Chief Executive Officer
jackson@midwestdecarb.org

Marnese Jackson is an environmental and climate justice leader, advocate, strategist, trainer, and educator from Pontiac, Michigan, with more than two decades of experience advancing environmental justice, racial equity, community power, and equitable climate solutions.

Marnese currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition (Midwest BDC). In 2024, she was appointed the organization’s inaugural Executive Director, becoming the first Black woman to lead the coalition. Prior to this appointment, she served as Midwest BDC’s Co-Director of Equity and Community Engagement, where she helped strengthen the coalition’s commitment to centering frontline communities, racial equity, and community leadership within building decarbonization policy and advocacy.

Before joining Midwest BDC, Marnese served as Frontline Organizing Program Manager with Mothers Out Front, where she focused on building organizing power among mothers and families in frontline communities. She also served as the organization’s staff liaison to the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN) and participated on its staff Equity Team and BIPOC Affinity Team. Her national movement-building experience included helping manage the 2019 Youth Global Climate Strike and Earth Day Live 2020.

Marnese previously served as the Midwest and Great Plains Regional Organizer for the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, working with communities across the region to advance environmental justice, climate action, energy democracy, and community-led solutions.

Her leadership and contributions to the environmental and climate justice movement have received national and regional recognition, including being named among Grist’s 50 Fixers. She has also been recognized through Rachel’s Network and by the Environmental Defense Fund in Michigan for her environmental and climate leadership.

In 2021, Marnese was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions, helping inform Michigan’s statewide climate strategy. Her leadership extends across numerous environmental, climate, and building-sector organizations. She serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN), the Building Performance Institute (BPI), and the Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) and has held leadership within the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC).

Marnese is also an alumna of the 2020 Michigan Clean Energy Leaders Cohort and the 350.org BIPOC Cohort.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, with areas of study in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, and African American Studies, from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Arts in Social Justice from Marygrove College, with a multidisciplinary focus on environmental, racial, gender, and economic justice.

At the center of Marnese’s work is a commitment to ensuring that communities historically excluded from environmental and climate decision-making are not simply invited into existing systems but have the resources, authority, and power to shape what comes next. Her work connects environmental justice, equitable building decarbonization, community organizing, public policy, movement building, and systems change.

Marnese is also the proud mother of two children, London and Dawson, who remain an important source of inspiration for her commitment to building a healthier, more just, and sustainable future for the next generation.

Head of Coalition and Board Liaison
gibson@midwestdecarb.org

Dana Gibson is a community engagement, coalition-building, and nonprofit professional from Pontiac, Michigan. A proud product of the Pontiac school system, Dana earned her Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Oakland Community College and has built her career around strengthening families, developing community leadership, and connecting residents with resources and opportunities.

Dana currently serves as Head of Coalition and Board Relations for the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition (Midwest BDC), where she supports coalition membership, board engagement, organizational governance, member orientation, and relationship-building across a diverse regional network. Her work helps strengthen connections among community organizations, advocates, environmental justice leaders, and other partners working toward equitable climate and building decarbonization solutions throughout the Midwest.

Previously, Dana served as a Case Manager with Assertive Vocational Services, LLC, supporting individuals in accessing services, resources, and opportunities to achieve greater independence and stability.

Dana also served as a Michigan Organizer with Mothers Out Front, where she led community and digital outreach strategies designed to increase parent and family participation in climate advocacy. She provided training, resources, and leadership development to help families move from participation to leading activities within their own communities. Dana also contributed to national youth and climate mobilization efforts, helping connect local organizing and community stories to broader campaigns addressing climate change and fossil fuel dependence.

Her commitment to young people and community development includes serving as Youth Manager for Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, where she raised approximately $6,000 to support Habitat's mission and coordinated youth engagement initiatives.

Dana also served as a Volunteer Liaison with AmeriCorps, securing monetary donations for a Summer Reading Theater book program and assisting with community outreach, neighborhood canvassing, promotion, and implementation of the annual Summer Reading Theater event.

A longtime advocate for Pontiac youth and families, Dana has mentored middle and high school students, developed strategic goals to support student success, and served as a liaison for School District of the City of Pontiac Title I parents, helping strengthen communication and engagement between families and the school community.

Across her career, Dana has remained committed to community empowerment, relationship-building, youth leadership, family engagement, equity, and creating pathways for residents to have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their communities.

Outside of her professional and community work, Dana enjoys traveling, discovering new restaurants, and staying actively involved in the Pontiac community.

Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships
davis@midwestdecarb.org

Edward has always been intrigued by supporting causes that were greater than him. His mother taught him at an early age to help those that were in a position of need, she taught him through his faith that helping your fellow man was something you were always supposed to do if you could. If you could not, then you find something or someone that can. This led Edward to pursue a master’s degree in non-profit management with a focus on fundraising from Eastern Michigan University.

From that point, he worked in the world of fundraising in both the grassroots areas through local and national campaigns, worked in and raised several millions of dollars at 2 different Universities and managed a family foundation while living in Houston, TX, that gave out well over 1 million dollars annually. His background in fundraising helped him when he decided to get into the business sector helping small to mid-size businesses get funding from interested parties to expand their operations. This experience saw him doing business not only across the country but into both West Africa, Eastern Europe and India where he was able to bring together parties who wanted to work together for larger causes. It is in those other countries that he visited that he knew what he was doing was making an impact.

With well over 14 years of fundraising experience in both the nonprofit and the for-profit sector, Edward uses the foundation laid by his mother when he was a young man and continues to help people no matter what state they are in by making an impact that will be felt well beyond himself and will keep going long after he is gone.

Campaigns & Trainings Manager

stephanie@midwestdecarb.org

Stephanie Bowman is a Kansas City, Kansas native whose commitment to climate and community justice began with food justice work in Wyandotte County. Her early organizing expanded into utility justice, legislative advocacy, and youth empowerment — including summers with AFSCME and service at Youth Court in downtown KCK.

After earning her Political Science degree from Hampton University, Stephanie organized across six states with Democratic Party operations and NGO tech startups, strengthening civic engagement and community power. She later completed graduate studies in Marketing Strategy at Cornell University, deepening her critique of party politics and the exclusion of proven engagement methods from communities of color.

Previously, she spent five years at Mothers Out Front as Campaigns Manager of Learning & Member Success, leading national training programs and regional climate campaigns. Stephanie joined the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition in December 2024 as Communications Associate, expanding the Coalition’s Communications and Training Program and advancing narrative strategy across the region.

Her work centers on relationship‑building, team leadership, and measurable, people‑focused change.

Stephanie currently serves as a board member of AAYLC, Chair of her congressional district, and Co‑Chair of the Peacebuilding Action Team with USCAN. She volunteers locally in Colorado to strengthen community infrastructure and keep everyday people at the center of political and climate action. As a mother of two, a military spouse, and a lifelong organizer shaped by generations of community‑building matriarchs, this work is part of her DNA.