Who We Are
Our History
Our story began in June 2020, when Katherine Tellock recognized that many Chicagoans had questions and concerns about things like composting, recycling, wildlife issues, litter, and other environmental concerns. She decided to start a group on social media dedicated to these like-minded individuals that welcomed people at every stage of their eco journey: those with a deep passion and long history of involvement in environmentalism, and those who clearly cared and wanted to do more, but didn’t know where to start. Miranda Carrico joined the group early and was a frequent and knowledgeable contributor. Katherine and Miranda's partnership began over a discussion of dog poop bags, and Miranda joined the first cleanup event that led to the development of Cleanup Club Chicago. With this, the Chicago Environmentalists group was born! The group is now an inclusive sustainability community, with a forum for discussing topics like zero waste living, recycling, composting, environmental justice, renewable energy, eco policy, local businesses, wildlife conservation, environmental news, events, and more.
Our Team
Katherine Tellock, Co-Founder
Katherine Tellock is an environmental advocate who wants to dedicate her life to fighting climate change. She strongly believes that an environmentally sustainable society is the best long-term economic and social decision, and is within reach for all people. Having grown up next to an EPA superfund site, she has always cared about the environment and been acutely aware of the impact of industrial pollution. However, she didn’t get heavily involved in environmental issues until spring 2020, when she started tackling litter through Friends of the Chicago River's Summer Challenge. She eventually started Chicago Environmentalists group with Miranda, as well as Cleanup Club Chicago. She took the CCC sustainability leadership training in 2021, and for her final assignment, she ran the Guerrilla Recycling Reporting (GRR) Project, which held property owners accountable for violating the recycling ordinance. She also completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, and wants to get more involved in environmental legislation.
She currently works as a Business Development Manager in food waste recycling, and has a bachelor's degree in Economics and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently lives in Irving Park with her very sweet cockapoo. In her free time, she enjoys true crime, kickboxing, and stand-up comedy.
Miranda Carrico, Co-Founder
Over the past ten years, Miranda Carrico has transitioned toward a "Zero Waste" lifestyle and has become very familiar with Chicago's sustainability scene; especially related to recycling and waste reduction. Miranda is passionate about educating individuals on actions they can take to lessen their environmental impact, as well as advocating for sustainable business practices and environmental legislation. She became more involved in Chicago’s larger environmental scene after teaming up with Katherine on the first Cleanup Club event. This led to brainstorming ways to improve environmentalism in Chicago and the creation of Chicago Environmentalists. She is Co-Founder of Chicago Environmentalists, Assistant Director of Cleanup Club Chicago, and completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in 2021.
Miranda works in healthcare and has been a Chicagoan for over 10 years, residing in Lakeview. When she's not finding creative ways to reduce waste, she enjoys traveling, exploring the city via bike and by foot, making "mixtapes," and spending time with her husband and dog, Greta von Goof.
Kara Cooke, Website Consultant
Kara Cooke has been deeply committed to environmentalism for most of her life, but it wasn't until she completed the Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) training in April 2021 that she found a way to channel her passion. During the program, she connected with Katherine and joined forces with her and Miranda to advocate and educate through their organization, Chicago Environmentalists. What began with designing logos for Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago quickly evolved into much more. Her dedication to a "Zero Waste" lifestyle, composting, cleaning up trash, and protecting the Great Lakes continued to grow. Professionally, Kara has been with Smithbucklin for the past decade, where she currently serves as an Art Director and Website/Accessibility Consultant.
Sophie Shulman, Blog Manager & SEO Specialist
After discovering her passion for conservation and clean energy in her college town of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sophie came back to Chicagoland to pursue a lifelong commitment to sustainability. She works in communications for a Chicago-based renewable energy developer and enjoys reading, learning new languages, and playing guitar in her free time.
Michael Curiel, Website Manager and Graphic Designer
Michael is a Chicagoland native born and raised and he currently lives in Evanston with his husband and their spoiled kitty Phoebe. Michael is a Senior Graphic Designer at Antenna Group, a marketing and PR agency focusing on social, economic, and environmental research and innovation. Passionate about sustainability, Michael lives a low-waste lifestyle both at work and in his personal life. In his free time, he loves to travel the world, discover new music, and explore Chicago's incredible foodie scene.
Facebook Group Moderators
Ivy Leung
Jessica Rekar