Vicke Kepling is a community organizer and a progressive activist who fights for human rights and environmental issues. Kepling was involved in the disability field until 2011 when her perspective broadened with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
While attending school at Missouri State University, Kepling was involved with the MSU Students for a Sustainable Future and helped with their annual Earth Day event–Ecopalooza. Kepling and members advocated against a marketing project that promoted fracking and the Keystone XL pipeline. She spoke at the MO LOVE environmental event and was a co-writer for the solar tables on campus.
After graduating with two master’s degrees, Kepling has taught writing classes at Missouri State using sustainability as a focus. In her Writing for Social Change class, she required students to keep a sustainability journal. Some students wrote that they had never really considered environmental issues and their relationship with the planet before the exercise.
As a grassroots activist, Kepling has organized four March against Monsanto events and seven No Dakota Access Pipeline actions requesting that banks divest from fossil fuels. She organized a group trip to Standing Rock in North Dakota and raised $1,350 plus supplies for the campers. Kepling and others were at the bridge on November 20 when tear gas, water hoses, and concussion grenades were used against peaceful protesters.
Kepling is one of the organizers of the Greater Springfield Missouri Green Party, supporting the party’s focus on environmental issues. The group has created over 1,000 wildflower seed bombs in hope of educating children and increasing pollinating insects. Kepling is a member of the Sierra Club and has lobbied with the group at the state capitol building in Jefferson City. She maintains a small garden in front of her house.
Learn more about her and the other speakers over at the Speakers page.