The Institute for Global Sustainability was established in 2007 as part of the University of Vermont Continuing Education Department. The institute is guided by the visionary leadership of the IGS Advisory Board members and the institute staff, whose biographies are included below.
Staff
Advisory Board
Maureen Schake, Program Coordinator
Maureen Schake has over twenty five years of experience in business administration--encompassing academic, public, private, and nonprofit work. For over eight years, Maureen worked in administrative positions at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University, including a position in the Academic Dean's office. While working full-time at Harvard, she obtained her Associate's degree with a concentration in History, and after moving to Vermont in 2001, went on to earn her Bachelor's degree from Vermont College/UIU with a concentration in the Natural Sciences, while working full-time as the Director of Conference Services at that institution. In her role as Program Coordinator, Maureen will work with the Business/Environment and Education Teams.
Jennifer Lian, Student Advisor
Jennifer Lian has worked at the University of Vermont for more than 10 years in a variety of departments. Most recently Jennifer advises Continuing Education students, with a focus on Guaranteed Admission Program (GAP) students, career changers, as well as undergraduates and graduate students aligning for study and careers in Business and the Environment. As part of her graduate program in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at the University of Vermont, Jennifer was awarded the Gerald Saddlemire Masters Research Award from the National American College Personal Association. Jennifer holds an M.Ed. from the University of Vermont. Prior to her academic career, Jennifer worked for nearly 10 years as a graphic designer, editor and free-lance photojournalist.
Matt Sayre, Director
Matt is a social entrepreneur who continues to study Ecological Economics as a foundation for developing solutions that improve community wellbeing. Before becoming Director of UVM's Institute for Global Sustainability Matt: started, operated, and sold Healthy Habitat, a Burlington, Vermont based environmentally-friendly cleaning service; started and served as the founding President and C.E.O. of Earth, Inc., a Vermont non-profit corporation working to strengthen human, social, natural, & built capital; served as the Project Coordinator of the University of Vermont "Leading by Design for a Sustainable and Desirable Future" Project; served as a Senior Manager to help restart Bolton Valley Resort after two bankruptcies; and worked to re-engineer business processes at the University of Vermont as part of UVM's Project CATalyst Finance Team. Matt also led effective community relations and fundraising initiatives as the Director of Medical Alumni Relations for the UVM College of Medicine. While working in Student Affairs at UVM and at Northern Arizona University, he planned and implemented experiential programming to strengthen the university's human and social capital. Matt has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from LeMoyne College, a Master's in Education from Northern Arizona University, and a Certificate of Graduate Study in Ecological Economics from the University of Vermont.
Cynthia Belliveau
Dr. Belliveau is Dean of Continuing Education and Director of Vtrim, as well as a faculty member in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Vermont. Her research is in food systems primarily focused on pedagogical applications in sustainability. Dr. Belliveau is the Director of Vtrim™, an evidenced based behavior weight loss management program for the public developed at UVM in 16 years of clinical trials. As Dean of Continuing Education, she directs college and professional credit programming for college student and adults. Dr. Belliveau has consulted for Winrock International, US AID, and the Sri Lankan Government. She continues to teach undergraduates about food and cooking in the university Food Lab.
Paul Bierman
Dr. Paul Bierman is a Professor in the University of Vermont Geology Department and School of Natural Resources. Dr. Bierman's research has examined Earth Surface Processes at scales ranging from micron thick coatings of rock varnish to the evolution of Namibian landscapes. His current research interests include the rate of bedrock erosion and sediment production, which involves field work in such locations as central Australia and the Canadian arctic. He has also been investigating the erosion history of large rivers and drainage basins. Dr. Bierman's students and he have been deeply involved in trying to understand the Holocene evolution of New England, in particular the timing and distribution of major storms over the past 10,000 years. Over the last few years, Dr. Bierman has been exploring the recent record of landscape change by leading the NSF supported Landscape Change Program, an on-line archive containing thousands of images of Vermont landscapes going back over 200 years. He leads a cosmogenic isotope lab where they extract 10-Be and 26-Al for isotopic analysis and spend long nights in the accelerator mass spectrometer at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory making measurements. He holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, an MS in Geology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and a BA in Geology and Environmental Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA. (http://www.uvm.edu/~pbierman/)
Melody Burkins
Melody Brown Burkins is Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at UVM. An earth systems scientist with degrees from Yale University and Dartmouth College, Ms. Burkins has served as an aide for energy and environment policy in the U.S. Senate and as an advocate for higher education funding and policy directing UVM federal relations. She was recently appointed to the National Academy of Sciences' U.S. National Committee for the Geosciences.
Robert Costanza
Dr. Robert Costanza is the Gund Professor of Ecological Economics and Director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont.
Prior to moving to Vermont in August 2002, he was director of the University of Maryland Institute for Ecological Economics and a professor in the Center for Environmental Science at Solomons, and in the Biology Department at College Park.
Dr. Costanza received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1979 in systems ecology, with a minor in economics. He also has a Masters degree in Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida.
Dr. Costanza is co-founder and past-president of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) and was chief editor of the Society's journal: Ecological Economics from its inception until September 2002. He currently serves on the editorial board of eight other international academic journals. He is past president of the International Society for Ecosystem Health. In 1982 he was selected as a Kellogg National Fellow, in 1992 he was awarded the Society for Conservation Biology Distinguished Achievement Award and in 1993 he was selected as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. In 1998 he was awarded the Kenneth Boulding Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Ecological Economics. In 2000 he received an honorary doctorate in natural sciences from Stockholm University. He has served on the Scientific Steering Committee for the LOICZ and AIMES core project of the IGBP; the US EPA National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT); the National Research Council Board on Sustainable Development, Committee on Global Change Research; the National Research Council, Board on Global Change; the US National Committee for the Man and the Biosphere Program, and the National Marine Fisheries Service Committee on Ecosystem Principles.
Dr. Costanza's research has focused on the interface between ecological and economic systems, particularly at larger temporal and spatial scales. This includes landscape level spatial simulation modeling; analysis of energy and material flows through economic and ecological systems; valuation of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and natural capital; and analysis of dysfunctional incentive systems and ways to correct them. He is the author or co-author of over 300 scientific papers.
His work has been cited in more than 3,000 scientific articles since 1987 and more than 80 interviews and reports on his work have appeared in various media, including Newsweek, US News and World Report, The Economist, The New York Times, Science, Nature, National Geographic, and National Public Radio.
Cameron Davis
Cameron Davis is an environmental artist who teaches a wide range of classes exploring environmental issues through art. She studied at the Schumacher College, Institute of Ecological Studies, Devon, England, on Inside, Outside Perception, Psychology, Ecology and Art, with James Hillman and Margot McLean as well as Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, where she completed an M.F.A. in Painting, the Banff Center, School of Fine Arts, Alberta, Canada, and the University of Vermont, in Medieval and Renaissance Art History, Assisi, Italy. She also holds a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Vermont.
Josh Farley
Dr. Farley joined the CDAE faculty in 2003 when the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, of which he is a Fellow, relocated to the University of Vermont. Although he was formally trained in neoclassical economics, Dr. Farley is a renowned ecological economist working to integrate social, human, and natural capital into the way the world views economics. With Herman Daly, he co-authored a foundation textbook titled Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications which is now available in its 2nd edition. He has also co-authored Restoring Natural Capital: Financing and Valuation. Dr. Farley has spent considerable time abroad including several years teaching ecological economics at the School for Field Studies Centre for Rainforest Studies (CRS) in Far North Queensland Australia, first as resident faculty and later as program director. Dr. Farley continues to advance the field of ecological economics and teach/advise the next generation of economists and community development professionals.
Elizabeth "Ibit" Getchell
Ibit Getchell has been the Student Services Coordinator (SSC) in the Environmental Program since February of 1995. She's a graduate of Middlebury College in geology and northern studies, and Antioch New England Graduate School with a Master's in Environmental Studies and Communications. Before joining UVM, Ms. Getchell worked for four years as a counselor at the Cascade School in Northern California. Ms. Getchell's Student Services position in the Environmental Program serves as a critical link between the Program faculty, college and university administrations and environmental studies (ENVS) majors, minors, students taking ENVS courses, and the public. She is responsible for the publication of the Program newsletter, the Bittersweet Vine, and the bi-weekly publication of our timelier on-line newsletter, Bittersweet Notes with the help of a work-study student. Ms. Getchell serves as a clearinghouse for ideas, resources and references for students interested in expanding their educations to include paid or unpaid internships, volunteer work, study abroad, study at other colleges, universities, or other non-UVM educational programs, and travel and work experiences. She maintains a growing resource center of posters, catalogues, newsletters, brochures, directories and reference books available to students at the Bittersweet anytime the building is open.
Karen Glitman
Karen Glitman's experience in transportation includes serving as Deputy Secretary and Director of Policy and Planning of the Vermont Agency of Transportation. In her role at the Transportation Research Center, Ms. Glitman will manage the outreach and research dissemination programs including national conferences, educational workshops and stakeholder policy roundtables. Her transportation research interests include transportation finance, economic development and developing sustainable transportation systems. Ms. Glitman will be the state coordinator for the Clean Cities Coalition which is hosted by the TRC. Vermont's Clean Cities is one of only a few which focuses state wide and is the only Coalition hosted by a TRC. This position will allow UVM to work towards national leadership in creating transportation and energy partnerships that advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. Ms. Glitman received a B.A. in Political Science from University of Vermont in 1985 and was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1990. She served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1985-1990.
Charles Hulse
Dr. Charles Hulse is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Prior to completing his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Hulse completed his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Virginia. His dissertation research focused on the enzymology of denitrifcation.
Dr. Hulse completed his family medicine residency at the Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He served as Chief Resident during his final year of residency. Dr. Hulse has been on the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine since completing his residency and has served as the Associate Residency Director and Medical Director of the Milton Family Practice (the residency training site). He is presently the Director of Research and Scholarship Programs and Director of Community Medicine within the Department of Family Medicine.
Dr. Hulse has been named Resident Teacher of the Year and Faculty Teacher of the Year for the Department of Family Medicine. In 2005, Dr. Hulse received a Frymoyer Scholarship from the College of Medicine to develop an elective for fourth year medical students entitled "Ecosystem Change and Human Health". His scholarly interests are focused on the interaction between environmental change and human physical, mental and spiritual health. He is presently developing spatial-temporal epidemiologic models to investigate disease outbreaks due to environmental change -- specifically focusing on the geographic area of Vermont.
Dr. Hulse continues an active outpatient and inpatient medical practice at Fletcher Allen Healthcare and is actively involved in teaching clinical skills to medical students and residents.
Stephanie Kaza
Dr. Stephanie Kaza is the Director of the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont, with a Professor appointment through the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. She teaches and advises undergraduate and graduate students with a concentration in the environmental humanities. Her courses include: Religion and Ecology, Ecofeminism, Unlearning Consumerism, and Introduction to Environmental Studies. Dr. Kaza's interdisciplinary approach is reflected in her academic training: Ph.D. in Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz; M.A. in Education, Stanford University; M.Div., Starr King School for the Ministry; and B.A. in Biology, Oberlin College. As co-chair of the UVM Environmental Council, Dr. Kaza has been actively engaged in campus sustainability initiatives to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote environmental values.
Dr. Kaza is currently President of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies and is an active member of the Religion and Ecology group of the American Academy of Religion. She is the author of numerous articles on Buddhist environmental thought as well as The Attentive Heart: Conversations with Trees, meditative essays on deep ecological relations with trees, and co-editor (with Kenneth Kraft) of Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism. Her latest book is an edited collection on Buddhism and consumerism entitled, Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume. She writes a regular ecology column for Turning Wheel, journal of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Deborah Neher
Dr. Deb Neher is a soil ecologist with research interests in the use of nematodes and microarthropods as indicators of soil quality for environmental monitoring of terrestrial and wetland soils. Her research has concentrated on temporal and spatial sampling designs for regional surveys, evaluating appropriate reference bases, interpretation of community indices in relationship to disturbance type and simple measures of nitrogen availability and litter decomposition. She holds a Ph.D., Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, 1990, M.S., Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1986, B.S., Environmental Science, Summa cum laude, McPherson College, McPherson, KS, 1984. Deb has served as: Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, 9/04-present; Associate Professor, Dept. of Earth, Ecological and Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, 5/02-8/04; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth, Ecological and Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, 9/96-5/02; Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, 1/93-8/96; Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, 8/90-12/92; Naturalist-Ecologist Fellow, University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, Michigan, 6/85-8/85.
Margaret Shannon
Dr. Margaret Shannon is the Associate Dean of the Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources. Before moving to the University of Vermont she served as a Research Professor at the SUNY Buffalo Law School. She is a Professor in Honor at the University of Freiburg, Germany and an Honorary Fellow at the Institute for Rural Futures, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia. While at Buffalo she served as Director, Center for Law and Sustainability, Coordinator, Environmental Law Program, Convener, Environmental Stewardship Working Group, Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, Member, Steering Committee, Environment and Society Institute. At the University of Freiburg she also served as a Guest Professor, Institute for Forest Economics and as a Fulbright Scholar, Institute for Forest Economics. She studied at the University of California at Berkeley, College of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Forestry and Resource Management, completing her Ph.D. in 1989; M.S. in 1977; Wildland Resource Science with specialization in Sociology and Policy. She holds a B.A. from University of Montana, Missoula, Montana in Anthropology and Sociology, with High Honors in both fields and a Minor in Economics.
Gioia Thompson
Gioia Thompson has been working on sustainable practices at the University of Vermont since 1996, where she has recently been appointed director of the new Office of Sustainability. 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.
Gioia has been working since 1996 with the UVM Environmental Council, a group of faculty, staff, students, and community members dedicated to promoting excellence in academic programs and campus operations. Her 2002 publication Tracking UVM: Environmental Report Card 1990-2000 has been hailed as a model for tracking environmental performance. 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.
Carol Vallett
As Dean of Continuing Education at the University of Vermont, Dr. Vallett manages a department of 50 staff members in college and professional credit programming for college students and adults. Continuing Education's direct outreach activities include on-site and on-line courses, conferences and programs, in Vermont, nationally and internationally. Dr. Vallett, who holds degrees in engineering, business and education has been at UVM for nine years. She previously was academic coordinator a the Community College of Vermont, a staff engineer at Union Carbide Corporation and a high school mathematics and science teacher. Her research interests include organizational culture, positive organizational scholarship and institutional effectiveness.
Mark Youndt
Dr. Mark Youndt is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management in the School of Business Administration at the University of Vermont. He also teaches in the University of Connecticut's Executive MBA program and conducts research and consults with numerous companies in the areas of strategy, strategic human resource management, and knowledge management. He has a B.A. in management and economics from Gettysburg College, a MBA from Rollins College, and a Ph.D. in management and organization from Pennsylvania State University. Professor Youndt has won numerous teaching awards, and his research has appeared in the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management, and Journal of Management Studies. Prior to pursuing his academic career, Dr. Youndt worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and Sonoco Products.
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