The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP), launched during academic year 2021-2022, prepares undergraduates for leadership roles in sustainability fields. Through real-world experience with legislators, nonprofits, and business leaders, this program trains students how to effectively advocate for policies that improve community sustainability, and develops their communication and problem-solving skills around environmental problems. The ELP prepares them for careers in both the public and private sectors and offers valuable networking opportunities with leaders in the field. 

The introduction of the ELP is one of the key educational objectives in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) 2020.

In Spring 2025, participants will learn about the policy-building process at the local and state levels, develop real-world environmental policy linked to the current legislative session, engage with local and state government officials, and present their policies to legislative staff and decision-makers in Springfield and Urbana-Champaign. The program includes corporate sustainability through a trip to Chicago where students will connect with companies in a variety of industries and discuss opportunities with business professionals who are making the decisions to implement sustainable change.

Program Details

The Spring 2025 program will consist of:

• Two-day intensive training in local and state government, corporate operations, and environmental policy and advocacy. The training will be Friday-Saturday, Jan. 17-18, 2025, before the start of the Spring semester. During these two days, participants learned more about environmental advocacy, policy building, stakeholder engagement and decision-making for sustainable change. Participants attended sessions about local and state government (e.g., its administration, operations, and policies) and corporate governance — and interacted with other experts in the field.

• Weekly working meetings (between Jan. 24 and March 14) in which students will  hear from expert speakers about career opportunities and pathways in environmental leadership, developed and refined their policy presentations, and prepared for meetings with legislators and company executives. Eight one-hour meetings were planned, several of which included presentations from guest speakers.

• Five days of intensive experiential learning with trips to Chicago corporate offices, the State Capitol in Springfield, and Urbana City Council. These trips were during Spring Break (March 17-21). Networking events during that time helped students meet with legislators, staff at state agencies, and business professionals. Travel expenses were funded by our donor.

For any inquiries about the program, please email us at isee-elp@illinois.edu.

ELP Advisory Board

iSEE is grateful to the following people for their participation and valued advice:

• Harriet Hentges, President and CEO, Hentges Associates
• Eban Goodstein, Director, Center for Environmental Policy and MBA in Sustainability, Bard College
• Doug Sitton, Senior Principal, IMEG Corp.
• Jennifer Walling, Executive Director, Illinois Environmental Council
• Jonathan Coppess, Associate Professor of Agricultural & Consumer Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Funding for the Program

The Alvin H. Baum Family Fund has made a generous gift to help support the ELP, including assistance for student travel expenses.