KaTania "Kat" Brown-Shepherd - Operations and Communications Manager

Kat is a freelance virtual assistant and founder of Virtually Possible 365. She left the corporate environment in 2019 to launch her business venture, which would allow her to use the skills and talents she has acquired over the past 30 years to help businesses, associations, and non-profit organizations achieve their goals.   

She has a BA in Marketing and a BA in Healthcare Administration Management/Human Resources. She is a published children's book author. 

When she is wearing a cape trying to save the world, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her rescue pup, Jett. She loves enjoying any time near the water, listening to audiobooks, watching an interesting documentary, traveling, and seeing her best friends as often as possible. She is a native Detroiter.

She believes the best thing about launching her business is the freedom to pick and choose her clients, so she was eager to join the team.  Working for a purpose.

Dawnesia Johnson-Garland - Program Manager 

Dawnesia enjoys mission and impact-driven work. She has over 20 years of experience in grant administration and non-profit leadership. MIIPL is a chance for her to truly put her faith into action and help to create a more equitable world. She is a proud alumna of Cass Technical High School and Michigan State University. She is a Fellow with Aspen Institute’s Workforce Leadership Academies.

When Dawn is not working to uplift others, she is either shopping or spending time with family and friends. Or busy serving in her local Congregation.

Jenny Teed - Chapter Coordinator

Jenny Teed is the daughter of Arlene and Bob Teed. She is a Detroiter currently living in Livonia with her partner, Eric, and dog, Tyson. She received her BSW with honors from U of D Mercy.

She is a visual artist and storyteller. She especially loves dabbling in mixed media. She has a long history of working with children and youth. She is currently a "Teaching Artist" within multiple communities. Her current focus is on healing, community building, storytelling, and visioning through the creative process.

She is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She believes her faith formation from birth has been instrumental to the way she has moved through life- with the “inherent worth and dignity of each being” and the “respect for the interdependent web of life”. She is a long-time advocate for human rights and the environment, grateful for many who have trusted and invested in my learning and growth, including... Vic Shoemacher, Grace and Jimmy Boggs, Mama Lila Cabbil, Sumarah Smith, Ron Scott, Kalima Hassan, Barbara Stevenson, Dorothy Aldridge, Gwen Winston and Richard Feldman.

She loves to spend time on Belle Isle, the Great Lakes, and in the forests of Michigan, her perfect day includes sitting by a body of water for hours.

Her dedication to Mother Earth is to ensure a healthy life here for generations to come.

Candace Williams - Outreach Lead

Candace is an experienced Outreach Lead with a strong background in public health and community engagement across various organizations. Over the past four years, she has led initiatives that focus on health equity, care accessibility, and grassroots mobilization.

Fueled by her commitment to building meaningful partnerships, Candace Williams approaches all community projects with a focus on collaboration and creativity. Her work is deeply committed to service and empowering marginalized communities.

Leah Wiste - Executive Director

Leah has been on staff at Michigan IPL since 2013 and has been the Executive Director since December 2018. She is deeply invested in advocating on behalf of our sacred, living Earth and all of its creatures. She identifies as a "seeker" and believes people of faith and conscience have a critical role to play in bringing us into the right relationship with the Earth and with each other.

Leah has a BA in Women’s Studies from Carleton College and is ABD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California-Davis.

When she’s not fighting climate change, she’s weeding the garden, buying more books than she will ever read, and trying not to get electrocuted while renovating her house in Detroit's North End.