Dr. Nick Kleese is an Iowa farm kid turned Lecturer in First Year Writing in the Department of Writing Studies at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Nick serves as the Director of Community Engagement at the Center for Climate Literacy at the University of Minnesota, Managing Editor for Climate Literacy in Education, and Editor at Climate Lit. He is also Co-Founder of KidLitLab! and an inaugural member of the Whippoorwill YA Award: an award recognizing rural representation in young adult literature. He has taught middle school and high school English, undergraduate children’s literature courses, and outdoor immersion experiences for kindergarteners.