Meet our Staff

Dr. Henning (he/him/his) is Professor of Philosophy and of Environmental Studies & Science at Gonzaga University and is the inaugural director and founder of the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment. Originally from Boise, Idaho, Dr. Henning joined Gonzaga’s faculty in 2008. He earned a B.A. summa cum laude from Seattle University and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Fordham University. An award-winning author, Dr. Henning has written or edited 17 books and 45 articles, chapters, and reports, including Riders in the Storm: Ethics in an Age of Climate Change (Anselm 2015), Climate Change Ethics and the Non-human World (Routledge 2020), and Value, Beauty, and Nature (SUNY 2023). He has delivered more than 200 talks to general and academic audiences in North America, Europe, and Asia. Over the course of his career, Dr. Henning has been awarded more than $25 million dollars in grants.

Director Henning can be reached at henning@gonzaga.edu. For more on his work, visit https://connect.gonzaga.edu/henning.

Karli (she/her/hers) is originally from Reno, Nevada and has lived in Spokane since 2014. She is a Gonzaga University alumna with a BA in Environmental Studies and a MA in Leadership Studies. Karli has hands-on experience teaching environmental education in the classroom and enjoys helping people understand and take action on climate change. In her free time, she likes to read, knit, and go outside with her husband and their dog, Rosie.

Karli can be reached at honebein@gonzaga.edu

Dante (they/them/ella) grew up in an apple orchard in Orondo, WA. They have a BA in Peace Studies from Whitworth University and an MSc in Climate Change and Development from the University of London. Their commitment to environmental and climate justice was born from their experiences growing up close neighbors with migrant farmworkers, serving in Peace Corps Paraguay, researching the impact of climate change on small-scale agroforestry systems, and witnessing the impacts of climate events on unhoused LGBTQ+ community members in Spokane. Dante speaks English, Spanish, and Guarani. They enjoy spending their free time reading sci-fi novels, thrifting at local shops, and soaking up all the sunshine they can. 

Dante can be reached at jester@gonzaga.edu

Katelyn (she/her/hers) is originally from Astoria, Oregon. After fifteen years on the westside, she and her husband returned to Spokane in 2021 to raise their daughter Remy. She graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in English Literature and Lake Washington Institute of Tech, where she studied HR Management. Katelyn has spent the past ten years working in Microsoft's University Recruiting organization. After enjoying a career in connecting graduates and interns to their first roles in the workforce, Katelyn is very excited to join Gonzaga and have an opportunity to build her passion around climate and environmental work. In her free time, she enjoys taking her daughter to new libraries and walking her dogs, Li'l Abner and Thom Yorkie.

Katelyn can be reached at carrollk@gonzaga.edu. 

Kara (she/her/hers) is the instructor for Gonzaga’s professional certificate in Climate Action Planning. Born and raised in Spokane, Kara is considered a boomeranger who returned home after spending time living in Seattle and Singapore. Kara has a Master’s in Leadership for Sustainability from the University of Vermont and a Bachelor’s in English from the University of Washington. She is a practiced communicator and community leader with over 25 years of experience working with multinational, national and local organizations across multiple industries and sectors. Kara spent four years using a collaborative leadership model to guide climate action planning for the City of Spokane. Spokane’s plan and the process they developed now serves as a template for other municipalities developing their own climate action plans.

Kara can be reached at odegard@gonzaga.edu

Vanessa (she/her/hers) is a Spokane native, community and environmental advocate, and legal educator with deep roots in Eastern Washington. After serving in the Department of Justice for eight years, she was presidentially appointed as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, where she was the first woman to hold the role. During her tenure, she co-launched the region’s Environmental Task Force, led national efforts on environmental justice, built strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement to make communities safer and more resilient. A leader within the Department of Justice on Native American issues, Vanessa worked closely with Tribal Nations to support Tribal sovereignty, protect treaty rights and Tribal lands, reduce violent crime on reservations, and address the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). She is a partner and founding member of Singleton Schreiber’s Washington office, where she leads litigation on behalf of plaintiffs, focused on environmental protection, protecting whistleblowers, wildfire recovery, and civil rights. Vanessa earned both her B.A. and J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University. After law school, she clerked for The Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of lawyers, she has taught Environmental Law, Labor and Employment Law, and Conflict of Laws at Gonzaga University School of Law. She is known for connecting legal education to lived experience, bringing students into real-world regulatory and advocacy work. As Board President of Human Rights Spokane, Vanessa is a results-driven advocate and influential community leader committed to bettering her community.

Dan (he/him/his) is a longtime public servant with a passion for using the law to advance justice and public health. Originally from the Northeast, Dan holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Tulane University and a J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland, with a special concentration in Environmental Law. Dan began his legal career at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and spent more than two decades there and at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he prosecuted criminal and civil fraud and led major cases involving radioactive waste disposal and treatment, food and drug safety, hazardous air pollutants, public lands, safe drinking water, and renewable energy. While serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Eastern Washington, Dan co-founded the region’s first Environmental Crimes Task Force and mentored dozens of Gonzaga law students through hands-on litigation experience. During his public service career, Dan was repeatedly recognized by DOJ and the private bar for his leadership and work with law enforcement, whistleblowers, community organizations, businesses, and federal, state, local, and tribal stakeholders to find collaborative solutions to improve and strengthen our communities. Dan now works as one of two founding partners in Singleton Schreiber’s Spokane office, where he continues to advocate for building safer and stronger communities and to protect public health and safety in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Mary (she/her/hers) is a native to Spokane who has recently returned to her hometown after having spent the last decade on the move. She played Division I soccer and graduated from the University of Idaho with a BS in Psychology, BA in Spanish, and a BA in Philosophy. Mary spent 3 years in rural Panama as a Peace Corps volunteer before completing her Masters in International Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. She has worked as a research consultant for Columbia University, the EAT-Lancet Commission 2.0, Inspiratia, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, as well as Johns Hopkins University. Mary speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and a bit of German. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, making little snacks for her friends, taking solo trips to new places, and reading non-fiction.

Mary can be reached at condonm@gonzaga.edu

Ella (she/her/hers) is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science. She is from Maple Valley, Washington and enjoys reading, listening to music, playing water polo, and spending time with her friends. She is passionate about marine biology and developing sustainable agriculture. 

Aoife (ee-fa) (she/her/hers) is a junior studying Marketing with minors in Communications Studies and Leadership at Gonzaga. She's from Seattle, Washington and loves to hike, run, and grab lots of coffee. When she can, Aoife loves to travel, and just spent last spring in Florence studying abroad. She is really excited to get more involved working on marketing/implementing sustainable practices and giving back to our environment.