Keeli Siyaka // Spring 2024 CURE Legal Intern

CURE would like to express our appreciation of Keeli Siyaka as she heads out to vital environmental and land conservation work this summer. Keeli was a Spring 2024 legal intern with CURE, where she helped us look into state agency policies and how different agencies make plans to engage with key rural constituencies.

Keeli’s journey into environmental law was shaped by her Dakota culture and love for her Minnesota and South Dakota homelands. She voices a deep responsibility to protect, preserve, and restore these lands for the survival of future generations and draws on her ancestors’ legacy of sustainability and empathy to guide her work. Keeli believes the legal system is one of the best places to bring these values and effect change.

Keeli graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biology. She is currently a rising third-year law student at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Keeli has experience working for nonprofits in environmental education and environmental justice organizing. Once she completes law school, Keeli hopes to work at the intersection of tribal sovereignty and environmental protection.

This summer, Keeli will be working with the Minnesota Land Trust, deepening her knowledge of conservation and land use policy in the region. We are excited to see where she takes this knowledge and her career, and we wish her all the best in her new endeavors.

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Kelsey Olson

Kelsey Olson

Director of Environmental Stewardship

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Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.

Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the Minnesota Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, whether this is canning local produce, making kombucha, or other treats!