Celebrating sustainability champions

Sustainability Lifetime Achievement Awards

• David Pugh: Vice President for Facility and Space Design for EHC: David Pugh received the 2011 Sustainability Innovators Award for his leadership as Associate Administrator for Emory Hospitals incorporating green cleaning, recycling, and other practices across Emory Healthcare. Since that time, David has continued his sustainability leadership as Vice President for Facility and Space Design for EHC. Notably, he led the effort to construct the 450,000-square-foot, $400 million state-of-the-art Emory University Hospital Tower to LEED standards, incorporating sustainability features such as attractive stairwells, natural light, meditation spaces, lactation rooms and employee showers. That respectful attention to people, the environment and well-being is a manifestation of David’s approach to his colleagues and his work. Our office is deeply grateful for his years of service to sustainability at Emory, his contributions to the office through his time, talents, and financial support.
• Rob Manchester: Director of Engineering Services for Emory Healthcare and Director of Engineering Services for Emory University: Rob Manchester knows more about the utility and operational systems at Emory than just about anyone else. He is the recipient of the 2022 Award of Distinction from Emory University for supporting nearly every capital project undertaken by Emory University in the past 30 years. He is highly respected for his expertise in the design and construction industry and has been instrumental in leading the university’s efforts to meet our energy, water-use, and carbon reduction goals. He oversees the university central plants and leads a large team of mechanical, electrical, and civil engineers and Emory’s award-winning inhouse Commissioning program. We recognize Rob for his many accomplishments and expertise and, as he approaches retirement, will miss his presence as guardian of our Sustainability Vision and determined champion of our sustainability goals.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Student:

• Jack Miklaucic: Climate activist and Senior Environmental Science Major: Our student innovator award was presented to Jack Miklaucic, who has been an agent of climate activism and change on campus during his time at Emory. As a leader of the Emory Climate Coalition, Jack helped push for Emory to adopt the United Nations Race to Zero Campaign and Second Nature’s Climate Commitment. As a student leader, Jack has played a huge role in the climate work seen across campus today—from providing input on Emory’s Climate Action Task Force and Community Conversations, to supporting the coding of qualitative data gathered from community input, to consistently showing up, being present, organizing events, sharing ideas, and building community around climate at Emory. Jack is leaving behind an impactful legacy from his four years here. Jack has consistently met with faculty, staff, and administrators across campus to push for and support climate action here at Emory. OSI is thankful for his time and dedication.

Faculty:

• Simon Blakey: Leader in Campus Lab Sustainability and Professor of Chemistry: Simon Blakey is the winner of the faculty Innovator Award. He has been a leader in campus lab sustainability for many years. His lab has been a certified green lab since the program’s inception in 2016. So many students have passed through that lab since then and now they all will continue their research careers with lab sustainability in mind. It truly makes a huge difference. In addition to this, Simon’s lab is a leader in green lab innovation through his lab’s multiple successful incentives fund projects. Every year, the committee looks forward to reading what insightful idea his team has come up with to further reduce waste in their lab. This year, they have been using a photo reactor in the lab to help curb waste and energy usage; the OSI team can’t wait to hear about the project in a few months!

Staff:

• Ruth Allen: Sustainable Curator of Greek and Roman Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum: For our staff innovator award, OSI would like to honor Ruth Allen. Along with being a curator of Greek and Roman Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Ruth Allen is also an advocate for sustainability. As a museum curator, she noticed the overwhelming quantities of waste produced and energy used for temporary and permanent exhibitions. During the curation of the Carlos Museum’s exhibition in the fall, Making an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Allen explored options that would be safe for the environment and the objects. She led the way in addressing these unique challenges. Temporary exhibitions are often built for obsoletion, but Allen ensured pieces in her exhibition could be repurposed. Labels, used to give information about objects, are often plastic and only used for a single exhibition. To decrease the number of physical labels needed, Allen utilized iPads as an electronic interactive alternative, and uploaded the information from the iPads to the Carlos Museum’s website. Unlike physical labels, electronic labels will exist on the website after the exhibition. She managed numerous other projects to mitigate the exhibition’s carbon footprint. Allen’s hard work proved that a sustainably curated exhibition is possible. She should be used as an example in her field for years to come.

Sustainability Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Dave Furhman: Senior director of finance, administration and operations for Campus Life: Furhman, who has been a tireless and creative advocate for sustainable food systems, is retiring in May 2022 after a long career of leadership in Emory Dining and Operations. His deep knowledge; compassion for all employees, students and farmers; and his bold vision for Emory have combined to build a remarkable record of innovation. Furhman’s work has made Emory Dining a national model for sustainability, and he was instrumental in helping Emory achieve its gold sustainability rating. Furhman has been a mentor to all on the Sustainable Food Committee and has brought his ethical commitments to the highest levels of the administration.
• Adrian Jackson: Former associate general counsel, Office of General Counsel: Jackson, who passed away in 2021, made significant and lasting contributions to Emory’s sustainability initiatives during his tenure. Jackson guided Emory on legal issues related to sustainability, including the WaterHub — an award-winning water reclamation system that is the first of its kind in the U.S. He also led the contract negotiations for Emory’s first solar installations under Georgia’s Solar Energy Procurement Agreement legislation. With Jackson’s legal talent, intelligence, knowledge and patience, Emory developed a nationally important and award-winning Office of Sustainability Initiatives. But Jackson’s legacy is more than a list of accomplishments. As a person of deep personal integrity, kindness and love, he brought joy and enriched the lives of everyone with whom he worked. Jackson’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be on prominent display in Emory’s WaterHub so that the thousands of visitors to the facility will know about his contributions to the Emory community.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students 

• Nick Chang: Emory College Student, Environmental Sciences Major: Chang, who just completed his second year as an Emory College student, quickly and thoughtfully grew his leadership and public service to Emory to affect institutional and ecosystems change. Chang is an active student leader, who, among many things, created the Emory Ecological Society, volunteers in the educational gardens, works as an OSI intern and asks tough questions in the University Senate’s Committee on the Environment. He also contributes to symposia, biodiversity tracking on campus and hands-on ecological work throughout greenspaces on campus. Chang has been a humble, thoughtful, creative, brilliant and incredibly hard-working steward for the ecosystem in which Emory has been built and for the human network at Emory trying to protect this ecosystem.
• Clare McCarthy: Emory College Student, Environmental Sciences Major with a Minor in Community Building and Social Change: McCarthy, who just completed her third year in Emory College, has excelled in sustainability work in the classroom and engages deeply in the campus and community through programs such as Volunteer Emory and Community Building & Social Change. As a former OSI intern, she collected and cleaned data for Emory’s triannual Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System report, assisted with a successful Environmental Protection Agency grant to design an anaerobic digester on campus, improved signature OSI programs and engaged our community in the virtual space. She was already a student leader of the Emory Climate Reality Project when she and other students recognized the need to form a broader Emory Climate Coalition. This group showed Emory how to expand its climate commitments to include the Race to Zero and Climate Leadership Network.
• Lisette Corbin, Hannah Hoff, and Alison Smith: Graduate Students, Emory University School of Medicine: Corbin, Hoff and Smith are medical students dedicated to reducing waste from Emory Healthcare. They conducted a 24-hour waste audit of a neurological intensive care unit at Emory University Hospital and wrote a report detailing the results of their observations and options to increase landfill diversion from this unique care space. In addition, Smith successfully nudged healthcare leadership to switch from disposable isolation gowns to reusable ones during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching Emory Healthcare’s journey toward reusable gowns across the system.

Staff

• Alan Anderson: Assistant Vice President, University Partnerships: In his relatively short time at Emory, Anderson has developed powerful and important relationships for Emory in the greater Atlanta community. Anderson partnered with OSI as co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Framework for Civic and Community Partners and skillfully led a group of influential social justice leaders in a candid and helpful assessment of Emory’s progress and failings in terms of its relationship with the Atlanta community. Anderson navigates these conversations in a way that builds trust and reflects the very best of Emory. Similarly, Anderson has been an invaluable partner in establishing the new Atlanta Anchor Collaborative between Emory and the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, which seeks to use Emory’s purchasing power, employment opportunities and educational resources to close the racial wealth gap in Atlanta.
• Lucy Williams: Program manager, Planning, Design and Construction: Williams guided Emory in installing solar panels that will ultimately produce 10% of Emory’s peak energy demand using Georgia’s relatively new Solar Energy Procurement Agreements. Williams has led multiple complex and dynamic projects with a positive attitude and exceptional skill. She took over much of the work of Joan Kowal, former senior director of energy strategy and utilities, to bring home the installation of the solar panels and help Emory achieve its self-generation and renewable energy goals.

Faculty

• David Lynn: Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Chemistry, Emory College of Arts and Sciences: Lynn, as senior adviser to the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory (RSC) at Emory, helped launch a new and exciting interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty at Emory working at the intersection of social justice and climate change. Lynn has been especially helpful in guiding corporate partnerships and in providing connections with community partners, such as the Atlanta Science Festival and arts organizations locally and nationally. Lynn’s unflagging optimism, energy and hard work have been pivotal in the growth of the RSC to date.
• Daniel Parson: Farmer and educator, Oxford College Organic Farm: Parson is an award-winning farmer-educator whose perseverance, agricultural and scientific knowledge, and incredibly hard work led to fulfilling the dream of an organic farm at Emory, which was an important pieces of Emory’s first 2005 Sustainability Vision. Thanks to his leadership and guidance, the Oxford Organic Farm has achieved national recognition as an outstanding model for a campus farm. Parson and his team produce food for a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) weekly subscription program, grow produce for the Oxford and Emory Dining programs and run a hands-on experience for students to learn about food and reconnect with the earth. Parson has fulfilled Emory’s goal of connecting the operations of the farm to the curriculum through courses with multiple faculty members in sociology, anthropology, economics, biology and philosophy, thereby deeply enriching the student experience for countless Oxford and Emory College students. Recently, Parson helped OSI develop its partnership with The Conservation Fund for the Farms Fund, which aids and protects farmers in acquiring land in the metro-Atlanta area.

Emory Healthcare

• Joseph Abdallah: Director of hospital procedural operations, Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital: Abdallah led and executed a pilot program to collect previously unrecyclable plastic waste from operating rooms and perioperative areas at Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital. This change allowed Emory to test its collection and disposal model and forged a new partnership with private industry that is seeking a circular supply chain for materials used to make medical products.
• Samantha Smith: Nurse clinical II, Emory University Hospital: Smith, who works in one of Emory’s clinical research centers, took it upon herself to collect and redistribute unused test kits to other labs that could use them. She also collected plastic film from the clinic to recycle through Hefty’s Orange Bag Program, and she personally delivered the materials to Atlanta’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials for recycling.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Dwight Raby: Director of facilities, Emory College: Raby, as director of facilities, has an integral role in achieving Emory’s sustainability goals. Despite the challenges of the pandemic and being both physically and geographically distanced, he is always willing to speak up, ask questions and guide Emory decision making to include sustainability considerations and outcomes. Raby has integrated his longtime, consistent commitment to Emory’s goals for sustainability and climate solutions into his daily work of problem solving, creating and supporting Emory College’s operations and programming.

Sustainability Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Peggy Barlett: Professor Emerita, Professor of Anthropology: Peggy Barlett chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on the Environment and led the Sustainable Food Committee and Sustainability Faculty Advisory Council. She served as faculty liaison to OSI to bring the vision of a sustainable Emory to reality. Barlet’s unique vision led to the Oxford Organic Farm, Emory’s Farmers Market, the Emory Educational Garden Project, and the annual Sustainability Food Fair. Barlett’s current interests center on the practical teaching of sustainability in higher education. She leads Emory’s Piedmont Project, which instructs Emory faculty to integrate sustainability into the school curricula. Barlett’s continued advocacy led to the creation of the sustainability minor in interdisciplinary studies.
• Eloise Carter: Biology Professor: Cloise Carter’s admiration for the natural world is evident through her continued stewardship to make Oxford an environmentally sustainable campus. As a member of the Quadrangle Forest Restoration Committee, Carter helped design Oxford’s quad to replace the dying canopy with a canopy and understory that mimicked a natural forest. For the Hearn Nature Trail that encircles Oxford’s campus, Carter recruited work-study students, sports teams, and volunteers to remove invasive species. She championed sustainable built environments, most recently when the College built the Oxford Science Building, which achieved LEED Gold certification.
• Barbara Patterson: Professor Emerita, Professor of Religion: Barbara Patterson’s contribution as a faculty associate of OSI cannot be overstated. Patterson created tours of the campus forests, an Emory civil rights tour, and a campus-wide scavenger hunt. She expanded the conversation concerning the sustainability history of Emory through contributing to the Emory as Place initiative. She also coordinated an internship course that placed students in sustainability-related organizations in Atlanta.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students 

• Rachel Musetti, Emory College Student, Environmental Science Major with a Sustainable Sciences Minor: Rachel Musetti worked on Emory’s Zero Waste Ambassador Program (ZWA), a peer-to-peer education program launched by OSI. In response to the 2020 Pandemic, Musetti transformed the program into an engaging virtual classroom. She developed a platform for Emory University and Emory Healthcare ZWA to share weekly blogs on waste topics, to gather waste-related questions answered monthly by ZWA in a Trash Talks YouTube Video series, and to provide a means for sustainable champions to build rapport with one another.
• Nithya Narayanaswamy, Oxford College Student, Biology and Philosophy Major: Nithya Narayanaswamy co-founded the Plastic-Free Emory Project with master’s student CJ O’Brien. Plastic-Free Emory is a student-lead project focused on tackling single-use plastic consumption on campus through outreach, policy changes, and education. The duo’s effort resulted in a plastics reduction pledge from Emory’s campus groups such as the Oxford, Atlanta, Graduate Student Government Associations, and recently the full University Senate.
• CJ O’Brien, Laney Graduate School, Master of Development Practice: CJ O’Brien worked with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, an environmental advocacy organization, to create their first microplastic monitoring program to raise awareness for how to reduce plastic waste in our watersheds. O’Brien presented his findings at the Water Warriors Summit at the Georgia Aquarium. O’Brien also worked with Oxford College Student Nithya Narayanaswamy to start Plastic-Free Emory, whose initiative is to reduce single-use plastic on Emory’s campus.
• Emaline Laney, Emory School of Medicine: Emaline Lane worked with the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Primary Care Pediatrician at Emory Rebecca Philipsborn to create content for a virtual lesson on Climate Change and Clinical Medicine for third- and fourth-year medical students. Laney reviewed the medical curriculum lecture by lecture to find opportunities to link climate change to the pathological and physiological principles emphasized in the first two years of medical school. Through her hard work, she gained approval from Emory’s curriculum committee to move forward in integrating climate change content for the School of Medicine class of 2024.
• Ben Rabin, Emory School of Medicine: Ben Rabin co-funded Emory Medical Students for Climate Action with Emaline Laney. The program sought to encourage and promote conversations regarding climate change, health equity, and social and racial justice at the School of Medicine.  Additionally, Laney and Rabin joined medical students from across the globe in assessing their schools for climate curriculum by completing the Planetary Health Report Card, a metric-based initiative inspiring planetary health and sustainable healthcare education in medical schools.

Staff 

• Gana Ahn: Director of Enterprise Communications, Communications and Public Affair: Gana Ahn directs the enterprise communications at Emory University’s Communication and Public Affairs Division. She is responsible for strategic planning and implementation of university-wide media relations and thought leadership. Ahn ensures that the social, environmental, and economic benefits of Emory’s sustainability practices are highlighted and amplified through campus, local and national news outlets.

Faculty 

• Mindy Goldstein: Clinical Professor of Law: Mindy Goldstein is the director of the environmental and natural resources law program at Emory Law, director of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, and director of law and policy for the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory. Goldstein has performed legal work in support of the Farms Fund partnership between Emory Conservation Fund and Georgia farmers, crafting food purchase agreements that set a model for the rest of the country. Goldstein also served for multiple years as the co-chair of the Emory Sustainable Food Committee, advising on sustainable food procurement, programming, and outreach for the Emory enterprise.

Emory Healthcare

• Sabrina Bauggue: Director of Food and Nutrition Services: Sabrina Bauggue set up an initiative to eliminate single-use plastic bags in retail spaces such as Asbury Café and Clifton Café.  The initiative plans to save 206,000 plastic bags from entering landfills and would result in a potential cost savings of $1,212. This effort has spurred further elimination of plastic bags in EUH retail areas. Bauggue’s accomplishments established an important precedent that will encourage all Emory Healthcare retail areas to make the switch. 
• Asad Khan: Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Services: Asad Khan began evaluating where single-use plastic could be reduced in the hospital’s cafes. He partnered with Director of Food and Nutrition Services Sabrina Bauggue to remove the plastic bags handed out at every cash register, and to train staff to offer reusable bags when necessary. His work serves to create a more environmentally conscious Emory through reducing Emory’s negative contributions to climate change and health disparities in the community
• Clint Owens: Neuroscience Intensive Care Units Director: Clint Owens wrote a proposal to Emory Healthcare leadership last year calling for the reduction of plastic waste. Clint recognized that the healthcare industry needed to undergo significant changes due to the industry’s overconsumption of hazardous materials. Clint stressed that reducing single-use plastic would decrease Emory Healthcare’s overall waste as well as costs associated with waste processing. He also recognized that toxic microplastics from plastic use and production pose a safety hazard to the general population because of their ability to contaminate food, watersheds, and air.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Eva Stotz, Anthropology Department, Academic Degree Program Coordinator: Eva Stotz is the sustainability representative for the Department of Anthropology, which has been Green Office certified for numerous years. Stotz administers the sustainability minor in interdisciplinary studies, which is open to all undergraduate students and remains one of the most thorough introductions many students encounter concerning sustainability at Emory. Stotz supplied critical data for the academics and research sections of 2021’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) report. Stotz also served on Emory’s Greenhouse Gas and Climate Solutions Advisory Committee.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Claire Dakhlia, Emory College Student, Major with an Interdisciplinary Studies Minor: Dakhlia worked as the OSI’s Sustainable Food and Farmers Market intern, using her outreach and communications talents to improve relationships with vendors, educate students about sustainable food and involve the Emory community in the civic engagement process during the 2018 midterm elections. She also challenged other campus organizations in which she had leadership roles (Residence Life, College Council and University Center Board) to further integrate sustainability best practices into their operations. She has since taken this experience to enhance sustainability outreach in the wider Atlanta area through a fellowship with the Southface Institute.
• Elena Jordanov, Rollins School of Public Health Student, Environmental Health: Jordanov graduated from Emory College in 2018 with a major in chemistry and is now pursuing an MPH. She and a colleague piloted Emory’s Lab Freezer Challenge in the Chemistry Department. She also conducted fundamental research and outreach in support of the Green Labs Program, was instrumental in assisting with the lab recycling program pilot in the Rollins School of Public Health, assisted Emory’s Climate Action and Resilience Taskforce with launching the Emory Resilience Framework, and led WaterHub tours. 

Staff

• Tjuan Dogan: Associate Vice President, Social Impact Innovation: Dogan came to Emory having more than a decade of previous experience in corporate social responsibility. She coordinates Emory’s social impact reporting and leads communication about Emory’s value in the local and global communities. She served as a member of the Sustainability Vision Committee and as adviser to the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory.  

Faculty

• Bree Ettinger: Senior lecturer, Department of Mathematics: Ettinger has shown that applied mathematics can help support and shape sustainability policies. She has led students in analyzing Emory’s annual Sustainability Literacy Survey to produce results that contribute to an efficacy assessment of Emory’s sustainability initiatives. She has served as faculty adviser and a leader of the Piedmont Project and the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory. Ettinger has also helped to analyze data for Safe Routes to Schools and worked with Fair Fight Georgia, a nonprofit focused on combatting voter suppression.

Healthcare

• Rebecca Philipsborn: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Primary Care Pediatrician at Emory and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: Philipsborn is a member of the Emory Healthcare Sustainability Council, advising Healthcare and Health Sciences on integrating climate solutions and sustainability into operations, medical practice, curriculum and more. She also is a faculty adviser to Emory’s Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory. Beyond Emory, she is a climate advocate for the Georgia American Academy of Pediatrics, a founding member of Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action and a member of the Lancet Climate Countdown U.S. Brief working group. 

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Sara McKlin, Candler School of Theology, Site Operations Coordinator: McKlin is dedicated to implementing Emory’s Waste Policy in every facet of operations and behavior change. Alongside her colleagues, McKlin led the school to win the 2019 Recycling Competition by diverting more than 37,000 pounds of waste from landfills in the month of November. She contributes new ideas to Emory’s Waste Think Tank, working to overcome challenges to reach Emory’s goal to divert 95% of waste from landfills by 2025.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Claire Barnes, Emory College Student, Religion and Philosophy Major and Sustainability Minor: In Barnes’ first year, she joined OSI as the Farmers Market intern. She revived the Emory chapter of the international Slow Food network, through which she coordinated the creation of images exhibiting Emory’s sustainable food programs and values. This Lexicon of Food can now be found on the construction fences and walls of the Cox Hall patio. Barnes also joined the Emory delegation to COP 23, attended the Slow Food International annual conference, and holds roles as a Residence Hall Association Sustainability Chair and Resident Advisor. 
• Kryn Dykema, Emory College Student, Interdisciplinary Studies Major with a Sustainability and Urban Development Focus and Economics Minor: Kryn has worked with the OSI as an intern for over two and a half years. The OSI has come to rely on him for carbon emissions reduction and energy work, Sustainable Events programs, and much more. He enthusiastically serves on the Energy & Water Taskforce, completes Emory’s greenhouse gas inventories, and helps to develop an air travel offset program, as well as wears fish costumes to educate the Emory community at campus events. He was selected as the Student Employee of the Year this year by the Office of Financial Aid. 
• Angela Jiang, Emory College Student, Environmental Sciences Major: Her first semester, Jiang enrolled in the annual Sustainable Food Fair class, which trains students to become peer educators in sustainable food. She enrolled again in the class for two more years, acting as the student coordinator for the event. She has a leadership role in the Emory Climate Analysis & Solutions Team, in which she helps foster student ideas for addressing the changing climate. Jiang has worked with the Career Center and OSI to develop an enhanced Green Networking Night experience and a mentorship network in which upperclassmen students and young professionals mentor other students. More recently, Angela has been engaging with the Atlanta community, advocating for transformative public policies. 
• Jamie Nadler, Emory College Student, Environmental Sciences Major and Religion Minor: Nadler has been a leader for the Residence Hall Association Sustainability Chairs, Slow Food Emory, the Undergraduate Sustainability Group, and Greeks Go Green. She has led WaterHub tours, most notably to a group of Girl Scouts who wrote a song about how great Nadler is. As an OSI intern, she helped guide waste education and outreach after the waste policy rollout, received Incentives Fund grants to restore the understory layer behind the Math & Sciences building, and currently works in the Educational Gardens. Nadler is graduating this Fall and moving into a sustainable food educator role. 

Staff

• Johnathan Cooper, Director of Facilities and Operations for Housing in Campus Life: From move-in to commencement, Cooper understands that sustainability is a critical aspect of student life and incorporates it as a priority in his work. His friendly demeanor makes for positive partnerships, even when dealing with the difficult issues of recycling or proper signage.  

Faculty

• Justin Burton, Assistant Professor of Physics: Burton serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Sustainability Minor in the College, and as one of the leaders of Climate@Emory, an interdisciplinary collaborative to advance climate change scholarship and engagement.  One of his primary areas of teaching and research is the impact of climate change on glaciers, and he shares his expertise in presentations for the OSI on climate change and emission reduction measures.  
• Caroline Schaumann, Associate Professor of German Studies: Schaumann is the author of several works about the transition to our current geological period, the Anthropocene, characterized by human-driven impacts to the climate and natural world. She is also a scholar of Alexander Von Humboldt, one of history’s most important scientists in shaping humanity’s knowledge and perceptions of the natural world and its integrated systems. Among other contributions, she teaches the Foundations course for the Sustainability Minor and is one of the organizers of a “Green Lunch” series that provides faculty an opportunity to share their research with colleagues.  

Emory Healthcare

• Sarah Blanton, Emory Rehabilitation Hospital, Department of Physical Therapy: Blanton is a Piedmont Project graduate who successfully integrated sustainability in the Physical Therapy curriculum. She and her team of dedicated students built a website to formally establish the Emory DPT program’s commitment to sustainability and broaden understanding and awareness of sustainability in the physical therapy profession.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Carrie Christie, Sustainability Representative for the Schwartz Center: Christie attends almost all of the Sustainability Representatives program’s monthly meetings, shares OSI information to building occupants, and provides OSI with feedback and suggestions. She carefully studies the habits of employees, students, and visitors to the Center, and turns those observations into directed projects that target challenges that are unique to a performing arts space. She has led efforts to upgrade the efficiency of lighting, install hydration stations to reduce single-use plastic bottles, and oversee careful placement of waste sorting stations and signage for the waste policy. 

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Olivia Morgan, Emory College Student, Psychology/Linguistics and Society Double Major: Morgan worked with the OSI to integrate sustainability practices in important campus programs, in her roles in Campus Life, as a student ambassador, and as an Orientation Leader. As the Farmers Market intern, she helped to launch the reusable bag incentives program. Morgan has also been an active member of Greeks Go Green and co-president of Campus Kitchen Emory.
• Cassidy Schwartz, Emory College Student, Environmental Science and International Studies Double Major: As a College Council legislator, Schwartz has proposed bills that encourage students to plan sustainable events and hopes to propose a “green fee” to collect funds for student-driven sustainability efforts. She contributed background research to the Emory Climate and Solutions Team (ECAST) for a solar installation on campus. She serves as an Emory representative to the Atlanta Sustainability Council, which works with the City of Atlanta’s Office of Resilience. 

Staff

• Maya Meeks, Veterinary Technician in the School of Medicine’s Division of Animal Resources: Meeks first volunteered the Taylor lab to pilot OSI’s very first Green Labs at Emory program. She then applied for Incentives Fund Grants for multiple years to support landfill diversion in the animal care facility in Whitehead, which she used to provide equipment and signage that educate on how to divert waste from landfills. She also facilitated energy conservation measures such as Consider the Stairs signage and motion-sensor lighting throughout the department. 
• Oana Tudorancea, Institutional Research Analyst in the Office of the Provost: Tudorancea has provided support for the data collection and analysis necessary for OSI to report on Emory’s sustainability work for national rating and ranking programs such as the AASHE STARS report, Princeton Review’s Green Schools List, and Sierra Magazine’s “Cool Schools” rating. She expertly crafted surveys and collected information from multiple departments on campus. 

Faculty

• Justin Burton, Assistant Professor of Physics: Burton serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Sustainability Minor in the College. He is also one of the leaders of Climate@Emory, an interdisciplinary collaborative to advance climate change scholarship and engagement.
• Hiram Maxim, Professor and Chair of German Studies: Maxim has served as a faculty representative to Emory’s Climate Action Plan Committee, on the Sustainability Faculty Advisory Council, and as Chair of the Committee on the Environment for the University Senate. His leadership in these roles has led to the successful adoption of the 2011 Climate Action Plan. He has led his department, German Studies, and more generally, Modern Languages, in modeling a culture of conservation. 

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Alison Agnew, Sustainability Representative for the Miller-Ward Alumni House: Agnew has advanced sustainability at this facility that serves the important function of communicating Emory’s sustainability commitment to its alumni. She has been awarded Sustainability Incentives funding to improve recycling and composting equipment, install motion sensors in restrooms in the Miller-Ward Alumni House, and install a hydration station in the building to encourage the use of reusable cups.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Amy Hou, Emory College Student, Environmental Science and Economics Double Major: As a member of the Student Government Association, Hou pushed for legislation that would introduce a student green fee to fund student-led sustainability projects. She holds leadership roles with the Undergraduate Sustainability Group, as a WaterHub docent tour guide, and as a student planner of Emory’s second annual Sustainability Case Competition. She integrates sustainability into her roles as an orientation leader and campus ambassador, ensuring that sustainability is a highlight of these key introductions to campus.
• Johnathan Kaminski, Emory College Student, Economics Major: For the past two years, Kaminski has co-led the student group Greeks Go Green, promoting and planning sustainability improvements throughout Eagle Row. He helped secure a Sustainability Incentives Fund grant to start the Eagle Row Educational Garden. Additionally, Kaminski worked with other students and administrators to ensure that the new Campus Life Center is as sustainable as possible. 

Staff

• Wade Sanner, Associate Director of Procurement: Sanner shows leadership in aligning Procurement goals with Emory’s 2025 Sustainability Vision. He garners supplier support for Emory’s Green Office and Green Labs programs, includes sustainability responsibilities in new Procurement staff hires, and infuses sustainability throughout his staff culture.

Faculty

• Simona Muratore, Senior Lecturer in Italian: Muratore innovated courses in Italian to incorporate sustainability practices and cultural awareness, including teaching the course that organizes Emory’s annual Sustainable Food Fair. A beloved annual tradition, the event draws over a thousand participants for education and celebration related to sustainable foods, food policies, and related social and environmental issues. Muratore also provided educational opportunities at the weekly Farmers Market by showcasing global food culture.

Emory Healthcare

• Sarah Peek, Director of Facilities Management at Emory University Hospital Midtown: Peek shows incredible leadership in implementing the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge at EUHM. Thanks to her, EUHM received multiple awards for surpassing the goal of 20% energy use reduction by 2020, which is projected to save Emory Healthcare an average of $186,000 per year. Currently, she is working to achieve a 20% water use reduction by 2020.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Dawn Francis-Chewning, Sustainability Representative for Glenn Memorial Church and Woodruff Library: Francis-Chewning is a long-time sustainability building representative for the Church and volunteered to represent the Woodruff Library and the Library & Information Technology Services (LITS) Department of Student Digital Life. She was awarded a Sustainability Incentives Fund grant to enhance and improve the recycling equipment, signage, and labeling throughout the Library. She also used an incentives fund grant to enhance the recycling program in the Cox Hall Computing Lab and was most recently awarded funding for a program to reuse and recycle the unique plastic waste from the Lab’s 3D printing machine.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

This year, the awards went to the members of the Sustainability Visioning Committee, who have been working for over a year to draft Emory’s Sustainability Vision 2016-2025.

• Peggy Bartlett, Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology: Bartlett is the faculty liaison to OSI, and a co-chair of the Sustainability Vision Committee. She also co-chaired the first Sustainability Vision Committee in 2005. She works mainly in the areas of food and curriculum and is the chair of the Sustainable Food Committee.
• Steve Bowen, Dean of Oxford College: Bowen earned a doctorate in zoology from Rhodes University in South Africa. In his life as a scientist, he has specialized in fish ecology, studying it in depth in Africa, Venezuela, Argentina and New Guinea. At Emory, he has been instrumental in advancing sustainability on Oxford’s campus, supporting an array of sustainability initiatives, including the Oxford College Organic Farm.
• Christian Bowers, ‘15C: Bowers is a recent alumnus who completed a double major in economics and environmental sciences. He now works for Ernst & Young in the Performance Improvement department. Bowers was selected to be the undergraduate representative on Emory’s Sustainability Visioning Committee because of his involvement with sustainability throughout his academic career.
• Matthew Early, Vice president for Campus Services, overseeing Planning, Design and Construction; Facilities Management; Transportation and Parking Services, and Police and Fire Safety: Since arriving at Emory in 2010, Early has been dedicated to continuing the Campus Services commitment to growing Emory University’s campus in a way that is environmentally sensitive, while maintaining its beauty. He is a co-chair of the Sustainability Vision Committee.
• Ioulia Fenton, PhD Candidate in Department of Anthropology: Fenton is the president and founder of the Graduate Sustainability Group and the graduate student representative on Emory’s Sustainability Visioning Committee. She is currently conducting Social Network Analysis research on the sustainability network throughout Emory, for which she was awarded a Sustainability Incentives Fund award in both 2014 and 2015.
• David Fuhrman, Senior Director of Auxiliary Services and Administration: Since 2013, Fuhrman has been working towards bringing healthier and more sustainable food options to Emory’s dining facilities as director of Dining Services. This year, he transitioned into his current role in which he builds relationships with students, faculty and staff and works to understand their diverse needs. Furhman is also a member of Emory’s Sustainable Food Committee.
• Joan Kowal, Senior Director of Energy Strategy and Utilities: Kowal provides vision, leadership and direction in developing short- and long-term energy strategies to achieve Emory’s energy and carbon reduction goals. She works with Emory’s utilities providers, constantly exploring alternative ways to make energy more efficient and reduce use when possible.
• Carolyn Livingston, Former Senior Associate Vice President of Campus Life: Livingston supervised the Student Intervention Services Team and the Student Ombudsperson, leading the division’s strategic planning process, and centralizing the university’s sexual misconduct adjudication process, before she left Emory during the summer of 2015.
• Justin Remais, Associate Professor of Environmental Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health: Remais holds a master’s in civil and environmental engineering and a doctorate in environmental health sciences, both from the University of California at Berkeley. At Emory, his teaching has included undergraduate and graduate level courses in climate change and health, global environmental health, and environmental determinants of infectious disease.
• Tom Rogers, Associate Professor of Modern Latin American History: Rogers’s research and interest has evolved around modern Latin and Afro-Latin American history, especially in Brazil, and labor and environmental history. He has published various books, including most recently “Agriculture’s Energy: Development and Hunger During Brazil’s Ethanol Boom,” which examines 20th century agricultural modernization.
• Eri Saikawa, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences: Saikawa was awarded the Sustainability Innovator Award last year for her work co-founding Climate@Emory, an interdisciplinary, university-wide initiative to advance climate change scholarship, teaching and engagement at Emory and beyond. Her research links public policy and the science of emissions to air pollution, ozone depletion and global warming.
• Paige Tolbert, Chair of Environmental Health at Rollins School of Public Health: Tolbert has a 20-year career of research, teaching and service in environmental epidemiology. She has studied carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, pesticides, water pollution, and most recently, the health effects of ambient air pollution. She serves on the Sustainability Initiatives’ Faculty Advisory Council and is part of a team that received an $8 million award from the EPA Clean Air Research Center for a five-year collaboration with Georgia Tech. 
• Demetrius Woods, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Woods is an alumnus of Emory’s Schools of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health. He seeks to empower doctors to make sustainable decisions using education and evidence. His research project comparing the carbon footprint of three types of surgeries was recently accepted for publication. He serves on Emory’s Sustainability in Health Sciences Task Force.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Susannah Conroy, Senior Research Administrative Coordinator and the Sustainability Representative for Winship Cancer Institute/Emory Clinic C: Conroy has been an unwavering advocate for sustainability in Winship for many years, and instrumental in evolving Winship’s culture to include sustainability within a unique setting that combines healthcare and academia. Most recently, she worked with OSI and Emory Recycles on implementing a recycling program in Winship’s public, clinical and lab spaces.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Ioulia Fenton, PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology: Fenton served as President and Founder of the Graduate Sustainability Group, the first sustainability student group in Laney Graduate School. Under her leadership, the group developed a student sustainability ambassadors program, hosted a Student Sustainability Summit, incorporated sustainability education into the Laney School’s orientation, and facilitated development of Laney’s Climate Action Plan. In addition, she was a 2014 Piedmont TATTO participant, wrote sustainability-focused articles for the Emory Wheel, and taught a graduate-level course on sustainable development through the Masters in Development Practice program.  
• Naomi Maisel, Emory College Student: Maisel worked to launch Campus Kitchen Emory, a student group that collects, repurposes, and donates unused food from Emory dining facilities and catered events.  Her leadership brought together partners from various Emory entities as well as local food banks and shelters. She is also the sustainability beat writer for the Emory Wheel.  

Staff

• Leslie Hubble, Environmental Compliance Officer in Emory’s Environmental Health and Safety Office: Hubble was instrumental in the development of a Green Labs@Emory program that is designed to give Emory’s research and teaching laboratories tools for integrating sustainability into their operations. She helped to recruit volunteer labs and develop a lab recycling protocol. She has also been a Sustainability Representative for her building for several years.

Faculty

• Daniel Rochberg, Instructor in Environmental Sciences in Emory College and Environmental Health at Rollins School of Public Health & Eri Saikawa, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences in Emory College and Environmental Health at Rollins School of Public Health: This year, a group of faculty led by Rochberg and Saikawa developed the Climate@Emory academic learning community. With the development of this group, Emory is moving into a leadership role in academic teaching, research and action in global climate change. Included in this group of faculty and in our thanks are Justin Remais, Stefanie Sarnat, and Jeremy Hess and many others.  

Emory Healthcare

• Catherine Maloney, Associate Administrator of Emory University Hospital & Toni Wimby, Associate Administrator of Emory University Hospital Midtown: Maloney and Wimby led a team of healthcare staff to develop a program for diverting clean recyclable waste from the operating rooms and other clinical spaces at EUH and EUHM. This effort continues the efforts of Dr. Duggan, a 2013 Sustainability Innovator.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Leah Yngve, Rollins School of Public Health Student: Yngve worked to encourage and improve alternative transportation through collaboration with various Emory organizations. She led a bike and pedestrian safety audit of N Decatur Rd and presented these findings to the community, as well as provided support for a transportation report published by the Southern Environmental Law Center. In addition, she served as the vice-president of the Rollins Environmental Health and Action Committee and volunteered in the Rollins’ Educational Garden.

Staff

• Kyle Griffith, Complex Director for Few and Evans Halls (Emory’s first-year “Living Green in the 21st Century” sustainability-themed residence halls): Griffith goes above and beyond to encourage his staff and residents to lead more sustainable lives at Emory. His infectious enthusiasm for sustainability has inspired students to develop numerous sustainability campaigns during his three years at Emory, including a sustainable laundry initiative.  

Emory Healthcare

• Jane Duggan, Assistant professor of Anesthesiology in the School of Medicine and anesthesiologist at Emory University Hospital Midtown: Duggan is acutely aware of all of the waste that comes out of Emory’s operating rooms. This year, she urged hospital administration to expand recycling opportunities in operating rooms, administrative spaces, and public spaces throughout the hospital. She also convened a group of EUHM staff to discuss ways to heighten sustainability initiatives in the hospital. 
• Randy Sims, Director of Facilities Management at Emory University Hospital Midtown: Sims spent many hours this year engaging EUHM in the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, a DOE challenge to reduce the hospital’s energy and water consumption 20% by 2020. Through his work, the hospital received a free energy audit and energy conservation recommendations, and will implement measures that will reduce hospital energy consumption and utility costs.
• Kirk Hines, Registered horticultural therapist with Emory Healthcare: Hines founded the Wesley Woods Horticultural Therapy program in 1993. He provided support for Emory’s Sustainability Initiative by providing organic herbs, vegetables and flowers for its eight Educational Gardens.  Each winter, seeds are sown and seedlings transplanted during patient therapy sessions.Treatment goals are achieved by increasing fine/gross motor skills, as well as by decreasing depression and anxiety. Some patients take seedlings home and others enjoy knowing that their work contributes to the gardens and student education. 

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Raghu Patil, Senior Program Associate in the Office of Finance and Operations at Oxford College: Patil serves as the Sustainability Representative for Oxford College and liaison between Oxford and the OSI. Raghu brought a comprehensive recycling program to Oxford that served as a pilot for the entire University.  He is also responsible for facilitating a comprehensive review and update of the Oxford energy metering program and the introduction of “hydration stations” to Oxford.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Cassandra Gonzalez, Emory College Student, Sociology Major: Gonzalez managed the Green Bean Coffee Cart, was editor of the sustainability magazine “Generation Response,” was co-founder of Emory Vegans and Vegetarians, and helped organize this year’s Food Fair.  This summer, she interned at Global Growers, a local organization that promotes organic farming within Atlanta’s refugee community.  

Staff

• Paul Bredderman, Associate Director of Career Center, Career Counselor: Bredderman specializes in helping undergraduates, graduate students and recent alumni with their self-assessment and career decision-making needs. In 2010, Paul created the Green Networking Night to give Emory students an opportunity to meet local professionals from a variety of sustainability-related careers.  
• Rex Hardaway, Director of Contract Administration & Loette King, Senior Director of Procurement and Contract Administration: Hardaway and King engaged the services of an environmental contractor, TruCost, to analyze the carbon footprint of Emory suppliers. The data collected from this research will be essential information to achieve our carbon reduction goals in our Climate Action Plan and to help the University make educated, sustainable purchasing decisions in the future. 

Faculty

• Juliette Apkarian, Associate Professor and Chair for Emory’s Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures Department: Apkarian is Associate Professor and Chair for Emory’s Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures department. She leads the Piedmont Project TATTO, which is a sustainability training workshop for graduate students.   

Emory Healthcare

• Searless Hathaway, Safety Preparedness Manager at Emory University Hospital Midtown: Hathaway went above and beyond to be sure that more of the waste from Emory Midtown is diverted from the landfill to sustainable uses. As a result, more used medical equipment has been donated to our nonprofit partner MedShare, surplus furniture has been repurposed and reused, and electronic waste has been used for parts or recycled.

Robert S. Hascall Innovators

Students

• Net Impact Chapter, Goizueta Business School: The students of Net Impact Chapter displayed impressive sustainability leadership at Goizueta Business School. Net Impact is a global network which inspires and equips emerging leaders to build a more just and sustainable world.

Alumnus

• Marlin R. Gottschalk, ’72C, ’76G, ’81G: Gottschalk, former director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s Sustainability Division, received the award posthumously for his service to Georgia’s Clean Air Campaign and Emory’s Green Networking Night.

Staff

• Lisa Davis, Campus Services: Davis used best practices in Building and Residential Services in collecting recyclables and furthering Emory’s sustainability initiatives
• Judith Robertson, Staff member, retired from the Department of Anthropology: Robertson made significant contributions to the educational garden program.
• Brent Zern, Campus Services: Zern led development of Emory’s greenhouse gas emissions inventories and feasibility study for a proposed Climate Action Plan.

Faculty

• Vialla Hartfield-Mendez, Spanish and Portuguese professor: Hartfield-Mendez led sustainability-themed engaged learning.

Emory Healthcare

•  David Pugh, Associate administrator for Emory hospitals: Pugh undertook efforts to green Emory’s hospitals.

• Michael Kloss, Director of University Events: This year, Kloss conducted a training for event planners at Emory to learn how to host sustainable events and assisted the OSI in establishing a Green Event Certification program. He ensures that events he hosts are as sustainable as possible— such as the Dalai Lama’s visits to campus. He also developed Emory Encore, an online supply swap for event planners.
• Jason Myers, Candler School of Theology Student: Myers and a group of other Candler students formed a sustainability group called Creation Keepers. Since then, they have been responsible for increasing Candler’s commitment to sustainability and incorporating sustainable practices into life at Candler. Most visibly, they organized, raised money for, planted and continue to tend, the Educational Food Garden next to Candler.
• Peter Wakefield, Senior Lecturer & Betty Woodman, Graduate Instructor: Wakefield and Woodman led the development and launch of a new Sustainability Minor, which involved coordinating with over 35 faculty members over the course of many months. An interdisciplinary program, this minor provides students with expanded opportunities to learn about sustainability. 
• Tara Whitehead-Stotland, ‘93MBA: Whitehead-Stotland led “Blue and Gold Make Green,” a new network for alumni interested in or working in the field of sustainability.

Outstanding Sustainability Representative

• Michael Huerkamp, Division of Animal Resources: When Emory launched its animal bedding composting program, the first person to embrace the idea and work to make it happen in the Division of Animal Resources was Michael Huerkamp. Thanks to his efforts, this year, Emory diverted about 36,000 lbs of animal bedding from the landfill, and which is converted into compost used for landscaping.

• Patty Erbach-Ziegenhorn, Executive Director of Emory Food Services: Erbach-Ziegenhorn contributed to sustainable food innovations such as the Organic Box Program, Zaya Mediterranean café, and established the Sustainable Food Education Coordinator position. 
• David Hanson, Emory Associate Vice President for Administration: Hanson was a constant supporter and advocate for Emory’s Sustainability Initiative, from handling budget issues to serving as interim director of the office. 
• Chaz Holt, Farmer Liaison from Georgia Organics: As Emory’s first Farm Liaison, Holt worked tirelessly over two years to build bridges between Emory and area farmers to help the University achieve its goal of 75% local and sustainably-grown food by 2015.  
• Deena Keeler, Campus Services: Keeler worked to make composting a normal part of the Emory dining experience. She also ensured that composting was part of Orientation, provided the compostable foodware and coordinated a donation of composting services for the Sustainable Food Fair, and organized volunteers to help with composting for the Homecoming events. 
• Kiersten Murnane, Digital Marketing and Content Strategy Manager: Murnane contributed her creative marketing talents to Emory’s sustainability initiative, from developing the marketing plan, to building the website and sustainability pledge. 
• Lee Smith, Director of Orientation and Communication for Undergraduate Education: Thanks to Smith, Orientation was nearly zero-waste and paperless in 2009.

• Chad Brommer, Lecturer, Biology Department: Brommer helped to lead Emory’s Educational Food Gardens Project. Working with teams of staff, faculty, and student volunteers, he raised awareness about local food production, urban agriculture, and healthy food choices by creating three educational food gardens on campus.
• Allison Burdette, Assistant Professor, Business Law: Burdette led a group of faculty and students in developing a discussion series on Global Climate Change. Approximately forty student and faculty applicants were selected to participate in two dinner discussions: the first on the Science of Global Climate Change and the Media Response, and the second on the Law and Politics of Global Climate Change.
• James Davis, Green Building Operation and Maintenance: Davis set-up the testing, training and implementation of equipment and products that are currently a part of our Green Cleaning Program. This program is an important part of the University’s success in obtaining LEED-Certification for its green buildings.
• Becky Hancock, Director of Network Communications: Hancock created a survey to assess campus interest in moving to an on-line rather than print phone directory. She worked with the OSI to consider options to the current phone directory—such as using recycled paper and requiring pre-ordering of directories, and worked with the directory vendor to accomplish this more sustainable option.
• John Notarantonio, Database Administrator Administrative & Data Services: Notarantonio created a program to promote carpooling and transit awareness at Emory. He developed and launched a web-based commuter matching program and a new website, called Destination Emory that allows the viewer to see every vanpool, MARTA connection, Cliff shuttle route and Park-n-Ride option that Emory provides.
• Sarah Parsons, Emory College Student: Within weeks of transferring from Oxford, Parsons conceived of the idea of a soapbox derby race with Georgia Tech as a fun way to excite and educate students about using alternative transportation—in this case, gravity-powered transportation. She rallied an enormous crowd, arranged sponsors, vendors, permits, and recruited many enthusiastic derby entrants.