Mike  Keen

Mike Keen

Teaching and Education Workshop

Experienced educator and sustainability consultant, Mike Keen will participate in the Teaching and Education Workshop of Summit Session 2 on October 9, at 10:45am central time.

Mike Keen’s Biography

Mike Keen LEED-AP with two decades experience as a sustainability professional.  He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame in 1985.  His areas of expertise include urban ethnography, sustainable development, and green building.  He spent 30 years as a professor at Indiana University South Bend.  In 2008, Mike founded the IU South Bend Center for a Sustainable Future and led the development of the first B.A. in Sustainability Studies in Indiana.  In 2014, he was named IU South Bend’s first Chancellor’s Professor.  In 2016, he was awarded a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest civilian recognition that can be bestowed upon a citizen of the State of Indiana.  In 2016, Mike established Thrive Michiana LLC, a sustainable development and consulting practice.

As Principal of Thrive Michiana, Mike has taken the lead role in the development of Portage Midtown, a sustainable neighborhood demonstration infill project located in South Bend, Indiana.  He is also the founder, in collaboration with the Incremental Development Alliance, of the Michiana Incremental Development Ecosystem, a network of small scale developers, design professionals, finance officers, real estate agents, property managers, contractors, neighbors, and municipal officials dedicated to helping create wealth in neighborhoods for neighborhoods.

A social entrepreneur, Mike is trained in The Natural Step’s Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development.  He offers sustainability seminars, workshops and consulting services to businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profits wishing to integrate sustainability into their products, services, and communities.