Hello! My name is Carissa Englert, and I am the new Intern for Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light. I am excited to be in this position and working with this organization because it is giving me the opportunity to connect with more of my community members around environmental topics. 

This fall, I will be going into my last semester at Nebraska Wesleyan University, where I major in Communication Studies and have minors in Political Science and French Modern Language. I am currently the president of Wesleyan’s student environmental organization, the Greenhouse Project. I am also a member of Sustain UNL and Embrace Nebraska. Throughout my education, I have enjoyed weaving my passion for the environment into everything that I do. Along the way, I have also learned about another passion that I have for communities and the role that they play in grassroots social and political activism. During my time in this internship, I hope to gain more experience and learn more about both of those passions from those around me.  

Throughout my internship, I will mainly be working on two initiatives that Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light offers. One of them is Cool Congregations, a program that provides resources to help congregations reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from their facilities, help their members reduce emissions at home, and serve as leaders in the wider community. This program also can help reduce energy bills, something that is becoming even more important as we see the costs of so many things drastically increase. I will be reaching out to faith communities throughout the state, encouraging them to participate in this initiative. If this is something that you or your congregation may be interested in, please let us know!

Another important initiative that I will be helping with is the 2022 Nebraska Youth Climate Summit. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light has not been able to offer this event since the fall of 2019. However, this year we are excited to continue connecting with local youth environmental activists and having discussions about climate, environmental justice, and the role that Nebraska can play in combating the climate crisis. This event will take place on Friday, October 7th at Innovation Campus in Lincoln. Deke Arndt, chief climate scientist with NOAA, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker. There will also be a variety of guest presenters to speak on a range of topics, along with a panel of young people to talk about how youth leadership can make a difference. If you are interested in attending or being part of the planning process for this event, please reach out to us!