Mair Allen

"Growing up in Milwaukee there was a “green space” next to my elementary school. Once a week, each class got to walk across the parking lot, through a chain link gate, and into a birch copse next to the river. What I recall is that it was a privilege to hear the birds. The running water. To breathe air that smelled like green, growing things. But it shouldn’t be a privilege to have access to nature - or have clean air and water. When I was young, my school was next to the remnants of rust-belt industry, the greenspace downriver from drainage pipes. I live in East Phillips now, and experience the same cycles of environmental injustice. It doesn’t have to be that way. I’m proud that my work at MCEA supports an environmentally just world for everyone." 

Mair Allen is a writer and communications professional with a background in narrative-based marketing. Prior to joining MCEA they worked as a feature writer and assistant editor for Antioch University's marketing department. As a freelance writer, they enjoy person-first stories that show the impacts we can all make in the world. In 2021, they were an editorial intern at Coffeehouse Press. They hold a BA in Gender Studies from UMN and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University.