Michelle Stearn writes for The Next System Project as part of the Democracy Collaborative team. Based in Washington, DC, Michelle’s work focuses on generating equitable and community-based food and energy systems. She is a co-founder of SPACE Lab, a collective of innovators bridging the gap between art and science by transforming spaces for creative learning and expression. To that end, she is working to establish a community biofuel laboratory in Southeast DC centered on youth empowerment and energy democracy.