Shannon Anderson, Director of Advocacy
Shannon Anderson is the Director of Advocacy for Earth Charter Indiana where she works with Indiana cities and towns as well as youth climate leaders. Her academic background is in cell biology, with many years of laboratory research on fundamental mechanisms that direct the life cycle of an eukaryotic cell and how DNA compression is managed. She transitioned to political advocacy in 2007 as a result of personal mission to end inaction on climate change, working on many election campaigns, be they for candidates or specific issues, in the Greater NYC Area and several other states. She moved to Indiana in 2013 and immediately became active in the Indiana Climate Collaboration, Indiana Moral Mondays where she served as the Chair of Legislative Action, and in the Power Indy Forward Campaign. She took a job with Earth Charter Indiana as the Communications Director for Sustainable Indiana 2016, their Bicentennial Legacy Project, in 2015. She has served on the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee for 4 years. She was the Hoosier Environmental Council Climate Activist of the Year for 2016 and was named Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute’s Resilience Hero in 2020.
Edith Conchas, Special Projects Coordinator
Edith comes to the Earth Charter Indiana staff having spent two years as an ECI board member. She previously served with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful as the Manager of Volunteer Programs, where she expanded accessible volunteer opportunities to create and sustain local habitats and green spaces. Outside of work, Edith serves as a Young Professional Board Member at the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and is a Co-Organizer with Touch Grass, Indy!, where she advocates for climate action in Indianapolis. She is also a muralist and artist as Good Job Signs, offering free art skill-sharing workshops to the public and producing designs that highlight local culture and history. As a Special Projects Coordinator, Edith conducts outreach on behalf of the Solar Opportunities Indiana coalition, continuing to support access to programs that benefit Hoosiers while expanding Indiana’s renewable energy infrastructure.
Colleen D., Communications Manager
Colleen manages digital communication for ECI through the newsletter, website, and multiple social media channels. She enjoys building relationships with supporters and partnering with other organizations for in person community events.
Miranda Frausto, Latino/x/e Outreach Coordinator
Miranda Frausto graduated from IUPUI in May 2021 with a degree in Sustainable Management and Policy. She has lived in three countries -- born in Mexico City, raised in Toronto, and grew up in Carmel. Miranda began her climate advocacy work in high school, serving as the Head Youth Leader for the Promise Project. She and her peers worked with elected leaders in Carmel to draft and pass the first youth-led climate resolution in the state. Two years later, she helped put the resolution into action as the City of Carmel’s McKinney Climate Fellow. There, she conducted the city’s first greenhouse gas inventories of local and community emissions and laid the groundwork for Carmel’s climate action planning process. Miranda interned with the IUI Office of Sustainability for all four years of her undergrad, focusing on waste reduction and food recovery efforts. In her previous role, she served as the Manager of Volunteer Programs at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and led the volunteer appreciation and engagement of hundreds of volunteers across the city. In her current role, Miranda works to engage the Latine community in eco-therapy and nature programming. Her primary (bilingual) initiative is Proyecto SOL, connecting Latine students and families with nature to support mental and physical health, as well as to strengthen personal relationships with nature.
Kristina Trinity Hartley, Operations Manager
Kristina Trinity Hartley (she/her) grew up in North Carolina and Georgia and received a degree in Political Science from Beloit College in Wisconsin. As Operations Manager at Earth Charter, Kristina uses various technical skills to build processes, connect silos, solve mysteries and answer tough questions. She has two young children and enjoys learning everything, exploring the world, running, and climbing things.
Kevin Nichols
Kevin (he/him) comes to Earth Charter Indiana with experience in promotional marketing, state government, and mail delivery! Most recently, he served as a Digital Equity Advisor with the Indiana Broadband Office, supporting efforts to expand internet access and digital skills for underserved Hoosiers. As a Special Projects Coordinator for ECI, he conducts outreach on behalf of the Solar Opportunities Indiana coalition. He is thrilled to continue championing technology accessibility with a new focus on reducing energy costs and strengthening Indiana’s renewable energy infrastructure.
He has two dogs, Gretel and Sadie, and one cat, Little Bunny Foo Foo.
Jim Poyser, Director of Advancement
Jim Poyser joined ECI on Sept. 1, 2013, as Executive Director then transitioned to Director of Advancement in early 2022. His diverse employment history includes delivering the South Bend Tribune (ages 11-15), serving as an orderly at the Bloomington Convalescent Center (after college), running a house painting business, teaching language arts at The Children’s House, and editorial staff leadership positions at The Bloomington Voice, Breeze Magazine, NUVO Newsweekly and Indiana Living Green. Throughout the 90s and early 2000s his essays and news haiku were published in free weeklies around the country. As for his climate crisis education work, he was trained by the Climate Reality Project in 2013 and has presented to thousands of people, including live presentations, radio and TV interviews, sermons, and a TEDx talk. He is the creator of a climate change game show, The Ain’t Too Late Show, and his newest theater project is Climate Follies, short comedies about the unfunniest thing ever. He is Producer of Little Warriors, the award-winning documentary that tells the story of youth climate action in Indianapolis, and he is author of a book of short stories, The Last Actor and Other Stories (2020). In 2015, he was honored by the Hoosier Environmental Council with an Environmentalist of the Year award, and in 2019 was named one of United Way of Central Indiana’s 100 Heroes.
tatjana Rebelle, Director of Engagement
Tatjana Rebelle (they/them) is the Director of Engagement for Earth Charter Indiana, focusing on youth programming and leadership development, sustainability projects for schools through the grants program Indiana Thriving Schools Challenge and the development and implementation of ECI’s summer camps. They have been active in the Indianapolis social justice movement for nearly a decade focusing on connecting international indigenous solidarity movements into a local lens to create systems change in Indiana.
Tatjana has served as an Mayoral appointed member of the Indianapolis Food Access Advisory Commission and spoken locally about the connections of food and climate, including at 2023 Farm Aid. They are a grower for Kheprw Institute's Growin’ Good in the Hood community garden. They also recently received the Ambassador award during the 2024 Best of Green Schools Award presented by the Center for Green Schools and the Green Schools National Network.
Interns
Sarah Gardiner
McKinney Climate Fellow: Sarah is a recent graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Water Resources Science, Policy, and Management. A proud resident of Northwest Indiana, she discovered her passion for Environmental Policy and Justice in High School, and went on to become one of the founding members of charity: water at IU, a student organization focused on providing clean and accessible water to underserved countries. She recently returned from Iceland, where she authored 4 articles on environmental topics ranging from volcanic activity to the local housing crisis, and plans to return to school to study Environmental Health or Law. In her free time, she loves running, coffee, watersports, and film photography.
Veda Thangudu
Youth Environmental Press Team: Raised in Fishers, IN, Veda is currently studying Biology at Purdue University and part of the John Martinson Honors College. Her long term goal is to work in the research field. She has been passionate about combatting the climate crisis and uplifting young voices since high school, and served as one of the directors for Youth Environmental Press Team. In addition to her work with Earth Charter Indiana, she’s involved in various student organizations and research on Purdue’s campus. In her free time, Veda enjoys painting, photography and having fun with friends and family. We’re thrilled Veda stayed with ECI to work as an intern with the YEPT throughout the year!