Menu

Honest progress with Imani Mosher

February 2024

Story by Emily Haeg Nguyen
West Central, MN

The Clean Energy Resource Teams is excited to welcome ImanClose up shot of a young multiracial woman smiling.i Mosher! Mosher is the new West Central CERT coordinator. Not only is she arriving with an impressive load of experience, she’s also bringing her genuine self. 

“At times it is uncomfortable, for sure. But I want you to know the actual me, and not just a version that I put on for work,” she says. “Getting vulnerable is how we make real, honest progress. That's where the meat is.”

Noting the multitude of progress underway in west central Minnesota, Mosher says she's thrilled to be supporting CERTs in the region.

“There’s a lot of areas that are doing really amazing, meaningful, clean energy work. I’m ready to tap into the conversations that are happening here.”

Mosher notes that she also feels incredibly lucky to join CERTs during this turning point in the industry.

“This moment is unreal. There’s so much funding coming in and so many important conversations happening around clean energy. Plus right now, clean energy is intersecting with other things, like food, workforce, education, agriculture, racial justice, and access,” she says. “I'm excited to be doing this work in this place and at this moment.”

I'm excited to be doing this work in this place and at this moment.

Imani Mosher

A scenic route

“In hindsight, realizing how my path so delicately and deliberately led me to exactly where I am today, is wild. But it makes a lot of sense.”

Mosher's journey to this place and moment can be traced back to a childhood in Princeton, Minn.

 “I have a lot of memories of getting off the bus, throwing my backpack inside and then running out into the little woods by our house to play with my sisters,” she says with a grin. “It was great to just be a kid and learn to love the outdoors at a young age.”

Mosher went on to earn a degree in environmental studies and political science at St. Olaf College. There she co-founded an environmental organization called the Climate Justice Collective and served as the Vice President of student government. Later, she worked with an architecture firm conducting research and advocating for carbon emission reduction strategies in the built environment.

Eventually Mosher relocated to the bustling city of St. Cloud. Looking back, she’s grateful to have grown up in the country — noting that it created appreciation for the peace and the quiet of rural Minnesota. 

“But I can also appreciate the city,” she adds. “I'm kind of navigating that duality right now.”

Multiracial woman walking through the sand on a shaded beach, wearing a long white dress with hair in locs. She is surrounded by trees and blue sky is peeking through the trees.
Multiracial woman smiling, wearing sunglasses sitting on a bench while holding a white gourd. Trees and blue sky in the background.

Arriving with community

Location isn’t the only duality Mosher is navigating. As a multiracial woman, this work means wading into the intersection of environmental and social justice. 

“I think it's a lot to be involved in this type of work right now. There are rarely people who look like me at most of the meetings that I attend. So I feel a lot of weight on my shoulders to constantly, relentlessly advocate for people with a similar identity to mine or those who have marginalized identities.”

Mosher certainly isn’t afraid to stand at a crossroad, holding ground for others. She says she’s steadily looking for opportunities to not only serve people of color in her work, but also support them within the industry.

“I don't want to be a translator, where I pick up the phone to relay a message. I want to pull up two more chairs at the table and say, ‘Just sit next to me and let’s do this together!’” says Mosher. 

In fact, it’s the CERTs community-led lens that brought Mosher to this role.

“CERTs’ approach speaks a lot to why I do this work and how I want to do it,” she says. “I am excited to explore clean energy with other Minnesotans. I can’t wait to listen and learn from the expertise held by folks from all walks of life.”

MN state outline
October 2023

Introducing our new Regional Coordinators

Sign up for our email newsletter

We encourage reuse and republishing of this story. All Clean Energy Resource Teams stories are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution license, meaning you can share and adapt the work as long as you give us credit. We'd also love it if you link back to the original piece. Have questions or want to chat? Drop us a line.