Melissa Wenzel | Waste Wise

Melissa Wenzel is Minnesota’s Built Environment Sustainability Administrator and a proud public servant who has spent more than two decades with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. She works with people and organizations across the state to rethink how we design, use, and reuse buildings and building materials—making sure more of them are preserved, repaired, and recycled instead of ending up in landfills. Melissa brings her whole self to this work, blending deep expertise with a passion for sustainability and community. She earned her degree in Environmental Education from the University of Minnesota and a Sustainability in the Workplace Certificate from Hamline University. When she’s not working, you’ll find her tending native gardens, biking through every Minnesota season, and speaking up for climate justice in her Saint Paul community. Her motto—human being first, government employee second—guides every step of her journey.