This Q&A series highlights McKinney Climate Fellows alumni and their professional journeys within Indiana and beyond. The McKinney Climate Fellows program, administered by Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute, connects IU undergraduate and graduate students interested in climate, sustainability, and community resilience with career experiences.
In the summer of 2024, Daniela Castellanos became a McKinney Climate Fellow, serving the City of Carmel in analyzing its climate risks and vulnerabilities. Shortly after earning her dual master’s degree from the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, she was hired by Indiana Conservation Voters, where she currently serves as the community affairs and data manager.
In this role, Castellanos engages Latino communities across Indiana to amplify their voices and ensure they are a part of environmental conversations at the Indiana Statehouse. She uses data on air quality, water, and energy costs to help people understand what's happening in their neighborhoods and how it affects them. Castellanos then turns that information into tools and resources that Indiana residents can use to talk to their neighbors or engage legislators. She also uses community engagement to understand concerns, collecting data directly from communities, analyzing policy data, and translating all of it into clear information community members can use.
The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What did you learn as a McKinney Climate Fellow and how did it affect your career path?
I was placed with the City of Carmel as a McKinney Climate Fellow, and I was tasked with analyzing climate risk. I learned how to explain it to the city staff. You obviously make sure that you understand what's going on first, but when it comes time to translate that information to the ones who make decisions, that's the real challenge. You have to ask yourself how to make information understandable enough for others to drive decision-making.
The program helped me with technical analysis, but it also helped me with the implementation of that technical analysis, which is even more important. This is what I do now: I go to the communities, get the data, and translate it so that communities can be the ones advocating for what they need and make a real impact out of it.
What is your current position and what are your responsibilities in that position?
I’m working at Indiana Conservation Voters, a three-year-old nonprofit, advocating for clean air, water, and energy at the Indiana Statehouse. We try to diversify the voices that are coming to the table and make sure their concerns are taken into account by the ones that are leading us in the legislation process.
What do you like about your current position?
Definitely connecting with people. I understand how people sometimes feel they don't have the power to change reality. But the truth is, there are a ton of things that we can do from within our communities, within our neighborhoods. We just need someone that empowers us — that gives us the tools — and gives us the resources we need to speak up for ourselves. It just takes one person, one leader, to represent the whole community.
