Meet Sally, Sara, Breanna, and Glennys, who make up Campus Compact’s Campus Climate Action Corps (CCAC) Team. CCAC is a Campus Compact initiative that aims to build the capacity of campuses and their community partners to increase energy efficiency and create improvements for at-risk ecosystems by implementing local solutions for underserved households and communities.
Meet Sally Slovenski, CCAC Program Director & Maine Campus Compact Executive Director
Sally has been with Maine Campus Compact since 2012 and joined the Campus Compact national office as CCAC’s Program Director earlier this year. Her work with Maine Campus Compact is focused on engaging communities in Maine on a variety of issues, including combating climate change and hunger issues, promoting environmental stewardship, and supporting first-generation college students. Prior to her current dual positions, Sally worked in roles related to environmental sustainability and gun violence prevention across the country. Outside of work, Sally loves to spend time outdoors, participate in water sports, and travel.
The blueprint for CCAC started as an AmeriCorps program created and run by Maine Campus Compact from 2017 through 2021 to help low-income Mainers reduce energy costs and energy use. Through the new partnership with the Campus Compact national office, Sally and her team are in the process of expanding the CCAC model to the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest. “I’m really looking forward to making a difference as a team. We're very eager to mobilize folks to get them involved in the climate issue and do whatever we can to save our precious planet,” Sally says.
Sally is also excited by the field of civic engagement and community-engaged scholarship because of its power to mobilize people to make a difference. Sally says that the field “really prepares you to make a difference in your community, to change lives, to do whatever you can to bring equity and justice into the world, and to address pressing social issues.” Sally is optimistic about her work with CCAC and looks forward to getting more people inspired, involved, and energized to combat climate change. “We need as many people as possible on board. It's going to make all the difference.”
Meet Sara Boscacci, CCAC Program Manager
As CCAC’s Program Manager, Sara is responsible for leading more than 100 CCAC AmeriCorps members and supporting host sites. Prior to her role with the Compact, Sara worked in various positions related to STEM education, nonprofit and volunteer management, and community outreach, and also served with AmeriCorps. In school, she studied sociology and earth and environmental sciences and loves seeing the interconnection between the two. When she’s not working, Sara loves to be outdoors, hike, bake, and take road trips.
In her role, Sara is most looking forward to seeing the impact that AmeriCorps members have in the communities they’re serving. “I'm an AmeriCorps alum myself, and so I’ve always had a level of respect and passion for AmeriCorps as an opportunity that allows someone, especially young people, to get their foot in the door,” Sara says. “I really believe in it as an investment for meaningful impact within the community. The service members are giving a benefit to the community, but they are also getting a benefit through professional development and all the opportunities that come with AmeriCorps.” She’s grateful for her experience with AmeriCorps, which first enabled her to learn more about community impact work, and looks forward to providing this opportunity to AmeriCorps members in her role with CCAC.
Meet Breanna Mihalovich, CCAC Program Coordinator
As Program Coordinator, Breanna will initially be working to build out systems for CCAC and later will be responsible for recruiting host sites and AmeriCorps members in the Midwest. Before her work with CCAC, Breanna served as an AmeriCorps VISTA leader with Campus Compact and served as a Peace Corps member in Ethiopia. She recently finished her degree in public policy with a concentration on human rights advocacy and environmental justice. Outside of work, Breanna enjoys going to the lakeshore in Chicago, volunteering with the Chicago Refugee Coalition, spending time with her cat Salem, and trying to learn as many languages as she can.
Breanna looks forward to using her knowledge of environmental policy in her role with CCAC and applying her research findings on the impact of climate change policies on low-income communities in her work. “Very often, low-income communities are left out of the conversation of climate change, even though they're the ones who face the biggest impact of climate events,” Breanna says. “Through my research, I found that there's a lot of room for growth in involving those communities in that process.” Breanna is excited about the current resurgence of passion for civic engagement and building off of this momentum in her role. “I love how many young people are so passionate about being a fully involved community member and citizen,” Breanna says. ”It makes me really hopeful about the future.”
Meet Glennys Navarrete, CCAC Program Coordinator
In her role as CCAC Program Coordinator, Glennys will be responsible for recruiting host sites and AmeriCorps members in the Southeast. Prior to her role at Campus Compact, Glennys provided climate change education and advocacy training to middle, high, and college students in South Florida “so they can serve as leaders in their community and create solutions towards the climate crisis,” she says. She has also been involved in hands-on environmental work, including planting hardwood and aquatic trees, removing invasive species, and raising native butterflies. Glennys completed her degree in Environmental Science and would like to further her education in coral conservation. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to new places, taking scenic hikes, and, in her words, “can never turn down brunch.”
Glennys looks forward to working in the field of civic and community engagement, which she says “inspires individuals to join forces to create meaningful change on pressing issues and contribute to social progress.” She is especially motivated to raise awareness in frontline communities that are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. “The climate crisis has a higher impact on lower-income communities, and yet they are not provided with the proper education, training, tools, and support to make better-informed decisions or to create solutions on the issue,” she says. “I got involved in this work to make sure these communities get the climate and social justice they deserve.”
The CCAC Team
Sally Slovenski
