AASHE Conference Reflections: Community, Communication, and Colleagueship
By Roya Ojarood
I met this duo in early summer on a video call for my project. Carley Rice and Hannah Lauber work side-by-side at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Office of Sustainability. Carley is the Sustainability Coordinator, and Hannah is the Senior Marketing and Communications Strategist. Having started around the same time, they have grown into their work together and have built a pace and rhythm over the past five years.
Carley came into sustainability with what she described as “a deep love for our natural world and a strong desire [and responsibility] for future generations to thrive.” Hannah’s entry point was different: She came in from a communications background and was very drawn to the challenge of translating complex concepts within sustainability into something both accessible and engaging. Their different entry points complement each other, which was made clear through the way they interacted in conversation. They took turns reflecting on and stepping in to finish each other’s ideas, often smiling with laughter here and there, and were quick to acknowledge the importance of context and connection within their work.
Their first AASHE Conference & Expo experience took place in Boston. They told me that, at the time, they were both early in their roles. The experience was a turning point for them not just because of what it revealed about the broader network of sustainability professionals, but because it gifted them with the opportunity to network and learn from others. As Carley said, “The conferences are a great learning opportunity— they give me hope in a field that needs hope.” Hope, they agreed, isn’t always easy to hold. Sustainability roles can feel siloed, especially when housed in small offices with limited capacity and many responsibilities. “A lot of schools have a one-person office,” Hannah noted. “It can get pretty isolating.” For her, the AASHE Conference creates rare opportunities to connect with other sustainability communicators— people who understand and share the same intersection of higher education, messaging, and sustainability. “There aren’t that many of us,” she shared, “so to hear what’s working for others… that’s really helpful.” Carley echoed this sentiment, chiming in to emphasize the benefit of learning from others instead of reinventing the wheel. “I’ve made some great connections,” she added. “People want to share what’s working. It’s not competitive.”
This aspect of collaboration over competition excited me— so much of my time in various workplaces or classrooms (and impressions of professional atmospheres) possessed an undertone of competition. So, to hear from these two that within the field of sustainability people work together to do better was both encouraging and uplifting, and it’s even better that they described the AASHE Conference experience as a space where this collaboration is heightened.
When we talked about what else stood out from the Boston experience, Carley and Hannah didn’t just list sessions. Instead, they talked about the surrounding atmosphere and energy it gave them. Carley said something that was, to me, really unique: “The city felt like a participant.” She recalled visiting the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts and how the fusion of sustainability and art left quite an impression. Outside of sessions, she and Hannah rented bikes and rode around Harvard’s campus, taking time to absorb the local atmosphere. “Even just seeing other areas of Boston… it felt like a really immersive conference experience.”
Along with the city-as-participant aspect, the keynote speakers also stood out within the conference experience. Carley remembered leaving the keynote speeches feeling very positive and hopeful— there is an emotional resonance that sticks with you long after you’ve left. This emotional clarity, she added, helped to renew her sense of purpose in her work. Hannah agreed, saying “You forget how good it is to see things from a different perspective.”
When I asked them what keeps them motivated despite the challenges and pressures of the field, they both pointed to students. “They’re really what keep me going… They care about systems change and equity. We don’t want to let them down,” Carley shared. Hannah echoed this too, adding that higher education has the power to lead by example: “If we’re doing something impactful, other schools take notice.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming conference in Minneapolis, Carley and Hannah are eager to share their city. “The Twin Cities is criminally underrated,” Carley said with a smile. They’re hopeful that the conference will bring attention to the momentum of local sustainability efforts and will spark new connections across institutions and regions. For them, what AASHE offers isn’t just knowledge-sharing, but a feeling of alignment and affirmation at a time when it is paramount.