SHIRIN DEY School of Engineering and Applied Science Shirin Dey is a Junior in SEAS studying Earth and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Environmental Health Engineering. She served as a Research Assistant in Columbia's Catalysis for a Sustainable Environment lab for two years and currently volunteers with the Student Health Outreach program (SHOUT). In her spare time, she enjoys dancing with Columbia Dhoom (a Bollywood-Fusion dance team) and exploring NYC's performing arts scene!
NAJIN KIM School of General Studies I am a senior, majoring in Architecture and Sustainable Development. I love to explore broad areas from natural science to sociology since Sustainable Development encompasses interdisciplinary fields. I am currently working on my senior thesis to explore how green buildings influence urban ecology from a socioeconomic and environmental perspective. I am also interested in establishing a sustainable investment platform that would support the realization of sustainable development by creating financial, social, and environmental values.
COURTNEY CHIN Columbia Law School Courtney Chin is currently a third-year law student. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, and member of the Environmental Law Society and National Environmental Law Moot Court. She received a B.A. from Columbia College in 2010, and also participated in many groups under the green umbrella during her undergraduate years.
JANE REBECCA MARCHANT School of General Studies Jane Rebecca Marchant is an undergraduate senior in GS majoring in Creative Writing (Nonfiction). She currently works at the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy as the communications assistant, and in the past has worked at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, as well as in the solar industry. Upon graduation she plans to go into long-form journalism, covering issues of sustainable development. Her hobbies include adventure travel, analogue photography, hula-hooping, and tree-climbing. This is her first year on the Earth Institute's Student Advisory Council.
FRANZISKA LANDES Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Hello! My name is Franziska and I am a graduate (MA & PhD) student in Earth and Environmental Science. I spend most of my time out at the beautiful Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory where I conduct research in environmental geochemistry. I am particularly interested in the fate and transport of contaminants and how this impacts public health and the environment. I m excited to be a part of the Earth Institute Student Advisory Council because I believe it is extremely important to foster interdisciplinary discussions and collaborations to address environmental issues. While I ve focused on earth science in my academic career, I am always interested in other research that impacts our understanding of and approach to sustainability. I ve been interested in environmental issues since high school and have participated in a wide range of related activities. While studying earth science at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, I was also very active in organizing events on campus with the environmental club. I ve had the opportunity participate in a variety of projects ranging from geology to energy efficiency to the role of science and culture in environmental conflicts. After Germany, I worked for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality before coming to Columbia University to start my graduate studies. I am also very interested in community engagement, science communication, and environmental education.
KAGGIE ORRICK Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences I am currently obtaining my masters in the E3B department of GSAS. My love for the environment stemmed from a long love of the outdoors. From 2010-2013 I lived and worked on a private game reserve in South Africa conducting large carnivore research. During this time I became very interested in sustainable conservation practices, especially in rural communities.
SHAHNOZA BOBOEVA School of Engineering and Applied Science I am a second year masters student of the Earth and Environmental Engineering department in Columbia University. The concentration of my program is Sustainable Energy. Currently, I am working on my master's thesis, which analyzes current energy sources, waste management, and potential for a waste to energy plant in Tajikistan. I am passionate about making an important contribution to develop the Energy sector of Tajikistan. My research can help improve the quality of people's lives and help solve the current energy problems of my country.
RACHEL WINDZBERG Columbia Business School I have been interested in sustainability and energy for a long time, because I realize that the world has limited resources that aren't distributed equally among people. I am mainly interested in solar energy and agriculture sustainability. Prior to business school I worked as a Semiconductor engineer and for a startup. On campus, I have been involved with the Green Business Club, where I helped organize our annual summit and other GBC related events, such as a hydroponic farm visit. In addition I have taken and planning to take courses focused on energy and sustainability, such as Carbon Finance with Professor Bruce Usher.
MARY MCELROY Barnard College Mary McElroy is a fourth-year undergraduate at Barnard College studying Environmental Biology and Spanish. She has always taken an interest in the environment and fully supports efforts to ensure its preservation and continued protection through collaborative and interdisciplinary action. She plans to attend graduate school for marine biology, and she hopes to pursue a career in marine conservation. She currently works as a teaching and office assistant for the Barnard Environmental Science Department. She is conducting her undergraduate thesis research with molecular studies of iron metabolism in marine phytoplankton. She looks forward to working with her fellow student advisory council members and the Columbia community to promote awareness of sustainability issues on campus as well as to encourage continued sustainable improvement.
JENNIFER PENSKY Barnard College Jenny Pensky is a senior at Barnard College majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Economics, and she is especially interested in the intersection of those fields. Jenny's primary research involves investigating the environmental and economic impact of plants in the Earth's system, both in the past and present, and how plants are affected by climate change. She is currently involved in paleoclimate research at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, investigating how climatic change facilitated vegetation changes in India over the last 8 million years. In addition to her paleoclimate research, she assists with plant genetics research at Barnard's Biology Department and works at the Barnard Arthur Ross Greenhouse. Her interest in sustainable development was sparked when she took part in the Workshop for Sustainable Development, working with the Natural Resources Defense Council in order to analyze and map damages from Hurricane Sandy. This experience highlighted the economic importance and vulnerability of our natural resources and strengthened her commitment to sustainability. She hopes to continue to work in sustainable fields and is excited to be a part of the Earth Institute Advisory Council.
KATE OFFERDAHL School of International and Public Affairs Kate Offerdahl is a Masters of International Affairs Candidate at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, studying international environmental policy and sustainable development. At Columbia, Kate serves as the co-president of the student-run Environmental Coalition and was the Project Coordinator of the Columbia Global Policy Initiative project on Youth Marginalization. Serving as an intern in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of State in 2014, Kate worked on international development and climate change issues with the Secretary s Senior Adviser on Development. Kate also works as a Thematic Expert on the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and is the co-author of numerous reports and analyses on international sustainable development negotiations. She previously interned at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, working on federal sustainability issues and partnerships. Kate represented the UN Major Group for Children and Youth at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and was one of the co-coordinators for the NY+20 Conference for Youth. She currently serves as Youth Leadership Adviser on the Advisory Board of the Human Impacts Institute. Kate also earned her Bachelor s degree from Columbia University, where she was awarded the King s Crown Leadership Award in Civic Responsibility. She has been invited as a speaker at numerous international events on UN, environmental, and intergenerational issues. Kate was born and raised in Minnesota, USA and currently lives in New York City.
WILLIAM WEPSALA School of International and Public Affairs My interests in sustainability brought me to SIPA's MPA in Environmental Science and Policy. I am interested in natural resource management and sustainable development at the community level. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador, and was working for a nonprofit in Cleveland prior to coming to Columbia.
ZSIGMOND FAJTH Columbia Business School Coming from a consulting background I wanted to pursue my interest in sustainability while working towards my MBA. In the summer of 2014 me and my partner launched our green venture GreenLink (www.greenlinkmaterials.com) working in the Columbia Summer Lab. I'm currently VP of the Green Business Club at CBS, responsible for coordinating sustainability initiatives in the business school.
PAIGE PAVONE Columbia Law School Paige Pavone is a third year law student. She is involved in the Environmental Law Clinic, where she has participated in cases involving fracking, land use, endangered species, and climate change. She is the Senior Submissions Editor of the Journal of Environmental Law, a participant in the Environmental Law Society and Environmental Law Moot Court. Her note on the misuse of smart growth policies will be published in the Journal. Paige also enjoys farming, and spent a summer working on an organic farm in Ecuador.
LAURA BOOTH Columbia College Laura is a senior studying environmental biology. She grew up on a small farm in Pennsylvania, where her experiences with land preservation piqued her interest in sustainability. She spent spring 2014 in Kenya, where she learned more about the intersection of conservation science and sustainable development (and got to see some pretty cool wildlife!). She is currently working on a research project examining the diversity of avian malaria in a population of Kenyan starlings. Her interests include urban ecology, human-wildlife conflict, and sustainable agriculture.