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2026 Program

Monday, March 2nd, 2026
1:00 - 3:00 PM	Student Sustainability Action Challenge
	TOURS Space is Limited: Pre-Registration REQUIRED
1:30 - 3:00 PM	UW Power Plant Tour ▾ Participants will explore the inner workings of the UW Power Plant, including a behind-the-scenes look at its infrastructure and operations. Multiple stops will showcase: Boiler systems and their role in steam production -5 Boilers – Large natural gas fired boilers with the ability to burn diesel oil when gas is not available. -Persistence of strategy - centralized energy system since 1895. -Age of infrastructure – Equipment ranging in age from 1948 to 2023. Our Energy Museum, where the tour starts, has a steam engine from the UW’s 1901 Powerhouse and the original Chief Engineers rolltop desk which dates from 1895. Efficiency upgrades that have significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions -Maintaining large scale operations -Decarbonization efforts and sustainability initiatives – A quick look into the future of the UW Power Plant and where our heat is going to come from. -Operational insights into how the plant supports campus energy needs -History of changes in the plant, which has grown tremendously since moving to its current location in 1908. Tunnel system - constructed for ease of maintenance and minimized disruption to campus -Critical steam, chilled water, compressed air and electrical distribution systems Will include 4 - 6 planned and impromptu stops to discuss operations and machinery" Tour Leader: David Woodson \| Executive Director of Campus Energy, Utilities & Operations, University of Washington
2:00 - 4:00 PM	UW Grounds Management Campus Sustainability Initiatives ▾ Tour will include visiting regional stormwater management facility, salvage wood program partnership w/College of the Built Environment, Satellite Irrigation capstone project @ Rainier Vista, Heron Haven ecological restoration, etc. Tour Leader: Howard Nakase \| Manager of Program Operations, UW Facilities Maintenance & Construction Tour Leader: Marlee Theil \| IPM & Sustainability Coordinator, UW Facilities Maintenance & Construction
3:00 - 5:00 PM	UW Bothell/Cascadia College Campus Sustainability Tour ▾ Join us on a walking tour of the UW Bothell and Cascadia College campus, one of the leaders in campus sustainability. We make decisions based on what is best for the planet and its inhabitants. This is why we’ve been pesticide and synthetic fertilizer free since 2006, making our campus safe for pollinators, local wildlife, and humans. This tour will primarily cover the campus grounds (pollinator gardens, edible landscapes, restored wetlands, stormwater management, and more). UW Bothell and Cascadia College are certified with Salmon Safe, Bee Campus, National Wildlife Habitat, AASHE STARS, and Re:Wild. Tour Leader: Tyson Kemper Tour Leader: Stephan Classen Tour Leader: Shahrzad Tehrani
3:00 - 5:00 PM	UW Campus Sustainability Fund Project Tour ▾ Tour Leader: Karolyn Maeda Tour Leader: Lorenzo McCleese Tour Leader: Maddy Laoprasert
3:00 - 5:00 PM	UW Green Buildings Showcase ▾ Join this tour showcasing two of the newest and most sustainable buildings on the UW campus. The Hans Rosling Population Health Building is certified LEED Platinum, and includes features such as rainwater collection, energy efficiency measures, improved accessibility throughout the site and design elements that promote human health. Founders Hall, part of the Foster School of Business complex, is the first fully mass timber building on the UW campus. In addition to the sustainability-sourced timber, it features daylighting with ample windows, drought-resistant landscaping and a natural cooling system of operable windows and ceiling fans that inhales and circulates evening air. You’ll get to learn more about the sustainability aspects of these buildings and how that integrates into the buildings’ daily use. Tour Leader: Robert Smith \| Architect, LMN Architects
3:00 - 5:00 PM	Union Bay Natural Area, Natural and Cultural Tour ▾ Join us for a tour of the Union Bay Natural Area, adjacent to UW campus - the site of a Duwamish village, and after the lowering of Lake Washington, became a landfill. The landfill has in the past 25 years become a restoration site, and is now a thriving habitat for many species of birds. We will spend time bird watching (scopes and binoculars provided) and will discuss the cultural and ecological history of the site in some nuance. Tour Leader: Tim Billo \| Assistant Professor, University of Washington Environmental Studies
3:00 - 4:30 PM	The UW Farm: An On-Campus Tour of a Living Laboratory ▾ Having origins as a student guerilla gardening movement over 20 years ago, the certified organic campus farm has grown to serve over 2200 students per year earning credit via field trips, service learning for courses, hands-on labs, internships, and capstone projects. In tension with supporting academics as a living laboratory, the farm is also a working farm, producing up to 11 tons of produce on only 2.5 acres across three growing sites. Produce and cut flowers are donated and sold to local food banks, UW Dining cafeterias, athletics and a robust Campus Supported Agriculture or CSA program serving up tot 95 households each week during peak season. Learn from the UW Farm Manager how opportunities for deeper learning meld with community engagement and urban agriculture and food systems. You will visit features of the UW Farm including: production areas wash pack facility world cultural kitchen and culinary garden Heritage Orchard Native Garden Wapato Pond Earth Oven project Greenhouses Tour Leader: Perry Acworth \| Manager, UW Farm
3:00 - 5:00 PM	Restoring Water, Land, and Community at Washington Park Arboretum Walking Tour ▾ Join a guided tour of the Washington Park Arboretum (WPA) led by a team of experts: an Arboretum horticulturalist, the Associate Director of the UW Botanical Gardens and plant curator, and a landscape architect helping to guide current and future development. Explore how powerful partnerships between public agencies are transforming the Arboretum into a thriving green oasis. Witness firsthand how green infrastructure is enhancing natural ecosystems, and uncover how the UW, the Arboretum Foundation and Seattle Parks and Recreation are turning bold, long-term visions into reality through smart, phased project planning. Tour Leader: Jason Henry \| Principal, LEED AP, Berger Partnership Tour Leader: Joanna Long \| Manager of Horticulture, Washington Park Arboretum Tour Leader: Raymond Larson \| Associate Director and Curator, UW Botanical Garden
3:00 - 4:00 PM	Project Indoor Farm: Empowering Students to Participate Directly in Urban Food Systems ▾ Learn about Project Indoor Farm, UW’s student-run hydroponics farm! Located within Condon Hall, Project IF can grow over 250+ crops within roughly 280 sq ft! Come learn about how the farm is maintained and students find leadership opportunities within our organization! Tour Leader: Linh Giakonoski \| Events and Outreach Officer - Project Indoor Farm, University of Washington Seattle
5:30 - 7:00 PM	Welcome Reception at Founders Hall
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026
8:00 AM	Registration open Breakfast on your own.
9:00 AM	Welcome to WOHESC 2026 Emcee: Lisa Dulude \| Director of Sustainability, University of Washington
9:05 AM	Keynote Address Aimée Okotie-Oyekan \| Founder and Principal, Aiyé Collaborative
9:35 AM	Opening Plenary - Student Leadership ▾ Across the Pacific Northwest, student leaders are driving bold, creative solutions to the challenges of sustainability and equity. Guided by moderator Lisa Dulude, this intergenerational conversation brings together emerging and established leaders to explore how collaboration, mentorship, and shared purpose can shape a just and resilient future. Join us as students from regional colleges and universities share their experiences, insights, and vision for transforming higher education into a catalyst for climate and community solutions. Moderator: Lisa Dulude \| Director of Sustainability, University of Washington Hemalatha Velappan \| PhD Candidate, University of Washington Keara Monique Alonso-Lopez \| Food Equity Lead at Student Sustainability Center, University of Oregon Isabella Mitchel \| Student Engagement Intern, Sustainability Office, Oregon State University Brooke Cruz \| Student Sustainability Ambassador, Central Washington University Tiyamike Chabwera \| Basic Needs Ambassador, Portland Community College (PCC)
10:45 AM	Break
11:15 AM	From Vision to Action: Lessons from UW’s Sustainability Planning Journey ▾ How do you turn a complex sustainability vision into an actionable plan? At UW, we have spent two years developing our 2025–2030 Sustainability Action Plan across three campuses and UW Medicine, learning what accelerates progress and what slows it down. This interactive workshop shares those lessons and gives participants space to workshop their own challenges, leaving with strategies they can adapt at their own campus.	Academic Libraries as Essential Colleagues in Campus Sustainability Efforts ▾ This presentation explores the critical role of academic libraries as inclusive hubs and change agents in advancing campus sustainability and environmental justice. Libraries promote the triple bottom line, environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility, through establishing formal structures like Sustainability Committees and achieving organizational goals aligned sustainability and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification Program, as well as through less formal pathways with sustainability embedded in all their work. Key actions discussed include engaging faculty through programs like the Trillium Project and Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs), supporting students with Open Educational Resources (OER) for financial sustainability, actively participating in operational efforts such as waste audits and energy monitoring, and lending resources including but not limited to tools, camping gear, wellness kits, solar chargers, and passes to local parks and gardens. By utilizing their diverse skills and capacity for collaboration, academic libraries transform into visible, relevant partners vital to achieving the university’s broader sustainability and strategic objectives.	From Classroom to Community: Supporting Integrative Learning through Staff and Faculty Partnerships ▾ This session highlights Reed College’s Sustainability and Environmental Justice (SEJ) Collective, a model for integrating curricular, co-curricular, and residential programming to advance sustainability and environmental justice. Using Garden House and a live-on postbaccalaureate SEJ Scholar as a case study, we will explore strategies for fostering student leadership, campus partnerships, and intergenerational collaboration. Participants will leave with actionable ideas for strengthening co-curricular programs and creating resilient learning communities on their own campuses.
	Developing Collaborative Leaders for Puget Sound ▾ Washington state is where collaborative governance on natural resources began in the early 1970s. The Collaborative Leadership Program (CLP) at the University of Washington’s Puget Sound Institute (PSI) is 1) capturing and documenting this history; 2) Making it available to scholars, students, researchers, and the public; and 3) Building on the history to foster collaborative leadership for the future. The CLP’s new “Developing Collaborative Leaders for Puget Sound” Project is: 1) Developing and piloting curricula to teach and train students and natural resource professionals about collaborative leadership; and 2) Creating opportunities for interaction between emerging/next generation leaders and their elders. In this session, CLP Principal Investigator/Program Lead Michael Kern will share an overview of the CLP and the new project, and request input from attendees on key questions project team members are wrestling with as they work on the teaching and training curricula, intergenerational dialogues, and other elements of the project.	Hopes and Challenges for Sustainable Pathways Ahead: Academic and Private-Sector Partnerships ▾ This panel brings together sustainability leaders from higher education and the private sector to explore how both spheres are adapting their sustainability strategies amid uncertainty. Panelists will share real-world insights on the skills, mindsets, and experiences that future sustainability professionals need to thrive in complex, evolving environments. Discussion will highlight lessons from current practitioners that can inform academic programs, career preparation, and cross-sector collaboration. Attendees will leave with practical takeaways for bridging classroom learning with the dynamic realities of sustainability leadership.	From Vision to Action: Creating Solarpunk Strategies for a Sustainable World ▾ What would it look like to live in a Solarpunk world—and how do we start building it now? This interactive workshop combines systems thinking, design tools, and imagination to explore pathways toward regenerative, community-centered futures. Participants will learn about real-world Solarpunk examples, practice using frameworks like Regenerative Design Thinking and backcasting, and collaborate on strategies for creating local action plans. Come ready to imagine, design, and act toward a brighter future rooted in sustainability and solidarity.
12:30 PM	Lunch
1:30 PM	Re-Engaging Community for Climate Action Planning ▾ Join us for a discussion on updating your Climate Action Plan to ensure it remains relevant to your community and keeps your institution on track towards its climate and sustainability goals. Presenters will share their experience with updating their plans as well as processes for re-engaging to build an intersectional alliance for community-based climate action. Participants will learn about strategies employed to measure progress, assess current status and integrate new and emerging data, trends and priorities. This presentation will provide scalable examples of how to gauge the community “pulse” on climate and revise goals through an equity-focused, inclusive engagement process that fosters a culture of ownership for climate action at your institution and beyond.	Session Info Coming Soon	Beyond the Ledger: Cross-Functional Strategies to Reduce Scope 3 PGS Emissions ▾ This interactive session provides a practical roadmap for understanding and addressing Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services. Participants will explore tested tools for determining emissions, explore a multidimensional framework for prioritizing action, share insights across roles, and begin creating tailored action plans. The workshop fosters cross-functional collaboration and ongoing leadership while providing resources that can be used on campus immediately.
	Indigenous Voices Toward Sustainable Adaptive Re-Use ▾ An interactive session will provide participants with ways to incorporate indigenous experience and perspectives into planning campus spaces toward sustainable communities. How to use the adaptive re-use of an existing building as a means to directly reverse historic environmental and cultural impact balanced with respecting current campus patterns and context. The recently opened Seminar I Renovation design process and new home of the Native Pathways Program at The Evergreen State College will center the session.	Repairing the Future: Student-Led, Community-Powered Repair Fairs that Reconnect Generations and Grow Sustainability Leaders ▾ This session explores the intergenerational repair movement at Oregon State University, where students and community mentors collaborate to host Repair Fairs that teach sustainability through action. Attendees will learn how to guide students through planning, marketing, and managing events that engage volunteers and partners across generations. Presenters will also share how this model has been replicated at Central Washington University and OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, offering practical insights for campuses seeking to launch similar programs.	Sustainability in Technology: Building Community Through Innovation and Action ▾ How can technology become a pathway to sustainability rather than a barrier to it? In this session, graduate student Dylan shares how his Sustainability in Technology initiative engaged students in exploring the environmental impact and potential of innovation through hands-on projects and community collaboration. Centered on curiosity, accessibility, and local partnerships, his work highlights how sustainability education can move beyond awareness to action. Participants will gain insight into how student-led initiatives can connect learning, leadership, and community impact across disciplines..
2:45 PM	Poster Sessions
3:15 PM	Build it Up and Hand it Off ▾ Student leaders are on campus for a short time, but to be truly sustainable, their programs and projects should outlast them. How do you build up a program by connecting to others around campus? Once it’s built, how do you hand off that program once you graduate or move-on to something else? Facilitated by the student workers of the University of Oregon’s Student Sustainability Center, attendees will join groups of other students to discuss the ways they strategize, organize, and plan for the next generation of students to take on the work.	Better Planning for More Resilient Campuses ▾ In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how they can use publicly available data and guides to develop an infrastructure resilience plan for their institution. We will discuss how to identify and prioritize climate hazards for a specific location, screen buildings and infrastructure for vulnerabilities, and map common resilience strategies to needs at their campus. Participants will come away ready to make further progress at their own campus.	From Silos to Synergy with a view to Systemic Impact: Crafting a Unified Sustainability Narrative for Higher Education Leadership ▾ In many higher education institutions, sustainability activities are vibrant but fragmented, spread across academic departments, operations, student initiatives, research centers, and community partnerships, even for those with a Center for Sustainability and those reporting on sustainability activities through AASHE-STARS. While these sustainability activities reflect a deep institutional commitment to sustainability, their grass roots nature often obscures their collective impact. This workshop addresses a critical challenge: how to synthesize disparate sustainability activities into a coherent and compelling narrative that communicates the value proposition of sustainability to university leadership and stakeholders.
	UW’s New Green Building Standard: The Intent, Impact, and Implementation of Campuswide Sustainability Policy ▾ The University of Washington adopted its updated Green Building Standard in July of 2024, which requires capital projects over $1million meet targets for energy, water, carbon emissions - both operational and embodied, and align with principles of equity, ecological harmony and health & well-being. It also introduces four project tiers, ensuring that targets are appropriately scaled for a diversity of project types including new construction and major renovations, partial renovations, system upgrades, and other capital projects. Join UW Sustainability, O'Brien360, and Payette to learn how a university-wide green building policy can move the needle on climate and sustainability goals, transition off fossil fuels, and ensure cost-effective decision-making in capital projects.	Revisioning and Revitalizing HuES – Building Student Leadership for Equitable Sustainability ▾ This session explores the intergenerational repair movement at Oregon State University, where students and community mentors collaborate to host Repair Fairs that teach sustainability through action. Attendees will learn how to guide students through planning, marketing, and managing events that engage volunteers and partners across generations. Presenters will also share how this model has been replicated at Central Washington University and OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, offering practical insights for campuses seeking to launch similar programs.	Infusing Sustainable Practices Into Your Campus Events ▾ Trying to make your campus events more sustainable, but don't know how? Join Portland Community College’s Associate Dean of Sustainability and a student leadership event veteran for a crash course in event planning that centers eco-justice. This session will provide participants with quick tips and resource guides to help make your campus events less wasteful and more impactful.
5:00 PM	MEETUPS
	Rethinking Graduation: Building a Cap & Gown Reuse Network ▾ Each year, thousands of graduation gowns are purchased, worn once, and discarded—creating unnecessary textile waste and costs for students. Across the Pacific Northwest, colleges are beginning to rethink this tradition by launching regalia rental and reuse programs. Join peers for a collaborative conversation about creating circular systems for graduation attire. This informal session will connect sustainability coordinators, commencement planners, and student leaders to exchange ideas, share pilot models, and identify opportunities for regional collaboration.
	Games for Education and Change ▾ Explore how board and tabletop games can be powerful tools for systems thinking, collaboration, and climate education. This seminar meetup brings together educators, sustainability professionals, and game designers to explore how play fosters creativity and problem-solving around complex ecological and social challenges. Participants can also try out games like Daybreak and Energetic while discussing how gaming can inspire real-world action and learning.
	Instructional/Academic Dean Meet Up ▾ Join fellow deans to discuss and develop ideas for dean-level engagement with environmental sustainability on our campuses. Come ready to share what you have been doing and/or what you hope to do. Ask questions about challenges and possible solutions. Connect with colleagues from across our colleges who are passionate leaders for this work in instruction and institution-wide.
6:00 PM	Undammed Movie Screening
Wednesday, March 4th, 2026
8:00 AM	Registration open Breakfast on your own.
9:00 AM	Welcome Address
9:10 AM	Host Partners Sustainability Roundtable Moderator: Lisa Dulude \| Director of Sustainability, University of Washington Brandon Lesowske \| Assistant Director, Materials Management Services, Portland State University
9: AM	Keynote Address Amy Bowers Cordalis \| UN Champion of the Earth, Time 100 Climate Leader; Author, The Water Remembers
10:00 AM	Authors Plenary - Perfectly Imperfect: Memory, Speculation, and Mindful Action ▾ Stories shape our understanding of past injustices, inform our present behaviors, and illuminate possible futures. Join us to hear from acclaimed authors who use narrative to confront both history and the present and whose words can help us chart paths toward embracing our perfect imperfection. • Explore how speculative fiction and historical narrative deepen our understanding of human and ecological interdependence. • Discuss how storytelling can resist and repair settler-colonial harms. • Wrestle with questions of sustainability in an inherently imperfect world. • Discover how memory and imagination can guide us toward a future we want to build. Don’t miss this powerful conversation where ideas spark action! Moderator: Sarah Stoeckl, PhD \| Director, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon Amy Bowers Cordalis \| UN Champion of the Earth, Time 100 Climate Leader; Author, The Water Remembers Karen Walker \| Author, The Age of Miracles and The Dreamers Johanna Stoberock \| Author, Pigs: A Novel Laurie Frankel \| Author, One Two Three Anu Taranath \| Author, Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World
11:00 AM	Author's Book Signing Confirmed Authors: Amy Bowers Cordalis \| Karen Walker \| Johanna Stoberock \| Laurie Frankel
11:30 AM	Empowering Student Changemakers: Action-Based Sustainability Courses in Higher Education ▾ Join us for an interactive panel showcasing how experiential sustainability courses at CWU cultivate student leadership and drive campus transformation. Faculty and student leaders will share course structures, implementation challenges, project outcomes, and ongoing efforts to hand-off projects to the next generation of student leaders, while engaging attendees in a collaborative discussion on replicating and scaling these models across institutions.	From Waste to Resource: Free Stores as Solutions to Student Property Waste, Essential Resources, and Over-Consumption ▾ Campus free, thrift and second-hand reuse facilities offer a practical, sustainable, and equitable solution to the unwanted stuff students need to dispose of. This panel brings together university staff who have launched and maintained these programs, sharing insights into their operations, challenges, and community impact. Attendees will learn how these initiatives reduce waste, support student needs, and foster a culture of reuse.	Shooting for the STARS: Actionable and Collaborative Approaches to Elevating Sustainability on Campus ▾ Sustainability leaders representing four GOLD STARS-rated higher education institutions—Seattle University, Portland Community College, Central Washington University, and Oregon State University*— will come together to share how they have utilized the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS—administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, AASHE) to set a baseline for their campus sustainability practices; to identify areas of improvement and goals for sustainability and/or climate action plans; to create data collection processes; translate STARS credits into class and student projects; communicate and socialize their STARS rating and sustainability performance with university leadership; and to develop greater collaboration between departments on campus as well as between other STARS participating higher education institutions. The speakers will share insights gained over the years through an interactive panel discussion and breakout groups.
	Navigating Job and Internship Applications: A Toolkit for Students ▾ Navigating the application process for jobs and internships can often feel overwhelming for students and early career professionals, however, there are effective strategies to help you craft a standout application. Join Oregon Sea Grant and their partners for a hands-on workshop designed to guide you through creating a competitive application package. In this workshop, attendees will actively engage in every step of the application process—from interpreting job and fellowship postings, assembling a strong application, securing reference letters, and communicating with program staff, to submitting applications and preparing for interviews. Participants will also have the chance to receive valuable feedback from program managers aimed at strengthening their applications.	Designing Sustainable Leadership Pathways: A Model for Purpose-Driven Student Engagement ▾ As higher education redefines its role in advancing sustainability, new models of student leadership are emerging that connect learning with local action. This session presents NASWAP’s initiative-based framework, which equips students to design and implement community-centered projects that address real-world challenges while fostering personal and civic growth. Through mentorship, applied learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the program cultivates sustained leadership pipelines that strengthen both institutions and the communities they serve. Participants will explore how this approach can be adapted across campuses to build a more connected, purpose-driven generation of changemakers.	Teaching Sustainability Differently: Bridging Cultures, Creativity, and Justice in Education ▾ This interactive workshop explores how inclusive, creative, and culturally sensitive approaches can make sustainability education more accessible and inspiring. Participants will experiment with storytelling, visual design, and adaptive learning techniques to connect sustainability concepts to diverse student experiences. The session encourages collaboration and equips attendees with practical ways to engage broader audiences in sustainability work.
12:45 PM	Lunch - Closing Remarks and 2027 Announcement
1:45 PM	Weaving Justice: Sharing Stories, Visions, and Creative Possibilities for a More Sustainable World	Mapping Sustainability: Using Maps to Communicate with Campus ▾ Learn how the UW is sharing our sustainability stories and providing information through mapping. This case study will go through the process of determining what to include in a sustainability map and how to present it, as well as showcasing some tools that can be used to create maps for your institution.	Does Sustainability Require Democracy? ▾ Join a conversation where we wrestle with the influence of forms of governance on sustainability efforts. Four faculty panelists from two institutions will field questions from a moderator and the audience meant to probe the degree to which sustainability objectives are thwarted or reliant on democratic governance. The session is meant to serve as a transferable model for prompting conversations on the principles of democracy and sustainability and identifying where they overlap in the context of net erosion of democracy worldwide.
	Addressing the Environmental and Emotional Impacts of AI and the Potential Roles of AI in Sustainability in Higher Education	Bridging Culture & Innovation through Immersive Inclusive Green Apprenticeships ▾ Cultivating intergenerational non-traditional sustainability learning centers, diverse solutionaries will rise! By intertwining extended reality (XR) and game-based learning approaches with green industry apprenticeships, the proposed nontraditional learning center aims to transcend conventional educational paradigms, fostering a holistic understanding of sustainability among diverse age groups and cultural backgrounds.	Effective Campaign Planning for Students ▾ This session will teach students and other attendees how to plan a successful sustainability campaign from start to finish. Attendees will learn about power-mapping, defining a strategy, tactical best practices, and more. The session will include time in small groups for attendees to develop a new campaign or refine an existing campaign.

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