Thinking about: Leadership curriculum for Evanston environmental equity

Winter beach scene on Lake Michigan. Snow and solitary figure walking.

February 15, 2026 ~ Jeff Merrell

At the upcoming April 2026 meeting of Environmental Justice Evanston I am due to propose a curriculum for leadership development. The desired outcome is to increase the number of people who can lead environmental equity efforts in Evanston. This need comes together for a couple of reasons. The Evanston environmental justice movement has matured in … Continue reading Thinking about: Leadership curriculum for Evanston environmental equity

Design (and other) lessons from a K-8 school leader

Lake Michigan snow-covered beach in Evanston.

February 5, 2026February 6, 2026 ~ Jeff Merrell

Last week I had coffee with two friends from my days teaching and helping lead the learning and organizational change graduate program at Northwestern University. One - Beth - is Head of School at a private Montessori school in the Boston area. Beth is an amazing leader; she gets results and creates a workplace where … Continue reading Design (and other) lessons from a K-8 school leader

The ethos and know-how that bind resisters.

January 25, 2026February 5, 2026 ~ Jeff Merrell

I am building off of the first part of my last post: Update on Evanston environmental justice. And folks who give a f*ck. Since that post was published, a second person - Alex Pretti - was murdered by federal agents. The feds lied about what actually happened, refused cooperation with local law-enforcement investigation of the scene, … Continue reading The ethos and know-how that bind resisters.

Update on Evanston environmental justice. And folks who give a f*ck.

CTA Purple Line Train leaving station after snowfall.

January 21, 2026February 5, 2026 ~ Jeff Merrell ~ 1 Comment

A lot has happened in the past several weeks on the environmental justice front and I want to document the moment as we move deeper into 2026. But I also do not want to ignore the current state of life as the US devolves into an autocracy. Minneapolis is under assault by federal government forces … Continue reading Update on Evanston environmental justice. And folks who give a f*ck.

Community listening, environmental justice and writing in 2026

December 14, 2025February 5, 2026 ~ Jeff Merrell ~ 1 Comment

I'm going to take a break from this writing routine until early January. During 2025 I posted almost every week - 49 posts, amounting to 52K words - and it's been a great positive experiment. I plan to continue writing in 2026. But I want to create some space to think more about how that … Continue reading Community listening, environmental justice and writing in 2026