MSU Center for Community and Economic Development

Regional Economic Innovation

E-Update | February 2026

See Circular Economy in Action: Ann Arbor’s Path to a Carbon-Neutral Future

On Friday, March 13 (2–3 PM), a new webinar will spotlight the Ann Arbor Circular Economy Action Plan and how the city is advancing a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030. 

Participants will learn how Ann Arbor is putting circular economy principles into practice, rethinking how materials are used, reused, and recovered while strengthening sustainable food systems and community resilience as a part of the city's plan to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality, A2Zero.

Featuring leaders from the Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations, the webinar offers a conversation on how communities can translate circular economy ideas into real-world programs and partnerships. 



Register for this free webinar and join us on Friday, March 13th at 2 p.m.: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bdb4cLAj0zV7MpM?Q_CHL=qr

The Fate of the Earth Symposium

The MSU Center for Community and Economic Development invites you to join us for our Circular Economy Spring Forum on Thursday, March 26, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the MSU Union.

This spring, we are partnering with the MSU Office of Sustainability and the MSU Environmental Science and Policy Program as part of the 2026 Fate of the Earth Symposium in a concurrent session titled “Strengthening Michigan’s Circular Economy.”

During this session, our Circular Economy team will discuss what a circular economy is, highlight key challenges and opportunities Michigan industries face as they move toward circularity, and share the leadership role students are playing in this transition. We will also be joined by Chelsea Jensen of Llink Technologies, who will provide an update on the newly forming Michigan Circular Economy Industry Council.

We appreciate your engagement in our network and your commitment to advancing a more circular future in Michigan. Register today at: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebAONFxynqqvTaC

REI Welcomes New Research Assistant

Noelle Whorf is a Research Assistant for MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development for Regional and Economic Innovation (REI). She is a third-year student studying Economics and Public Policy with prospective minors in Geospatial Analytics and Quantitative Data Analytics. Noelle’s interests center on how natural and built environments connect to public health outcomes and economic opportunity, and how data and policy can be used to address these issues. She is especially passionate about interdisciplinary research, and has contributed to projects through the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, the Department of Geography, and Matrix: The Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a part of the Social Science Scholars Program, Federal Reserve Challenge Team, and serves as President of MSU’s undergraduate literature review journal. She enjoys reading about agri-food systems and modern monetary theory, and is curious about structural solutions that drive long-term growth.