9:30-10:30

Track 1 - STARS Overview: UO, OSU and PSU ratings comparisons to other institutions

This session will describe the genesis and framework of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.  Sustainability coordinators and staff behind recent STARS submissions by OSU, PSU, and UO will review highlights and challenges, and touch on room for institutional improvement, segueing to the STARS Lessons session at 10:45.

Judy Walton

Judy Walton is the Membership & Outreach Director of AASHE. She was the founding Executive Director of AASHE, and before that the founding E.D. of Education for Sustainability Western Network (EFS West). Her interests in sustainability and higher education are long-standing. As a faculty member at Humboldt State University during the early 2000's, she played a key role in campus sustainability efforts. Prior to that she worked for a green building consultancy in Washington state, when "green building" was a new field. Judy has delivered presentations to campuses and businesses across the U.S. and Canada, assisted campuses with strategic planning, and organized national and international events on sustainability and higher education. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Geography from San Diego State University, and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Evan Lewis

Evan Lewis is a graduate teaching fellow in the U of O Office of Sustainability. With the Office of Sustainability, Evan was responsible for collecting data used in the U of O’s first STARS report.  He is also a second year graduate student in the U of O’s Community and Regional Planning Program, where his academic interests include natural hazard mitigation, sustainable land use, environmental impact assessment and water resources management. He received his BA in Geography and Community, Environment and Planning at the University of Washington in 2009. He is from Puyallup, Washington.

Noelle Studer-Spevak

Noelle Studer-Spevak currently serves as Sustainability Coordinator at Portland State University, overseeing greenhouse gas accounting and organizational learning efforts related to resource efficiency. Before that, she served the same role at Portland Community College, covering workforce development for green building-related programs.  Noelle has worked as an agroforestry extension agent with the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, and on urban forestry issues for the City of Seattle and the Washington Department of Natural Resources.  Noelle holds a Masters in Public Administration and a M.S. in Urban Forest Management from the University of Washington. 

Brandon Trelstad

Brandon Trelstad has been Oregon State University’s Sustainability Coordinator since November 2005.  Since graduating from OSU and working first in its Government Relations office, Brandon has gained an intimate understanding of the institution.  He now helps network university stakeholders, scope and finance energy conservation and renewable energy projects, track and report on sustainability metrics, support student engagement and respond to media and the public.  During Brandon’s tenure, OSU has gained a reputation as a leader in sustainability, achieving top 25 status for sustainability-related efforts and a STARS Gold ranking.

Since before its formation in 2007, Brandon has been very involved with the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, a local nonprofit organization with nearly 200 partner organizations working to accelerate the creation of a sustainable community.  In 2010, Brandon was recognized by 1000 Friends of Oregon as one of 35 Innovators Under 35.

Track 2 - Intercampus Student Sustainability Network

Oregon campuses have sprouting, growing and thriving student sustainability initiatives.  As we know from living systems, increased stability allows for emergence of more complex systems and increased diversity benefits the entire system.  This session will focus on how university students throughout the state can begin to collaborate and network for large-scale sustainability thinking and action.  In-person and via videoconference, learn about the successes and challenges of establishing and building coalitions and networks from present and former leaders in the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC), Cascade Climate Network and Sierra Student Coalition.  Participants will have the opportunity to envision an Oregon coalition and define stakeholders, resources, and steps toward collaboratively making it a reality. 

Angela Hamilton

Angela L. Hamilton is the Student Leadership Programs Assistant for the PSU Sustainability Leadership Center.  This year, she is convening a PSU Student Sustainability Leadership Council and igniting interest in a statewide student sustainability coalition.  In June 2011, she will complete her M.A. in Educational Leadership and Policy: Leadership for Sustainability Education focusing her research on a Gaia integrated learning model for sustainability education.  As the Social Architecture Coordinator for Students for Leadership in Ecology, Culture and Learning, Angela has organized PSU Sustainability Education Week for the past two years in collaboration with campus, city, and national partners.  She is also a board member for Earth Wisdom Alliance, a Portland non-profit that facilitates the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream symposium and the WakeUp experience with the purpose of bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on earth.  

Lauren Jabusch 

Lauren Jabusch is one of the Co-Chairs of the Operating Team for the California Student Sustainability Coalition.  She attends UC Davis as a Biological Systems Engineering major and also is the Director of the Campus Center for the Environment at UC Davis.  Lauren's interest include bio-fuels and bio-plastics, environmental literacy education, and harnessing horizontal power - the use of personal and professional relationships for action.  Lauren plans on attending graduate school with an emphasis on renewable energy.

Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones loves to learn and be creative, especially when it comes to developing innovative ways to organize for social change.  Awakening to his call to action in 2004, Nathan has trained and organized with hundreds of student organizers as an integral member of youth environment and climate organizations such as the Sierra Student Coalition.  In 2007 Nathan convened the founding meeting of the Cascade Climate Network and acted as Network Facilitator for this organization's first year.  Nathan has since gone on to co-found the Northwest Institute for Community Enrichment (NICE) which works with student volunteers and surrounding communities to develop ongoing programs that enhance the potential of green economy initiatives, build strong social networks around living sustainably, and distills lessons learned through these programs to produce replicable models and effective practices.  These models and practices are shared through the NICE Consulting, which in-turn funds the NICE.  Nathan is currently working with a local NICE team in Portland, OR, to coordinate the Sabin Neighborhood Enrichment Program and is helping coordinate the national Summer of Solutions program through his work with Grand Aspirations.  

Track 3 - Analysis of Embodied Emissions in Materials we Purchase: Environmental Impacts of Products

The environmental impact of products is large.  For example, roughly 42% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US are the consequence of making, transporting, and disposing of stuff.  But these impacts are often misunderstood.  Understanding how products impact the environment is a challenging task, but recent research is shedding new light on the stuff we buy – and how we can reduce its impacts.  Along the way, many popular beliefs are being challenged.

This session will use the framework of life cycle analysis to summarize what is known about the footprint of products, and examine the popular attributes that often inform efforts to "green" purchasing.  "Local", "recyclable", "recycled-content", "degradable", "bio-based" . . . Beware: some of these attributes are less helpful than others!  David Allaway will share the results of several recent studies that evaluate the environmental impacts of products, with some surprising and thought-provoking results.

David Allaway

David Allaway is a policy analyst in the Solid Waste Program of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. He serves as DEQ's technical specialist in solid waste prevention and is leading several projects to reduce waste generation and the environmental impacts of materials and waste in Oregon. Recent work includes the development of a consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions inventory for Oregon, helping to staff the Materials Management Committee of the Global Warming Commission’s “Roadmap to 2020”, and several life cycle analyses.  David currently serves on the Steering Committees of Wal-Mart’s Packaging Sustainable Value Network and ICLEI’s Community-Scale GHG Emissions Accounting and Reporting Protocol.  Prior to joining DEQ, David was employed for over ten years at an environmental consulting firm where he served as project manager for solid waste planning, waste reduction, hazardous waste, and energy and water conservation projects throughout the United States. David has a B.A. in physics and a concentration in science, technology, and public policy from Carleton College, Minnesota.