Staff
2012 OoS Staff (left to right:): Tarah Rowse, Anna Mika, Kate Blofson, Gioia Thompson, Steve Posner, and Mieko A. Ozeki.
Photo Credit: Sally McCay
Gioia Thompson, M.S. Natural Resources Planning
Director
Gioia Thompson has been working on sustainable practices at the University of Vermont since 1996, where she was appointed director of the Office of Sustainability in 2008. She is responsible for tracking the institution’s environmental performance; recommending environmentally responsible practices; working with students, faculty members, and staff members on environmental projects; and connecting with the Vermont and higher education communities.
Recent activities include support of the EcoReps, a residential education program; developing public information for the University’s new LEEDTM Gold certified student commons; analyzing the University’s greenhouse gas emissions; co-teaching a project-based course focusing on the Presidents’ Climate Commitment; and participating in regional and national professional dialogue on environmental performance in higher education.
She currently serves on the steering committees of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium and the Burlington Legacy Project. Gioia received a B.A. in Environmental Studies in 1987 with an honors thesis on municipal leaf composting, and an M.S. in Natural Resources in 2000 on sustainability in higher education, both from the University of Vermont.
For information on the Sustainability Director's role, click on the current job description.
Mieko Ozeki, M.S., A.L.M
Sustainability Projects Coordinator
Mieko joined UVM’s Office of Sustainability in 2008, after working for The Food Project, a sustainable agriculture non-profit organization, and Boston Day & Evening Academy, a charter high school. Her current responsibilities in the office include coordination of the department’s operations, project management, and administering the Clean Energy Fund. (For information on the Sustainability Projects Coordinator role, click on the original job posting).
She holds a B.A. in Philosophy and minor in Studio Art and Honors Program from SUNY Geneseo (2001). Mieko was a teaching fellow from 2001-2002 at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, a residential high school in Estes Park, CO. She earned a M.S. in Environmental Education from the Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University (2004), where she studied and traveled in the Pacific Northwest, Big Island of Hawai’i, and the Atlantic Coast bioregions. During her final semester, she completed a curriculum development internship at the Urban Ecology Institute.
Mieko earned a Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Sustainability and Environmental Management at Harvard University Extension School (2011). She concluded her studies with a capstone project on best practices for implementing and managing campus student green funds. Mieko is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program and Sustainability Mentor for the CleanTech Open.
Recently, she wrote an article for AASHE's 2011 Review, "A Deeper Look: The Role of Green Funds on Campuses" and has presented at numerous conferences on green funds, sustainability project management, green careers, smart grid, and renewable energy implementation. Mieko serves as a steering member on AASHE's Conference Steering Committee, member of the ACUPCC's Implementation Liaison Support Committee, and recently became a member of AASHE's Education & Professional Development Steering Committee.
Mieko was an outdoor educator and kayak guide, trained through Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). She lives in Addison County with her husband Josh, where they paddle in their hand built wooden Greenland style sea kayaks as well as rowing, hiking, rock climbing, and skiing in the region.
Katharan M Blofson
Education & Outreach Fellow, Clean Energy Fund
Kate is a Master's student in the Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont and an Education and Outreach Fellow with UVM's Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy Fund. She has a BA in English from Yale University, and has worked a variety of jobs from teaching in the Philadelphia schools to sailing the Eastern seaboard. For the past few years, she has worked with the Prometheus Radio Project to build and advocate for low power community radio stations. She is captivated by bees, wooden boats, and participatory community media, among other interests.
Pooja Kanwar
Performance Tracking Fellow
Tracking UVM's sustainability progress includes completing an annual greenhouse gas inventory, piloting the AASHE STARS system for tracking activiites, coordinating the Campus Sustainability course, and working with students on various Service-learning and senior capstone projects related to sustainability.
Pooja Kanwar is a Ph.D. student in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont, the Performance Tracking Fellow with UVM's Office of Sustainability, and a Gund Instititute of Ecological Economics Graduate Student Fellow. She holds a B.S. in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Iowa and an M.S. Resource Management and Administration from Antioch University New England. Pooja's research focuses on international water resources management, with her previous researching focusing on rainwater harvesting and rural water supply issues in India and her current examining a multijurisdictional harbour in New Zealand through assessing ecological risk and governance complexities. Prior to studying at UVM she was living in Western Massachusetts working at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with the Water Resources Research Center coordinating various volunteer water quality monitoring projects throughout the state.
Steph Haynes '13
Beverage System Intern
Steph is a junior majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Business Administration. Her professional interests include sustainability studies as well as environmental education. She is serving as a Senior Eco-Reps for the Athletic Campus and as the Beverage System Intern at the Office of Sustainability. The Beverage System Intern helps coordinate efforts to retrofit drinking fountains with water bottle filling and filtering fixtures on campus. A key responsibility for the intern is keeping track of the location of the retrofitted fountains via an Excel database and map.
Steve Posner, M.S.
Sustainability Fellow and Eco-Reps Program Coordinator
The UVM Eco-Reps Program trains student leaders who model and promote environmentally responsible behavior on campus. As program director, Steve guides the program, organizes student activities and projects, and coordinates with students who foster sustainable living on campus. He also teaches ENVS187 Campus Sustainability and develops campus energy projects, such as srategies for managing greenhouse gas emissions from lab buildings.
In 2009-2010, Steve was an Energy Education Fellow with the UVM Office of Sustainability, a position through the Accelerating Campus Climate-Change Initiative. He earned a B.S. in physics and astronomy from Haverford College, studied science education at the Stanford, and earned a M.S. in natural resources from University of Vermont where he conducted research on sustainability indicators and the many values of ecosystems with the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics.
Tarah Rowse, M.S., Ph.D. Student
Networking Fellow
Tarah Rowse is a Ph.D. student in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont and a Networking Fellow with UVM's Office of Sustainability. She holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University and an M.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to studying at UVM she was living in Washington, D.C., working on energy policy at The Nature Conservancy, with a focus on renewable energy development and energy development mitigation. Additionally, Tarah has worked with the Department of Homeland Security in the area of risk development, acted as a political campaign manager for a state Senate race, and completed two years of Peace Corps Service in Belize as an environmental educator.
