Samantha Chan, Assistant Director of Sustainability, University of Pittsburgh

Samantha Chan is the Assistant Director of Sustainability in the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Sustainability. She works with the University-wide, cross-departmental Sustainability team, providing support for the Pitt Sustainability Plan’s goals and strategy. Sam and her colleagues help advance the University towards achieving all 68 sustainability goals; she leads efforts to further embed sustainability into the culture of the University with a special focus on the Pitt Green suite of programs, employee education, communications, and strategic partnerships. Sam empowers positive behavior change, helps advance sustainability projects and build collaborations, strategically advances sustainability initiatives, and communicates about Pitt’s sustainability leadership and innovation. With over a decade of experience, Sam is passionate about creating sustainable solutions so current and future generations can thrive. Sam’s professional and educational experience includes environmental analytics, wildlife conservation, revitalization efforts, and biophilic resiliency initiatives that benefit both people and the planet. Prior to joining Pitt, Sam worked with the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing & Innovation at the University of Tennessee on embodied energy and recycling techniques to further the circular economy for airplanes and wind turbines. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science and Psychology from Allegheny College and a Master’s of Sustainability from Chatham University.

Leoncio Lagarde, Green Labs Assistant and Outreach Coordinator, University of Colorado Boulder

Leoncio is a first-generation Latino from Anaheim, California. Growing up, his parents exposed him to Latinx culture and cuisine, and he was making sopas de fideo and tostadas de chile rojo before he even knew how to tie his shoes. Inadvertently, his parents were raising him to be an environmentalist via simple, yet impactful, recycling strategies that they would implement in the kitchen. From storing leftover salsas and frijoles in old butter containers to having an infamous plastic bag drawer, his family practiced simple and affordable techniques that helped in limiting household waste. His curiosity with the environment led him to the University of California, Berkeley where he received his bachelor’s in environmental earth science. While at Berkeley, he quickly became enthusiastic in learning more about the physical and chemical properties that define climate change and how anthropogenic pollutants may be destructive to environments, especially low-income BIPOC communities.

Outside of his studies, he was a board member in various professional development clubs on campus geared towards advocating for the academic success of historically excluded students. He also worked for a nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area teaching biology and math to high school students in English and Spanish, as well as teaching Latinx parents about FAFSA, scholarships and other financial aid resources.

Post undergrad, he worked for a private chemical testing facility where he utilized high pressure liquid chromatography, cavity ring down spectroscopy and wet chemistry techniques to analyze food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics substances.  It was this lab experience that spiked his interest in green chemistry, lab safety and lab sustainability. He went on to receive his master’s in climate science from UC Berkeley where he focused on learning more about the chemical properties that bind interacting climate systems using field/lab instrumentation, climate models and observations to define anthropogenically induced climate change.

He now joins CU Boulder as a Green Labs Program Assistant, where he hopes to work with campus leaders in driving sustainable lab practices to further aid CU Boulder’s commitment to sustainable solutions.