Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
Michigan Career & Technical Institute
Michigan High-Speed Internet Office
Michigan Rehabilitation Services
Workers' Disability Compensation Agency
Black Leadership Advisory Council
Michigan Community Service Commission
Executive Order 2020-107 established Michigan Workforce Development Board
MiSTEM convenes a statewide network of leaders in education, business and local communities to empower the next generation of innovators.
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission
formerly MI Compensation Appellate Commission
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
Michigan AmeriCorps member introduces President Joe Biden on Earth Day
The Michigan Climate Corps took a prominent position in the Whitehouse-led Earth Day Celebration as Michigan AmeriCorps member Za'Nyia Kelly introduced President Joe Biden for his speech at William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia.
Biden recognized AmeriCorps and the American Climate Corps, a groundbreaking initiative modeled after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps that will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow.
The Michigan Climate Corps, operating under the Michigan Community Service Commission within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, has leveraged federal, state, local, and private resources and diverse partnerships to increase the climate resiliency of Michigan communities.
“By summer 2024, it is expected over 200 AmeriCorps members will be engaged in direct climate action and environmental conservation through Michigan’s Climate Corps,” said Michigan Community Service Commission Executive Director Ginna Holmes, who attended the event.
“We are proud to help lead these efforts in Michigan and look forward to seeing the impact the AmeriCorps members make across the state.”
In Michigan, many AmeriCorps members have already began serving.
Other programs are in the planning stages and will be starting up soon.
Members will be at the heart of transformative service activities, including clean energy initiatives, land and water conservation, forestry management, green job workforce development, disaster prevention, community outreach, sustainable agriculture and infrastructure, and much more.
Kelly serves with the MI Healthy Climate Corps through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) as a transit outreach specialist with Transportation Riders United.
Kelly’s interest in the environment started at a young age.
“My mom and I started a backyard garden, and I was hooked,” she said during her introduction speech.
Kelly shared a bit of her life story growing up in Detroit where reliable, affordable transportation and healthy food was scarce. She told the audience about suffering second-degree frostbite to her toes one day in 10th grade when the school bus didn’t arrive, and she had to walk miles through the snow.
“These experiences inspired me to combine my passions for improving both the environment and public transit systems as an AmeriCorps member,” she said. “After graduating from Michigan State University last May, I now proudly serve in the MI Healthy Climate Corps.”
Kelly devoted more than 17 years to climate and environmental advocacy as well as racial justice activism, driving positive change in her hometown and beyond. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Michigan State University and is a member-owner of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op, opening in May as the first Black-led community-owned grocery store cooperative in the city.
Fellow MI Healthy Climate Corps AmeriCorps members Daniel Arini, from Plymouth, serving with Let’s Grow Michigan within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Jacob Bol, of Grand Rapids, who is a restoration ecology fellow with Calvin University’s Plaster Creek Stewards, were also in attendance, along with Climate Action Officer Jordan Power from the Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) in (EGLE).
EGLE also issued a press release about the event and the Michigan AmeriCorps members participation.
“When we launched the first cohort of the MI Healthy Climate Corps a month ago, I never expected that one of our members would soon be introducing President Biden on Earth Day,” Power said. “However, when I look at the depth of expertise, infectious energy, and unapologetic commitment of our members, it is clear that they deserve this recognition on the national stage.”
AmeriCorps featured Kelly in a press release from the Earth Day event.
You can view the event and watch Kelly’s speech on X. Her remarks begin around at the 13-minute mark.
Learn more about the Michigan Climate Corps on the Michigan Community Service Commission website.
Learn more about the American Climate Corps at https://www.acc.gov/.