UConn Office of Sustainability

Head over to UConn Today to hear about UConn@COP Fellows' first impressions of their trip to the United Nations' global climate negotiations. Full posts and all Fellows' stories are on our website!

Meet our amazing alumni! Lauren Pawlowski, LEED GA, MCP worked at the Office of Sustainability from 2019 to 2022. This past May, She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of City Planning degree and a concentration in Land Use and Environmental Planning. She received my two undergraduate degrees, a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a B.S. in Economics, from the University of Connecticut in the honors program in 2022. Her interests include climate resilience, sustainable development, and food systems. She currently works as a program coordinator at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Congratulations to Naiiya Patel and Dylan Steer , two of our UConn@COP Fellows, who are panelists on a Youth Capacity Building session at #COP29. Shout out to fellow panelist students at our network schools: Havalin Haskell Jamie Harvie Basmallah Rawash

Our UConn@COP Fellows have arrived at the United Nations Climate negotiations in Azerbaijan for #COP29 It's a whirlwind week meeting with and learning from the world's climate movers and shakers. #UConnTalksClimate #UConn

Meet our amazing alumni! Chase Mack worked with the Office of Sustainability from 2021-2023. He graduated from UConn in 2023 with degrees in environmental science and political science. During his time at UConn he was a Udall Scholar Honorable Mention and Fulbright Semi-Finalist among other accomplishments! Currently, He works at Pfizer as an associate researcher in sustainable chemistry data.

Don’t Mess with Mansfield! Alumni, students and Mansfield residents are invited to show up for our community on Saturday, November 16 to help. Visit clean up stations throughout Storrs between noon and 4pm to get supplies and directions to areas most in need of litter pick up. For more details visit s.uconn.edu/cleanup24 #uconn

Meet our amazing Graduate COP29 Fellows! Colin Piteo, Colin Rosadino, Mayowa Oladele, and Thomas Bonitz. They will be attending COP29, the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan through the UConn@COP Fellowship Program. #UConntalksclimate #uconn #sustainability UConn Global

Meet our incredible Undergraduate COP29 Fellows! Alan Cavagnaro, Amanda Stowe, Amanda McCard, Chapel Bhavsar, Dylan Steer, Faiz Farooqui, Jacqueline Flaherty, Kamala Chuss, Naiiya Patel, and Mariam Vargas. They will be traveling to Baku, Azerbaijan for the 29th United Nations' global climate negotiations this month. UConnCOP is one of the largest student COP experiential learning programs in the entire world, and gives University of Connecticut students a first hand look global efforts to tackle climate change. #UConntalksclimate UConn Global #COP29

Attending #AASHE24 in Anaheim, CA was an inspiring experience for our UConn Office of Sustainability team and undergraduate interns! The conference offered invaluable insights from sustainability professionals in higher ed and fostered powerful connections through workshops, keynotes, and networking sessions. Keynotes by leaders like Peggy Shepard, Shaun Harper, and @David Orr left us motivated to drive change. Shepard emphasized the role of higher ed in promoting environmental justice, highlighting partnerships that improve air quality and health in marginalized communities. Harper reminded us of the essential role of climate research from the perspective of racial climate and history to ensure that our solutions are interdisciplinary in nature, and maintain the creation of safe, equitable spaces for students and faculty of all racial and cultural backgrounds. Lastly, Orr challenged us to ensure graduates are equipped with ecological literacy to respond to the pressing environmental issues that we face today. Our student interns and team had the opportunity to attend remarkable sessions that allowed them to bring back insights for how they can incorporate sustainable development goals into their study abroad journeys with UConn Global, how offices can revitalize their budget modeling techniques to drive sustainability goals, and how land-grant campuses can work with local indigenous communities on restorative justice initiatives and scaling real-world impact from research endeavors on campus. Consistently top ranking in AASHE STARS, the University of Connecticut Huskies are truly proud of being a part of an ecosystem of leading institutions championing impact for health and wellness of people, society, and planet. The AASHE Stars conference continues to drive a transformative space for our Huskies to keep learning and collaborating on said efforts; we’re excited to bring new ideas and energy back to University of Connecticut Campus to push our university’s sustainability goals forward!??? ?? Patrick McKee, Betsy Mortensen, Sydney Collins, Amanda McCard, Aminieli Hopson, Dylan Steer, and Kanika Chaturvedi #Sustainability #HigherEd #DEI #AASHE24 #EnvironmentalJustice #CampusSustainability

Meet our amazing alumni! Mara Tu worked for the Office of Sustainability from 2018-2021. She graduated in 2021 with a with a double major in Environmental Science and Urban and Community Studies. She then receiving her master’s degree from the Tufts University Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program. She currently hopes to bring her values of social justice, community care, and radical empathy to the important affordable housing work happening at Allston Brighton CDC. She has broad experience interning and working in many different organizations, including at a museum, alternative protein company, catering company, bagel shop, City of Boston office, and planning consulting firm.