Lucas Roff graduated from LSSU with a degree in biology in 2023. He chose to put his skills to work in the Sault area, taking a position as an environmental technician with the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan through the MI Healthy Climate Corps. His work involves helping tribes reduce pollution and collect data on greenhouse gas emissions, with the broader goal of supporting Michigan’s efforts to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050.
The MI Healthy Climate Corps operated under the AmeriCorps umbrella. However, when federal funding for AmeriCorps was cut in April 2025, the Climate Corps program also lost its funding. Members like Lucas were instructed to stop working at the end of April. Some projects resumed in June, when the state of Michigan stepped in to offer stipends to members who wanted to continue until their terms ended in mid-October.
Thanks to this state support, most corps members have remained in their roles as part of the rebranded MI Healthy Climate Fellows program.
For Lucas — who had planned to continue working with the Inter-Tribal Council in a different role if his position was cut — the choice to stay on was an easy one. He is now continuing his work as a climate fellow, and with the help of state funding, the MI Healthy Climate Fellows program is expected to continue into 2026.