"Achieving Sustainability should not be our children's responsibility,
...anymore than failure at such should be our generation's legacy."
~ Kelly Cain / St. Croix Institute, 2007
...anymore than failure at such should be our generation's legacy."
~ Kelly Cain / St. Croix Institute, 2007
Kelly D. Cain, PhD, Founder / Principal
Dr. Cain is Emeritus Professor in Environmental Science / Management & Land Use Planning at UW-River Falls. Kelly joined the faculty in 1986, with responsibility for undergraduate and graduate curriculum development and teaching across a wide variety of sustainability-based courses. He also served as the first Director of Campus Sustainability, and founding Director of the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development, both from 2007 to 2014, being also primary author of the first ‘carbon negative,’ Climate Action Plan among US college campuses; and many other front-edge projects.
Kelly’s community outreach on behalf of UWRF ranged from multiple projects for the Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group in DC, to primary partnership and conceptual design of the St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity EcoVillage in River Falls, WI, to multiple National Wildlife Refuge projects in Hawaii, Oregon, and elsewhere for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, to ecotourism development for the China Exploration & Research Society on the Tibetan Plateau.
Kelly served in numerous local government positions: City of River Falls Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Board, and Extra-Territorial Zoning; Pierce County Comprehensive Plan Advisory; Town of River Falls Town Board; and other.
Kelly left UWRF in 2014 and negotiated to take the St. Croix Institute into private business as a limited liability corporation with offices in Stillwater and Ely, MN. The St. Croix Institute (SCI) is now a full-service corporate and community consulting company with a ‘carbon negative,’ quadruple-bottom-line approach for ‘getting beyond sustainability.’ SCI launched LICO2e™ (GBC) – dba ‘Locally Invested Carbon Offsets’ – in 2016, a new ‘public benefit corporation’ focused on voluntary carbon offset products, services, and partnerships at the community and national scales.
Exemplary clients and projects include (past & present): National Indian Carbon Coalition, Senior Program and Policy Strategist (current); National Community Action Partnership, carbon offset program initiative; Corporate Social Responsibility, Life Cycle Analysis, Staff Training, ESG reporting, and Supply Chain auditing services for the Ciranda Corporation in Hudson, WI; Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Team, & Circular Economy Program Manager for the Uponor Corporation, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland; Board of Directors and previous Chair of the Board Development Committee for Slipstream, Inc., in Madison, WI; Sustainability Faculty Development Workshops for Colorado College, in Colorado Springs; Comprehensive Plan re-writing sub-contractor for the City of Prescott, WI; and President of the Board at Refuge Friends, Inc., MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, MN.
Kelly lives with his wife Ruth, various orbiting children, grandchildren, dogs, cats, goats, chickens (and the spirit of “Rex, the Rooster from Hell”), 40,000 bees (give or take a few thousand), and various other critters on a 5-acre permaculture farm within an 80-acre intentional community that he and Ruth established in 1990 outside of River Falls.
Kelly’s community outreach on behalf of UWRF ranged from multiple projects for the Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group in DC, to primary partnership and conceptual design of the St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity EcoVillage in River Falls, WI, to multiple National Wildlife Refuge projects in Hawaii, Oregon, and elsewhere for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, to ecotourism development for the China Exploration & Research Society on the Tibetan Plateau.
Kelly served in numerous local government positions: City of River Falls Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Board, and Extra-Territorial Zoning; Pierce County Comprehensive Plan Advisory; Town of River Falls Town Board; and other.
Kelly left UWRF in 2014 and negotiated to take the St. Croix Institute into private business as a limited liability corporation with offices in Stillwater and Ely, MN. The St. Croix Institute (SCI) is now a full-service corporate and community consulting company with a ‘carbon negative,’ quadruple-bottom-line approach for ‘getting beyond sustainability.’ SCI launched LICO2e™ (GBC) – dba ‘Locally Invested Carbon Offsets’ – in 2016, a new ‘public benefit corporation’ focused on voluntary carbon offset products, services, and partnerships at the community and national scales.
Exemplary clients and projects include (past & present): National Indian Carbon Coalition, Senior Program and Policy Strategist (current); National Community Action Partnership, carbon offset program initiative; Corporate Social Responsibility, Life Cycle Analysis, Staff Training, ESG reporting, and Supply Chain auditing services for the Ciranda Corporation in Hudson, WI; Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Team, & Circular Economy Program Manager for the Uponor Corporation, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland; Board of Directors and previous Chair of the Board Development Committee for Slipstream, Inc., in Madison, WI; Sustainability Faculty Development Workshops for Colorado College, in Colorado Springs; Comprehensive Plan re-writing sub-contractor for the City of Prescott, WI; and President of the Board at Refuge Friends, Inc., MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, MN.
Kelly lives with his wife Ruth, various orbiting children, grandchildren, dogs, cats, goats, chickens (and the spirit of “Rex, the Rooster from Hell”), 40,000 bees (give or take a few thousand), and various other critters on a 5-acre permaculture farm within an 80-acre intentional community that he and Ruth established in 1990 outside of River Falls.
PROFILE
Dr. Cain has been a faculty member at UWRF for 27 years as a Professor in Environmental Science & Management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Cain has extensive experience in the planning, design, and application of sustainable community–based models for small, medium, and large scale business, communities, university campuses, and government agencies. Besides energy and food self-sufficiency, land use planning, ecotourism, and environmental management applications, he also consults in ‘beyond sustainability’ curriculum development, and for community outreach and training, grant development, and as an external evaluator for both tribal and non-tribal entities. Dr. Cain has served on numerous civic and governmental organizations, including the City of River Falls Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Board, and Extraterritorial Zoning Board, as well as six years as Supervisor for the Town of River Falls. He became the Director of Sustainability for UWRF, and founding Principal of the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development in May of 2007.
EXEMPLARY CLIENTELE
National Indian Carbon Coalition / Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Aspen Institute / Ford Foundation China Exploration & Research Society
Electric Power Research Institute, NE Oklahoma State University
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 3M, Aveda, & Uponor Corporations
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Infinity Retail Services & MAMAC Systems
National Board of Community Action Partnerships, GO BUY LOCAL & Borner Farm Project
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Localized Energy & Food Self-Sufficiency Capacity & Macro-Economic Impact Models for WI & MN
St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity Eco-Village I & II - Conceptualization & Project Cmtt. Chair
Sustainable Business & Community Model positioning for the Electric Power Research Institute, and Rural Wealth Creation Project for Aspen Institute / Ford Foundation
AWARDS & HONORS
UW System Teaching Scholar, 2000-01 Sabbaticals: 3M (1998) & China (2006-07)
UWRF Advisor of the Year, 2006 Distinguished Teacher of the Year, 1994-95
UW System Idea Fellow, 2004 UW System Teaching Fellow, 1993-94
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity
West Central Wisconsin Community Action Partnership
Slipstream, Inc. (merger of WI Energy Conservation Corporation & 7th Wave)
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Education - Resource Management (1988). University of Minnesota
M.S., Outdoor Education, (1980). Western Kentucky University
B.S., Agriculture, (1978). Western Kentucky University
A.S., Architectural Technology, (1978). Western Kentucky University
A.S., Liberal Studies, (1978). Western Kentucky University
Related EDUCATION, TRAINING & AFFILIATIONS
Dr. Cain has been a faculty member at UWRF for 27 years as a Professor in Environmental Science & Management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Cain has extensive experience in the planning, design, and application of sustainable community–based models for small, medium, and large scale business, communities, university campuses, and government agencies. Besides energy and food self-sufficiency, land use planning, ecotourism, and environmental management applications, he also consults in ‘beyond sustainability’ curriculum development, and for community outreach and training, grant development, and as an external evaluator for both tribal and non-tribal entities. Dr. Cain has served on numerous civic and governmental organizations, including the City of River Falls Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Board, and Extraterritorial Zoning Board, as well as six years as Supervisor for the Town of River Falls. He became the Director of Sustainability for UWRF, and founding Principal of the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development in May of 2007.
EXEMPLARY CLIENTELE
National Indian Carbon Coalition / Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Aspen Institute / Ford Foundation China Exploration & Research Society
Electric Power Research Institute, NE Oklahoma State University
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 3M, Aveda, & Uponor Corporations
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Infinity Retail Services & MAMAC Systems
National Board of Community Action Partnerships, GO BUY LOCAL & Borner Farm Project
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Localized Energy & Food Self-Sufficiency Capacity & Macro-Economic Impact Models for WI & MN
St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity Eco-Village I & II - Conceptualization & Project Cmtt. Chair
Sustainable Business & Community Model positioning for the Electric Power Research Institute, and Rural Wealth Creation Project for Aspen Institute / Ford Foundation
AWARDS & HONORS
UW System Teaching Scholar, 2000-01 Sabbaticals: 3M (1998) & China (2006-07)
UWRF Advisor of the Year, 2006 Distinguished Teacher of the Year, 1994-95
UW System Idea Fellow, 2004 UW System Teaching Fellow, 1993-94
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity
West Central Wisconsin Community Action Partnership
Slipstream, Inc. (merger of WI Energy Conservation Corporation & 7th Wave)
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Education - Resource Management (1988). University of Minnesota
M.S., Outdoor Education, (1980). Western Kentucky University
B.S., Agriculture, (1978). Western Kentucky University
A.S., Architectural Technology, (1978). Western Kentucky University
A.S., Liberal Studies, (1978). Western Kentucky University
Related EDUCATION, TRAINING & AFFILIATIONS
- GRI G4 – Global Reporting Initiative (Chicago / 2014)
- Permaculture Design Certification from Permaculture Institute of Australia (2/2010)
- Society for College & University Planning – Planning Institute Certificate (1/2009)