2026 Cohort

Meet the cohort

Mike Bakker

Mike Bakker is an educator at Munster High School and Purdue Northwest, focused on environmental education and Biology. Raised in Hammond, Indiana, and now living in Schererville, Mike is part of the community pushing for a change in the steel industry.

Mike earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology with a focus on Ecology from Purdue Northwest and has been involved in Munster Sustainable and Green for 5 years, the Munster High School environmental club for 6 years, and the town of Munster sustainability committee for two years.

Mike is engaging in this cohort to learn more about sustainable steel to bring back to his students and community members in hopes of enacting change leading to a more sustainable future.

Rev. Dr. Dexter Harris

Rev. Dr. Dexter Harris is a passionate faith and community leader dedicated to serving people, strengthening families, and creating positive change in Gary and Northwest Indiana. Through his ministry and community involvement, he works to empower individuals, develop leaders, and connect people with opportunities and resources that help communities flourish.

Rev. Dr. John Jackson, Sr.

Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr., founded and serves as Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Gary, Indiana. His congregation at Trinity United Church of Christ includes generations of steelworker families who have lived the history he highlights in his piece. He serves on the Anti-Racism Task Force of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ. He holds a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary.

Gretchen Maguire

Gretchen Maguire (she/her) is an active artist, advocate, and environmentalist focused on improving quality of life for regions residents. Her work life spans from her early years wiring Amtrak cars at Pullman Standard, through decades managing software configurations and integrations at international law firms, to now, in semi-retirement as a certified project manager at large. She has seen the control corporations have over people’s lives, jobs, and circumstances. She knows firsthand the power of organizing and keeping unions strong, and she knows the impact of environmental injustice on health.

From her upbringing in Hyde Park, through living on Chicago’s Southeast side, Calumet City, and now Dyer, IN, she has seen and lived the disparate conditions between the pristine environment of the academic south side and the industrial, polluted lakefront region we call home.

Gretchen is active with community involvement organizations such as the Decay Devils, environmental organizations such as Just Transition Northwest Indiana, and as an event leader with the Chicago Conservancy Corps (C3). She is actively building her knowledge by attending available education such as the US EPA Great Lakes Region Brown Site identification series sponsored by the Gary Townmakers, and by recently getting an EPA Certified Renovator Lead License to learn more about Lead. She participates in presenting outreach education workshops that leverage art as a communication and community-building tool.

Gretchen is especially motivated to participate in this cohort to increase awareness of the lead and heavy metal load borne by the residents of the region that is directly attributed to the pollution output of US Nippon Steel... and especially because there is an opportunity now to reduce or eliminate the output of lead and other heavy metals, and improve the lives, health, land, water, and air quality of the region in this decade. That future is in the hands of the mills.

Devon Norfleet

Devon Norfleet (he/him) is a fervent activist and artist who focuses on community health and outreach. Raised in Chicago and now living in East Chicago, Indiana, as a community member, Devon is pushing for change in the steel industry to lessen health impacts and raise awareness.

Devon is a tree steward and conservation worker, and currently studying Cybersecurity. Devon has been involved in fighting for stricter health regulations in heavy industry and creating more green spaces via community tree plantings.

Devon is engaging in this cohort because he wants to see a reduction in harmful pollutants with a vision for a more impactful voice for the community. Outside of work, he enjoys photography, painting, and nature walks.

Harold Robinson

Harold Robinson (he/him) is a God-fearing, motivated, passionate steelworker who is also a member to this wonderful community. Harold is a father to two daughters; he is a son, a brother, and a friend to anyone in need. Harold was born in Merrillville, raised in Gary, and currently resides in Portage, Indiana. He attended Lew Wallace and Andrean for High School. Being a member of this community, Harold fights for a safer workplace in his industry while also fighting for the health of all those who live in Northwest Indiana.

Harold has been employed at Cleveland Cliffs for over fifteen years. He is currently working in the steel-making BOF department. Harold is a part-time safety team member and works full-time in the ladle repair department (ladle lining). As part of the safety team, he has been involved in many outages, investigations, and corrective actions. In his home department (ladle lining), he is a leader, an example, a voice, and a trainer. He is dedicated to ensuring our ladles, which hold molten steel and iron, are in perfect working order so we can run efficiently.

Harold joined this cohort to be a voice, to make a difference by improving his industry. He wants to make it safer for the workers and the surrounding communities. He wants to keep our communities intact and flourishing economically. His vision includes clean air and water, healthy lakefronts and wildlife, and odorless, thriving communities. When Harold is away from work, he enjoys walking, hiking, weightlifting, reading, traveling, and just enjoying his peace at home.

Shanita Starks

Shanita D. Starks is a connector, servant leader, entrepreneur, and breast cancer survivor from Gary, Indiana, where she still lives. Through Stark Truth LLC and C.O.V.E.R. Foundation, Inc., she links community needs with resources, education, and opportunity. She is building peer-to-peer workshops on health and wealth, environmental learning, workforce readiness, and technology to help revitalize neighborhoods.

Shanita served the City of Gary as Deputy Chief of Staff, Business Manager, Director of Constituent Services, and consultant. In those roles, she worked on Green Urbanism, led the city’s COVID task force, and secured a multi-million-dollar health grant that gave firefighters free cancer and health screenings. She also founded Breathe IN [Indiana] Fresh Air, C.O.V.E.R. Foundation’s first health advocacy campaign, and she hosts the StarkTruth Podcast. She serves on the boards of the Salvation Army and the CWI-Workforce Youth Council.

Her connection to steel is personal. In 1964, her uncle turned down a college basketball scholarship to go into the mill. Twenty years later, an injury on the job forced him into early retirement, and at 80 he still lives with chronic pain. Shanita herself spent years watching purple and orange smoke from her City Hall office window, and in 2023 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She joined the cohort to push for cleaner steel and to bring practical solutions back to residents in plain language. She envisions a Gary where families breathe clean air, workers earn good wages in safe conditions, and young people see a future.

Shanita is a Roosevelt High School salutatorian, attended Purdue University, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Outside this work, she enjoys the arts, storytelling, and bringing people together.

Grace Tafolla

Grace Tafolla is a senior majoring in Environmental Science and Policy at Purdue Global and a local activist who also works as a contractor for Earth Charter Indiana, the Wetlands Initiative, and the Northern Lake County Environmental Partnership. Between school, she works 5 jobs to make ends meet and hopes to work in state politics following graduation. She loves gardening and kitties, and she's always looking for ways to help her community.

Mae Weatherspoon

Mae Weatherspoon is a mother and a grandmother. She retired from the Postal Service after 30 years of service and is now a licensed health, life, and health insurance agent. She worships in Gary, but she has also worshiped in southeast Chicago, where the steel mill was prevalent as a way of life in that area. She now worships in Gary and sees similarities because of the steel mill. There are high instances of health issues that are the same in both areas. People are suffering from environmental challenges. The reality, she says, is that an organization like the cohort will bring light and education to a community that is virtually dying from this environment. As the population grows older, the use of respiratory help and other medical equipment is necessary in both instances. She believes that the communities can be restored and the conditions revived going forward by using cleaner steel, which can be achieved through education and awareness of the problem.