Janne K. Flisrand earned her MA in urban anthropology from the University of Memphis after teaching in Zaire for two years and leading an after-school drop in youth program staffed by AmeriCorps volunteers. She has an undergraduate degree in anthropology and Scandinavian studies, which she put to use as a language camp director for 15 years.

As an urban sustainability consultant with Flisrand Consulting, Janne connects people, places and ideas through smart process. Over the last nine years, she has facilitated collaborations, completed best practice research, and presented on sustainability and energy efficiency tips for consumers. Her publications include a policy evaluation of Affordable Housing Tax Credits for HousingMinnesota and LISC and a Development Handbook for Neighborhoods with the Center for Neighborhoods. She also served as the Director of Operations of the Hawthorne Area Community Council (HACC), a neighborhood revitalization program located in North Minneapolis.

Janne is part of American Public Media’s Marketplace's hand-picked environmental professionals writing for The Greenwash Brigade. The Brigade hunts for "greenwash" as they examine eco-friendly claims by companies, governments and other groups. She joined the Minnesota Green Communities initiative in March 2005 as program coordinator. The program promotes affordable, healthy, sustainably built housing throughout Minnesota with a goal of transforming the standard to which all affordable housing in Minnesota is built by 2010.