Award Webinar: The Urban Resilience Fellows Program: Bridging Higher Ed and Municipal Innovation
“The University of Texas at Arlington“ is the recipient of a 2026 AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award. This webinar is part of the 2026 Awards showcase highlighting all four winners in this category.
The Urban Resilience Fellows Program is a pioneering interdisciplinary initiative that connects UT Arlington students and faculty with local government and industry partners to develop innovative solutions for North Texas’ most pressing sustainability challenges. Launched as a pilot in 2024, the program creates a “living lab” environment where student cohorts work directly on community-identified problem statements. By breaking down silos between academia and municipal operations, the program addresses complex issues—ranging from urban heat island mitigation and green infrastructure to equitable transportation and food systems. This program serves as a scalable model for how urban universities can drive regional resilience while providing students with high-impact experiential learning.
Presenters
 |
Meghna Tare, Chief Sustainability Officer, UT Arlington As the Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Meghna supports the operations and strategic planning for university-wide sustainability practices, programs, and policies. In this capacity. She leads institutional strategies for climate resilience, resource conservation, and innovative urban design in collaboration with academic units, student organizations, and external partners. Her expertise is further highlighted by her appointment as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the Dallas FIFA World Cup 2026. In this high-profile role, she oversees the environmental and social responsibility framework for one of the world’s most significant global sporting events. Her focus is on minimizing the event’s environmental footprint while simultaneously empowering communities and leaving a lasting legacy of positive change across the north Texas region. She is the founder and director of the Regional Center of Expertise for Education in Sustainable Development (RCE North Texas), a program of the United Nations University. She was awarded the 2022 United Nations Association Global Leadership Award. Meghna serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability. She also served on the Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW) within the division of Policy and Global Affairs at the National Academies, Board of Directors for ICLEI USA (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), and Board of Directors for the Association of Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Meghna holds an MBA in Sustainable Management, an M.S. in Environmental Science, and an M.S. in Chemistry. |