WOHESC

Jessica L. Black is the Director of the Center for Indigenous Health, Culture & the Environment (CIHCE), an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies, and the Chair of the Science Department at Heritage University. Jessica earned a B.A. in Geology from Wellesley College, a B.S. in Geography from the University of St Andrews, a M.S. in Quaternary Studies from the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Colorado. In her professional career, Jessica has focused her efforts towards the overall goal of supporting diverse undergraduate students in STEM to completion of their degrees so they can transition to graduate programs and the STEM workforce, ultimately diversifying the professoriate and strengthening rural and tribal communities with skilled indigenous candidates. Jessica continues to work with her colleagues at Heritage University to infuse the B.S. Environmental Science and B.A. Environmental Studies degree programs with culturally responsive curricula, respectfully intertwining Traditional Ecological Knowledge, intergenerational learning, and experiential learning methodologies. ▾

Terrence R. (Terry) McDonald is the entrepreneurial-minded executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Inc. (SVdP) who has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for innovations not just in reuse and recycling enterprises, but also for the programs that serve the disenfranchised in Oregon. Terry's passion is creating avenues out of poverty through a unique kind of reclamation: finding new uses for consumers' "useless" discards, creating new strategies and community coalitions to deal with old problems, and giving low-income and homeless people a chance to reclaim their dignity through employment and self-sufficiency. His agency operates multiple social enterprises including mattress recycling facilities, a fashion upcycling workshop, used bookstores, retail thrift stores, a used car lot, an appliance repair and recycling operation and reverse logistics contracting that aids retailers dealing with returns, and warehouse damaged materials. ▾

Brendan Adamczyk is a community organizer with a passion for environmental justice and a senior at the University of Oregon, majoring in Environmental Studies with minors in Geography and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. He is the chair of the Student Sustainability Network, a support group for student leaders in organizations that support human equity, environmental vitality, and economic well-being at the University of Oregon. He is also co-director of the Climate Justice League, a student organization that seeks to empower students to organize their communities and be leaders in the climate justice movement through direct-action and educational campaigns. In his spare time, Brendan likes to read as much as he can!

Michele Crim has worked in the environmental field for over 20 years. Her professional expertise in the areas of climate action, pollution prevention, environmental management systems and resource conservation led to her current position as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Michele is responsible for leading the work of innovative and talented teams focused on climate action, sustainable development, energy efficiency, renewable energy, emerging mobility, sustainability engagement with both businesses and the community, climate resilience and adaptation, as well as recycling, composting and waste collection. Michele works to advance the integration of equity into all aspects of the city's sustainability and climate work to help ensure all Portlanders have access to the opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their well-being and achieve their full potential. Michele has a Master of Science in Environmental Science from Washington State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geology and Technology, and a minor in Space Studies, from the University of North Dakota.

Catalina M. de Onís is an Assistant Professor in Willamette University's Department of Civic Communication and Media in Salem, Oregon. In collaboration with an interdisciplinary group of undergraduates, she organizes La Chispa, an environmental justice coalition on campus and also is a contributing member of Coqui Solar, a grassroots group in Puerto Rico committed to energy and climate justice.

Omar El Akkad has reported from Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and numerous other locations around the world. He is the recipient of a National Newspaper Award for Investigative Journalism and the Goff Penny Award for young journalists. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Le Monde, Guernica, and many other newspapers and magazines. His debut novel, American War, is an international bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages. It won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Award, the Oregon Book Award for fiction, the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and has been nominated for more than ten other awards.

Toren's passion for the environment began at an early age with her love for the outdoors, which turned into degrees in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Science and became even stronger when she lived in Kona, Hawaii, working with dolphins. "I'm interested in everything from green offices, to paper reduction and green event resources," she says. "Representing the University of Washington's commitment to sustainability makes me excited to go to work each day."

Stephania Fregosi got into sustainability as a result of childhood experiences that included resource conservation, a love of all marine creatures, international travel, a semester "abroad" at a farm, and a concern for human rights. In her role as Portland Community College's Sustainability Analyst, she completes greenhouse gas inventories and the STARS report, does research, and provides other support. She earned her Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from the Vermont Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College. She was recently featured on the Oregon State University podcast, Research in Action. She serves on AASHE's advisory board as the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Claudia Frere-Anderson is director of Sustainability at the University of Washington. She started her career in the financial services industry prior to working in the nonprofit and social entrepreneurship sector in the San Francisco Bay Area. In these positions, she launched community involvement plans for multi-national companies and advised corporations with corporate social responsibility program implementations. She also worked with national nonprofit organizations to help create efficiencies for volunteer recruitment. Claudia graduated Cum Laude in Politics from the University of San Francisco with a certificate in Peace and Justice Studies. She received an MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility from Nottingham University Business School in the UK where she received a full scholarship from the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR). While in graduate school, Claudia launched the business school's first Net Impact Chapter and led post-graduate students with environmental engagement projects. Claudia spends most of her time outdoors with her husband and two fur babies on the trails of the Olympic Peninsula.

National Magazine Award finalist McKenzie Funk writes for Harper's, National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, and the London Review of Books. His first book, Windfall, won a PEN Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Orion and Rachel Carson awards.

Lucas Rockett Gutterman is the Organizing Director for OSPIRG Students. Lucas got his start as a MASSPIRG chapter student at UMass Amherst. He oversees the three OSPIRG chapters across Oregon, working with students to win campaigns to save the bees, put wildlife over waste by moving beyond plastics, and register students to vote. In the fall, students collected 4,000 petitions calling for a ban on bee-killing pesticides, building grassroots support for their upcoming trip to the statehouse.

Dr. Daniel M. Kammen is a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, with parallel appointments in the Energy and Resources Group where he serves as Chair, the Goldman School of Public Policy where he directs the Center for Environmental Policy, and the department of Nuclear Engineering. Kammen is the founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, and was director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center from 2007 - 2015. He was appointed by then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in April 2010 as the first energy fellow of the Environment and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA) initiative. He began service as the Science Envoy for U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry in 2016, but resigned over President Trump's policies in August, 2017. He has served the State of California and US federal government in expert and advisory capacities, including time at the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Energy, the Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. ▾

Noel Kinder is Nike's Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). As the CSO, Noel leads Global Sustainability, a team committed to protecting our planet to maintain an environment where all athletes can train, live and thrive. Prior to becoming the CSO, Noel was the Vice President of Sustainable Manufacturing and Sourcing, where he was responsible for collaborating with Nike Inc.'s business units, contracted factory leadership, representatives in academia and within the NGO community on the evolution of the company's sustainable business performance policies. Noel joined Nike in 1999 and has held a wide range of leadership positions in the footwear and apparel divisions as well as roles in strategic planning and finance. In 2013, Noel became the General Manager of Nike Vietnam LLC, one of Nike's largest sourcing countries, and was responsible for all manufacturing operations. He has worked with a wide range of manufacturers; from textile and apparel production in Sri Lanka and Eastern Europe to footwear manufacturing in Brazil and throughout Asia. ▾

Rebecca Lawton is a fluvial geologist and former Grand Canyon river guide who directs PLAYA, a residency program for artists and scientists in Summer Lake, Oregon. Her prose and poetry have been published in Aeon, Audubon, Brevity, Chautauqua, High Desert Journal, Hunger Mountain, Orion, Shenandoah, Sierra, THEMA, and many other journals. She has won a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, Ellen Meloy Award for Desert Writers, WILLA for original softcover fiction, Waterston Desert Writing Prize, and three nominations for the Pushcart Prize. Her first book of essays, Reading Water: Lessons from the River, was a San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Bestseller. Her latest collection is The Oasis this Time: Living and Dying with Water in the West (Torrey House Press, 2019).

Steve Mital is the founding director of the University of Oregon's Sustainability Office. He was part of the three-person team that developed the Oregon Model for Sustainable Development, a landmark campus energy policy that requires all new buildings to harvest 100% of their energy needs from existing building stock. He also led the initiative to create the Oregon Leadership in Sustainability graduate certificate program that launched in 2011. Prior to this position, Steve was an instructor in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Oregon. While there, he founded and directed the Environmental Leadership Program, which provides undergraduate and graduate students practical experience as consultants to area businesses, agencies, and NGOs. Steve is also one of five commissioners elected to govern the Eugene Water and Electric Board. He holds two masters degrees from the University of Oregon.

Alice Morrison is a Masters of Nonprofit Management student at the University of Oregon and the Student Sustainability Center's Food Security Coordinator. In this role, she runs a twice monthly partnership with the regional food bank, provides SNAP enrollment services to students, offers trainings on food security issues to faculty and staff, and sits on UO's Food Security Task Force. Outside her university life, Morrison owns a small vegetable farm with her partner, called White Rabbit Gardens and is president of the National Young Farmers Coalition chapter for the South Willamette Valley. She also just finished her third season as director of a small, rural farmers market and serves as board secretary for the Oregon Farmers Market Association.

Jen Myers (she/her/hers) is an instructor in the Sustainability Double Degree Program at Oregon State University. She has a master's degree in Environmental Ethics and is currently completing a PhD in Sustainability Education at Prescott College. Her research focuses on the connections between social justice and place attachment in Vieques, Puerto Rico with an aim to identify strategies for psychological resilience in the face of climate change. Jen also has significant experience in the non-profit sector developing local food systems and wilderness education experience serving minoritized youth. She is president of the board of Power Up for Climate Solutions, a non-profit inspiring climate activism.

Mark is the Climate Recovery Ordinance Analyst for the City of Eugene. Responsible for creating the City's Climate Action Plan 2.0, he currently supports the City's sustainability efforts, including supporting the Climate Action Plan 2.0 Equity Panel, the Sustainability Commission and other citywide efforts. As a consultant Mark has provided policy research, coalition building, political strategies, lobbying, and land use planning services for clients including the Association of Oregon Counties, Metro, and Hood River County. A resident of Eugene, Mark also teaches in the School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management at the University of Oregon. He is married and has a son who is a senior in high school. His dog Juni keeps him very active.

Briar is the college's Sustainability Manager, with the focus of mainstreaming sustainability throughout all college practices district-wide. She has taught sustainability courses at PCC and sits on the Board of Directors for the Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network. She holds a Master's Degree in Sustainability from Arizona State University, as well as a B.A. in Sustainability and a B.S. in Justice Studies. She is a LEED Green Associate and received her Master Gardener certification in 2016. Briar has represented the college at the local, national and international-level, including COP23 in Bonn, Germany. She likes to spend her free time crafting, gardening, and playing with her kitty.

Dr. Smith's research explores the complex coupled human-environment systems that shape the world in which we live. He is currently exploring the impacts of the cannabis industry on food systems in Oregon and collaborating on long-term research to monitor the impacts of macroalgae development in the Mexican Caribbean. He is also the founder and faculty advisor for The Farm at SOU: A Center for Sustainability and a member of the SOU Sustainability Council. His work spans several traditional disciplinary boundaries including human ecology, environmental sociology, landscape ecology, agroecology, and human geography.

Sarah Riggs Stapleton is an Assistant Professor in Education Studies at the University of Oregon. She earned her PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education from Michigan State University. She holds a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sarah uses critical and participatory methodologies to investigate social and environmental inequities. She is particularly interested in the many ways in which food intersects with schools.

Sarah Stoeckl, PhD, is the program manager in the Office of Sustainability at the University of Oregon. Her work at the UO focuses on campus and community outreach, including support for sustainability in research, curriculum, co-curricular activities, and community engagements. She also supports the office's gathering and tracking of the campus' greenhouse gas emissions data, content creation that tells the university's sustainability story, and generation of sustainability policy and plans. Before starting this position in 2018, she worked in technology and education. Sarah earned her PhD in literature from the UO in 2012.

Mitchell Thomashow is a writer, teacher, and former university president. He is the author of "Ecological Identity, Bringing the Biosphere Home", and "The Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus", all published by The MIT Press. His new book, to be published (also by The MIT Press) later in 2020 is "To Know the World: Why Environmental Learning Matters (Now More than Ever)". Mitchell was the Chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Antioch University New England from 1976-2006 and the President of Unity College from 2006-2011. Between 2012-2017 he was the Director of the Presidential Fellows Program at Second Nature and then a Catalyst Fellow at Philanthropy Northwest. During that time he consulted for over sixty North American colleges and universities on sustainability, environmental studies, and organizational strategies for constructive change. He lives in the hill country of the Monadnock Region in Southwest New Hampshire, where you might find him roaming the hills, playing the piano or guitar, and doing his best to advance environmental learning.

After earning a degree in environmental science and working in OSU's Government Relations office, Brandon helped create the Sustainability Officer position in 2005. His primary duties include setting OSU's strategic sustainability direction; tracking and reporting institutional progress toward sustainability; fostering student, academic and community engagement; and scoping, funding and implementing infrastructure projects. Brandon chairs OSU's Transportation Committee and Sustainability Advisory Council, and volunteers extensively with several government and community organizations. In 2010, Brandon was recognized by 1000 Friends of Oregon as one of the state's 35 Innovators Under 35.

As Western's sustainability officer, Seth Vidaña oversees the functions of the Office of Sustainability, working with students, staff, and faculty to make Western a national leader in sustainability through advances in academics, operations, and co-curricular learning. Seth is driven to provide students with the opportunity to identify as protectors of people and planet, and hopes that their experiences at Western will stay with them for the rest of their lives. An envelope-pusher, knowledge source, and mentor, Seth is also co-chair of the Washington Higher Education Sustainability Consortium. He enjoys being a father, partner, trail runner, bee keeper, and is a proud first-generation, Latino-Teuton American.

Sean M. Watts has spent his career seeking environmental solutions that yield the greatest human and ecological benefits. He is the owner of SM Watts Consulting, LLC - empowering communities to drive environmental and land use policy and helping historically white-led organizations move from awareness to action to create an equitable and inclusive environmental movement. Most recently, as Director of Community Partnerships for the Seattle Parks Foundation, he created programs to advocate for and build capacity among resident-led groups to enhance open space in Seattle. He has worked to bridge gaps between science, policy and society as faculty at Santa Clara University; as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation and as founding Director of the University of Washington, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. Sean received his BA in Biology from the University of Virginia; and PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.