Doug joined ACC as Director in August, 2017, after spending 2 years as Livelihoods advisor for Mennonite Central Committee in Kenya.  Doug worked with rural farmers, and with urban informal settlements, on water and agricultural issues, and saw firsthand the impact of climate change in East Africa.  Doug is Professor of Biology at EMU, helps to direct the Environmental Sustainability program, teaches water and pollution related courses at EMU, and works with rural agricultural communities of Appalachia on water issues.  He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin and held postdoctoral fellowships at  the University of Arizona and the University of Otago, New Zealand.  In addition to 2 years in Kenya, he served two years with Mennonite Central Committee in Cambodia working with Royal University of Agriculture and the Royal University of Phnom Penh.  In his free time, he likes to explore the local mountains with his sons and wife, and work in his garden.

Joseph is a writer and musician with a life-long passion for environmental work. A 2020 graduate from EMU, Joseph devoted significant energy during his time there to studying the environment through both independent and curricular learning, incorporating a semester at the Oregon Extension and a cross-cultural program in India into his education.  Joseph started his time at ACC as a Climate Futures Fellow, conducting research on the ethical implications of environmental expressions in U.S. Mennonite hymnody. He has since transitioned into the Program Assistant position, and is excited to further his work with them.

Doug is a pastor and environmental activist who began as the Director of Pastoral Ecology at ACC in February 2018. In this role he organizes and leads pastoral and leadership retreats on climate change, helping congregations reduce their carbon footprint and engage society more broadly in climate action. He continues as a pastor of Benton Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN, a Green Patchwork congregation with Mennonite Creation Care Network. Doug first became passionate about creation care when he discovered that the Elkhart River, where they often baptize, sometimes is compromised with too much manure. Since 2005, he has led a Hoosier Riverwatch group there. The congregation, whose vision includes “pursuing God’s peace at the river,” has also led river cleanups, installed solar panels, includes recycling, and has a green group. Doug recently completed a Th.M. in theology and ecology at the University of Toronto and has a M.Div. from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, IN. He is also trained as an Indiana Master Naturalist. He previously served as a conference minister with the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference.

Mark has been involved in sustainability work for more than two decades, both domestically and internationally. He has been the chief executive for a variety of community development and health care organizations as well as a lead fundraiser for seven different NGOs, including the Global Footprint Network. He brings experience raising funds in both the United States and in Western Europe.  In addition to serving as the part-time Advancement Director for ACC, Mark serves as the Special Assistant to the President for International Partnerships at Bethany Theological Seminary. Mark has worked extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa for faith-based organizations as well as in India, Tibet, Nepal, The Philippines, Haiti, Honduras and Guatemala. Mark serves on the board of the Center for Caring, Empowerment and Peace Initiatives that works to improve the quality of life for vulnerable people in Northern Nigeria. Mark is ordained in both the United Methodist Church and the Church of the Brethren and has served 4 congregations as pastor and two universities as chaplain. Mark and his family live on a small organic farm where they raise heirloom vegetables, fruit trees, goats and chicken.

Liz Miller is a farmer, writer, and artist who is passionate about caring for the earth and our human bodies through food justice and small-scale farming. She currently works at Hungry World Farm, a regenerative farm in Tiskilwa, Illinois. Liz is both an Eastern Mennonite University (’21) and Hesston College (’18) graduate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Hispanic Studies, following a service-learning year with Mennonite Central Committee in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (2018-2019). She loves gardening, bicycling, ceramics, cooking with local produce, writing, and spending time with neighbors and friends, new and old. 

Sierra Ross Richer is passionate about the natural world and loves sharing that passion through her writing. After graduating from Goshen College with a journalism degree in the spring of 2022, Sierra spent five months working on a trail crew with the Southwest Conservation Corps in Colorado. She lived outdoors while building a trail through a rock field near the top of a 14,000ft mountain. Sierra has since settled in Salida, Colorado where she is writing articles for The Mountain Mail newspaper, in addition to working with ACC. Sierra grew up in Goshen, Indiana as well as Peru and Ecuador. She loves to bike, hike, garden, cook, read and run and is interested in land management issues, sustainability and how we talk and write about the natural world.  In 2021, Sierra biked across the United States as a communications intern for the Climate Ride organized by ACC.  She is excited to work with the organization again, this time writing stories about climate change in a global context.