What is your involvement in expanding and/or promoting green initiatives on campus?

I was a founding member of the campus Environmental Task Force, which brought together faculty, students and staff to advance environmental goals on campus.  Before that, I worked closely with students to improve our recycling system. Alex Wojcik was one of my original interns on the recycling project and through her efforts we have seen dramatic increases in participation in the recycling system.  I’m currently overseeing student interns engaged in a number of other environmental projects from bringing organic food to campus to working with the Village of New Paltz to reduce waste and increase recycling in the community.  I also want to prepare students for the growing opportunities in environmentally related careers. Working with faculty across a number of disciplines, we created our Environmental Studies Minor program to increase environmental literacy.

Inspiration:  I am inspired by the enthusiasm of the students I work with on the Environmental Task Force.  They recognize the urgent need to change our ways and they have the energy and idealism to make it happen.

Community involvement:
I work with Village of New Paltz officials to advance environmental sustainability both on campus and in the community. Several of my interns are currently working with the Village Environmental Conservation Commission on a recycling project. Last year, we worked with community organizations and town officials on our “Reuse 2 Reduce” program where we collect usable materials from students vacating the residence halls at the end of the semester and donate them to local charities.

Courses you teach:  I teach Environmental Sociology, Social Movements and Political Economy, and Introductory Sociology and Social Statistics.