Since attending Lewis & Clark college, Illana has spent her time in the education and youth development world. She taught middle school science and STEM for four years in the rural south and loved it. She is currently in a Minnesota program directing an urban agriculture and environmental internship program called “Growing North Minneapolis”. The program is a community-driven collaboration between the North Minneapolis community and the University of Minnesota, focusing on youth and their communities. Through intergenerational mentorship and urban agriculture, they advance environmental, social, and racial justice in North Minneapolis. Illana is also a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota in STEM education, currently in her last year and writing her dissertation. Her research focuses on STEM education contextualized within real world environmental work, particularly for adolescents of marginalized identities. In her free time, she spends her time in nature with her husband and rescue pups, gardening, playing games, adventuring and playing games with family and friends, and working on environmental restoration project