When University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) graduate Ellen Spooner (MS ’16) thinks about a future with artificial intelligence (AI), she sees possibilities. “While I know there are a lot of challenges with AI, I think we can harness it for good, because AI is not predetermined,” she says. “It’s determined by the people who are building it, and everybody else.” 

When Spooner launched the Optimist Circuit Podcast in 2025, she had a goal to build a platform for connecting AI, technology, nature and people, and to spark optimism and power solutions. She’s published five episodes so far; the next one will be released at the end of February. Prior to hosting the Optimist Circuit, Spooner hosted Ocean Optimism, a podcast where she interviewed activist scientists and leaders about ocean conservation success stories. 

While speaking at an event about Ocean Optimism, Spooner met someone from the Waitt Institute who saw how her storytelling could be used to share their work in the Pacific. That conversation led to her role as a media and strategic communications manager at the Waitt Institute. The Waitt Institute is a nonprofit that partners with governments and stakeholders to create and implement sustainable ocean plans to benefit communities, the economy and the environment. Spooner oversees the Waitt Institute’s communications for some of the Pacific countries they work in, including Vanuatu and Samoa, and helps government partners, the private sector and Pacific communities sustainably manage, protect and develop their ocean spaces. Last year, she supported the government of Samoa in passing historic legislation that protects 30% of their ocean. “This was my dream job when I was a little girl,” she says.

Her work combines her passion for science communication with tangible impact. “The people I work with day to day are so passionate and dedicated, that failing isn’t an option,” she says. “We’re not going to stop protecting the ocean and trying to create a better future for everyone who relies on the ocean until we achieve that goal.”

That determination to find solutions extends beyond her day job to launching the Optimist Circuit podcast, which explores how AI can be used for good, specifically around sustainability. “There’s been an explosion of AI ever since ChatGPT was released,” Spooner says. “I have been very fascinated with AI, particularly how we can use it in the sustainability world and how to make the world a better place.

On her podcast Spooner shares stories of people and organizations that are using AI for good. In the five episodes released so far, she has covered a broad scope of issues. She has had the opportunity to interview people like Nick Konen, Microsoft’s community engagement representative for data centers, to learn how Microsoft works with communities to address their environmental concerns. She also has spoken with people addressing everything from how AI can shift the global map to equality to dismantling systemic biases in investing and access to capital. Throughout the process she has discovered “there are a lot of people working to address those solutions.”

Spooner’s view is rooted in her understanding of how collective voices shape corporate and government decisions. “People don’t realize the power of their voice and the change that it can make,” she emphasizes. “The same thing with large corporations is that they listen to what the people want.”

Spooner points to innovations like Microsoft’s experimental underwater data centers designed to cool systems without extracting excess freshwater as an example of collective voices shaping innovation. “I think if we keep pushing them [corporations] in the right way, it can help find the solutions to climate change,” she says.

Spooner’s perspective comes from someone who actively looks for solutions. She relates her views to the “red car theory” that suggests once something is important to you, you notice it more. “If you want to buy a red car, all of a sudden you’re driving down the street and you see red cars everywhere,” she explains. “It’s the same thing. I want to believe, and I do believe, that we can solve climate change and we can address these issues.” 

As an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, Spooner was connected to a SEAS faculty member and was drawn to the school’s multidisciplinary approach. She specialized in Ecosystem Science and Management at SEAS. “I am so grateful for my experience at SEAS because it exposed me to all the different facets and avenues of sustainability,” she says.

For current SEAS students, Spooner’s advice reflects her own journey: “Look for the opportunities or career that you want, the career path that you want. If you can’t find a way to get there right away, don’t give up; you can create opportunities for yourself.” Her Ocean Optimism podcast created the opportunity that led to her dream job, she says, while the Optimist Circuit podcast is creating new ones.

When asked what gives her hope for the future, Spooner didn’t hesitate to note youth activism and engagement. “Even under difficult environments where doing the right thing is the hard choice,” she says, “people are still making the choice to care about the environment and the future.”