Board of Directors

Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain Director, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Jennifer Hirsch is an applied anthropologist specializing in sustainability, cultural diversity, collaborative governance, community development, networks and experiential education. She is recognized for fostering grassroots participation in sustainability and climate action, using methods from visual and environmental anthropology, popular education, asset-based community development, participatory facilitation and museum education. Since Aug. 2015, she has been the Director of the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which prepares students to use their disciplinary expertise to address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges in ways that advance community well-being and create thriving natural systems. Dr. Hirsch is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech and serves on the faculty of The Asset-Based Community Development Institute hosted by DePaul University.

Executive Director of Sustainability, McGill University

Francois Miller has over 20 years of professional experience in sustainability, mainly in the municipal and higher education sectors. He spent close to 13 years at the City of Montreal where he stewarded the development and execution of Montreal’s award-winning sustainability plans, which mobilized over 250 partner organizations. Prior to this, Francois was part of research groups that worked on urban sustainability issues in Bolivia, Brazil and France. Now acting as the Executive Director of Sustainability at McGill University, Francois leads the planning and implementation of McGill’s strategic plans on climate and sustainability. He also works to advance sustainability across all sectors of the University through internal and external partnerships. Under his tenure, McGill University was recognized as Sustainability Institution of the Year by the International Green Gown Awards (2019), won AASHE’s Campus Sustainability Achievement Award (2019), and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Greenest Employers four years in a row (2018-2019-2020-2021). He participates in multiple internal and external advisory committees focused on green buildings, sustainable events, green funds, etc. François Miller holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal. 

Associate Vice President, Energy and Sustainability, University of California

David Phillips provides strategic leadership for energy and sustainability initiatives across the University of California, which includes ten campuses, five medical centers, and three national labs. David and his team help connect researchers, students and operations staff to integrate sustainable practices in support of the University’s mission. One key focus is developing plans and actions to reach systemwide carbon neutrality by 2025. David’s operational responsibilities include managing the UC Wholesale Power Program, which supplies low-carbon electricity to all or part of seven campuses and implementing the UC Biomethane Program, which has developed biogas projects to supplant 10 percent of UC’s natural gas use. He is a Founding Partner and Vice-Chair for La Casa de la Universidad de California en Mexico, helping to guide UC’s activities and relationships in Mexico.

David was formerly Director of Utilities at UC Davis, where he managed their city-scale water, waste and energy systems. While at Davis, he led teams that developed a 63-acre behind-the-meter solar power plant, constructed an on-site waste treatment system to reduce campus landfill disposal by 25 percent, and implemented several massive wastewater recycling projects. Phillips was also a key contributor in the successful partnership with local agencies to develop a new treated surface water supply for the campus.

David has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from UC Davis and is a California registered professional engineer.

Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Texas at Arlington

As UT Arlington’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Meghna Tare works collaboratively to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments at UT Arlington, and to address opportunities to promote sustainability in several areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, community engagement, and interdisciplinary and sustainability-focused curriculum. She has spearheaded launching a Regional Center of Expertise for Education in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in North Texas, a program of the United Nations University, and the North Texas Food Policy Alliance.

Meghna is a TEDx speaker, was featured as the Women in CSR, awarded Women of the Decade in Corporate Social Responsibility by the Women Economic Forum, and 2020 Women in Sustainability-Transformational Leader by Wells Fargo/Envision Charlotte. She graduated with an MBA in Sustainable Management, MS in Environmental Science, and MS in Chemistry.

Associate Vice President – Facilities & Services and Chief Facilities Officer, New Mexico State University 

Raghu has operational and administrative responsibility for supporting the mission and goals of the NMSU System through securing and maintaining the viability and integrity of the physical campus. He is responsible for capital construction, renovation, and remodel projects; operation and maintenance of physical plant facilities, including utilities; the NMSU Master Plan and space planning; central utility plant; and NMSU’s environmental sustainability initiatives.

Prior to this Raghu was the Director of Sustainability, Associate Director, Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College. Raghu has extensive experience in higher education sustainability, energy conservation and information technology. He has graduate degrees in Environmental Engineering (New Mexico State University), Business and Information Management (both from Marymount University).

Senior Manager for Sustainability, Office of Public Affairs, The American College of Greece

Rania Assariotaki joined the American College of Greece in 2008. She currently holds the position of Senior Manager for Sustainability, Office Public Affairs. She has previously occupied the position of the first Sustainability Manager at ACG. Before joining ACG, she has served in the field of customer service. She holds an MSc in Marketing from ALBA at The American College of Greece. Since December 2020, serves as an ex-officio member in the Academic Advisory Board of the ACG Center of Excellence in Sustainability. Under her coordination, in 2020, ACG was awarded with the STARS Gold rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Since September 2020 she participates as a mentor for sustainability issues in the mentorship program of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Starting January 2022, she serves as an elected member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Board of Directors. In February 2021, she was also appointed by AASHE to serve as a member of the AASHE Advisory Council for her constant commitment and support to promoting sustainability best practices and culture on and off-campus. In February 2020 became a member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee of the American – Hellenic Chamber of Commerce. In 2015 she was certified as a GRI G4 reporter and in July 2016 received her certification as a Sustainability (CSR) Practitioner approved by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). Also, she has received certifications in Carbon Reduction Strategy, Sustainability Reporting, Social Impact Assessment & SROI.  In August 1019, she has been certified as a Sustainability Management professional and on High Impact Leadership from the Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge. 

Sustainability Analyst, Portland Community College (PCC)

Stephania Fregosi (she/her), got into sustainability as a result of childhood experiences that included resource conservation, a love of all marine creatures, international travel, a semester at a farm in Vermont, and a concern for human rights. As the Sustainability Analyst for Portland Community College (PCC), Stephania Fregosi manages sustainability data collection and conducts policy and program research and is currently working on a resiliency assessment. She recently co-led PCC’s climate-action planning effort to incorporate climate justice and social equity into the heart of PCC’s 2021 Climate Action Plan: Resiliency, Equity and Education for a Just Transition. Stephania served as the lead author and editor for the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Anthology on Racial Equity and Social Justice, a resource on the interconnections between environmental sustainability, racial justice and other equity issues.

Prior to joining PCC, Stephania was the Sustainability Coordinator for Chemeketa Community College where she launched a centralized recycling collection program, worked with student classes to develop waste reduction campaigns, and wrote the college’s first climate-action plan. Stephania earned her Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from the Vermont Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College. In her spare time, Stephania dyes wool and yarn for knitters and other textile artists.

VP, Business Development, Coho Climate Advisors LLC

Chris has 25 years of experience delivering impact at the intersection of business and sustainability. For that past 10 years, he has advised dozens of clients on the design and implementation of sustainability plans, emphasizing high impact energy and water strategies. Prior to that he ran American University’s Office of Sustainability, designing and implementing its Climate Action Plan, which led to it becoming the first U.S. research university to achieve carbon neutrality (partly as a result of the Coho-facilitated 53 MW Capital Partners Solar Project). Recent work has focused on discovering and strengthening the inherent synergies between environmental sustainability and social equity. In his side career/hobby in the beer industry, he authored the award-winning book Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World.

Chief Sustainability Officer, Wayne State University

Daryl M. Pierson leads Wayne State University’s Office of Campus Sustainability working across the institution to advance sustainable initiatives that will enhance environmental awareness and understanding; achieve efficiencies that will preserve natural resources while reducing campus costs; support and engage in environmental education and research; increase opportunities to drive environmental stewardship; and engage the surrounding community through sustainability activities.

In this role, he is charged with integrating sustainability across various workstreams within the 200-acre, 128-building urban campus. Under Pierson’s leadership, the University has completed two Sustainability Strategic Plans, annual greenhouse gas inventories that have helped inform actions leading to a reduction of over 50,000 MTCDE. He also developed and implemented an innovative compost program that created a collaboration among students, staff, faculty, and community organizations to capture campus organics, haul the organics to a local urban farm, and return the finished compost for use around campus. His other work activities include LEED certification, stormwater management, sustainable food systems, sustainable transit and mobility, and circular economic initiatives.

Pierson works across disciplines with campus faculty and researchers on subject matter related to sustainability as well as water-related initiatives with a focus on ecological, social and human health interactions within the Lake Huron to Lake Erie corridor of the Great Lakes Basin. He also worked collaboratively with a multidisciplinary university team and international collaborators to achieve the designation of UN Regional Centre of Expertise for Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.

Pierson holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a research focus on sustainability leadership. He also has a master’s degree in urban planning.

Director of the Center for Sustainability, Ramapo College of New Jersey