Since 2007, the Office of Sustainability Initiatives (OSI) has presented the Sustainability Innovator Awards to faculty, staff and students who contribute time, energy and effort to further Emory’s vision of a sustainable campus. These individuals exemplify the Emory community’s dedication to achieving Emory’s sustainability goals and their work is much appreciated.
In 2011, the awards were renamed for Robert S. Hascall, who led the university’s Campus Services department for many years and championed sustainability initiatives, particularly sustainable design and green building practices.
The 2024 Robert S. Hascall Innovator Award recipients span a broad spectrum from both Emory University and Emory Healthcare. Learn more about each awardee and their work.
Alfred Chahine
Vice chair of education and pediatric surgeon, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Health System
OSI recognizes Chahine’s practical commitment to sustainability. In a health care system that currently produces considerable amounts of waste, Chahine works, undeterred, on individual and systems levels to provide health care without harm and a brighter tomorrow for the children and families he serves. He creates a culture of sustainability in his operating room, avoiding wasteful consumption of unneeded supplies. He co-established a health care sustainability committee at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, advocating for system-wide initiatives like sustainable procurement and alignment with leading national health care sustainability groups. He also personally gathers recyclable materials from the OR to ensure they are disposed of responsibly. He serves as a mentor for students seeking to study and implement initiatives to reduce waste in the OR from procedures and anesthetic gases.
Tyralynn Frazier
Research scientist, Emory Compassion Center
Frazier lent her expertise to the creation of Emory’s 2023 Climate Action Plan by writing and consulting on our Climate Anxiety Addendum that provides compassion-based interventions and resources for readers who struggle with adverse mental health impacts due to climate change. Her unique mission and training make her an asset to the Emory community, and the OSI appreciates her time, energy and dedication to furthering sustainability at Emory.
Lydia Fort
Assistant professor in theater studies and Office of Sustainability Initiatives faculty fellow
Fort’s work focuses on the intersection of performance, social change and the environment. In addition to serving on the 2036 Sustainability Vision Committee and teaching a course on eco-theatre, she led the award-winning Piedmont Project and Piedmont Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity Program. Her leadership inspired faculty members and teaching students to infuse sustainability and environmental issues into their classrooms and beyond. As an artist, she brought passion and innovation to the sustainability community at Emory.
Riya Goel
MD candidate Class of 2026 and president of Medical Students for Climate Action
Goel is a third-year medical student who has been engaged in climate and sustainability work since she arrived at Emory. She serves as the president of Medical Students for Climate Action (MSCA) and helped bring “Ride for their Lives,” an international cycling event to raise awareness about the harms of air pollution on health, to Emory. She has provided leadership for Earth Day events including bulk giveaways to raise awareness about plastic pollution, and she has co-created and taught content on climate and health and health equity to hundreds of medical students. On a national level, she has worked to improve guidance on the risks of heat on the health of individuals with chronic diseases taking certain medications.
Ed Lee III
Senior director of inclusivity at Emory College of Arts and Sciences
With an emphasis on enhanced collaboration, participation, and engagement of all members of the Emory community, Lee has worked with the OSI on Community Conversations for the 2023 Climate Action Plan and the Community Input Sessions for Emory’s 2036 Sustainability Vision. Lee worked closely with the OSI to enhance the engagement of front-line Emory employees in Campus Services who are responsible for so much of the important work of sustainability, such as recycling and composting pick-up. This series of Campus Services community input sessions became a model that was used by Emory’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in its bridge-building sessions with these employees. The OSI believes it is a national model and that the success of these sessions and the entire community input effort for the Climate Action Plan and Vision are directly attributable to Lee’s gifts and skills as a facilitator and collaborative leader.
Marjorie Pak
Associate teaching professor of linguistics at Emory College of Arts and Sciences and Emory Votes
Emory’s commitment to expanding voting accessibility has many facets but few individuals have shown as much commitment to reliably leading voter engagement events across campus as Pak. By organizing voter engagement activities at the Emory Farmer’s Market and other key locations on campus, Pak has helped elevate Emory as a leader in voter engagement, especially with students who will continue to carry out this vital civic responsibility for decades to come.
Eric Gregory
Former assistant director of commissioning and controls
Gregory led the Sustainable Performance Program at Emory. While he left Emory in late 2024, the OSI recognizes his career at Emory as a leader in energy efficiency. The Sustainable Performance Program has garnered multiple national awards for maintaining high-efficiency performance in buildings whose performance levels would otherwise degrade over time. Gregory and his team were responsible for over $3.5 million in savings to Emory since 2011 from continuous monitoring at 35 buildings on Emory’s main campus.
Emery Hill
Class of 2025, president of Emory Climate Reality Project
As a student leader, Hill has played a huge role in advancing sustainability at Emory, serving as a member of Emory’s Climate Action Task Force and Sustainability Visioning Committee and regularly engaging with Emory leadership to share her perspective and priorities.
Sabrina Li
Class of 2025, president of Slow Food Emory
Li is a student leader of Slow Food Emory. This student-run organization provides a food recovery program recovering over 3000 meals every semester for students and staff at Emory. Passionate about food justice, Li led the initiative to collect surplus ingredients from local farmers’ markets to cook healthy meals for cancer patients at Emory hospitals.
Kristan Majors
Science librarian at Emory Libraries
Majors worked with the OSI during the creation of Emory’s 2023 Climate Action Plan to curate an online and in-person book exhibit called “Fostering Climate Hope,” which featured books, films and resources on climate change and mental health. OSI honors Majors for always seeking out ways to promote sustainability in Emory’s libraries.
You can also read this article on the Emory Report.