the field.
Full Bio – Contact – Recent Posts |
Sidi Traore — Communications Assistant
Sidi Traore is the Communications Assistant for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He is a senior from American University majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies, which consists of Communications, Law, Economics, and Government with a minor in Accounting. Sidi aspires to be a lawyer in the future and hopes to practice in the areas of human rights, international, and/or immigration. Sidi truly cares about making an impact and substantial difference in individuals’ lives, especially those who are vulnerable and do not have the access to the resources to ameliorate their legal needs.
Contact – Recent Posts |
Nora Goldstein
Jolie Jones
Chris Lewis
Kirk Marckwald
David Morris
Roy Priest
Gina Schaefer
Neil Seldman