HEASC Fellows

HEASC Fellows are volunteers who spend three to five hours each week working on high impact projects that meet the strategic goals of HEASC and advance sustainability across the higher education sector. View previous HEASC Fellow projects in the Campus Sustainability Hub.

Fellows are selected on an ongoing basis from the constituencies of HEASC member associations. If you are interested in becoming a HEASC Fellow, please submit an application.

Current Fellows

Michaela Barnett

Michaela Barnett is a Ph.D. Fellow in the Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative at the University of Virginia and an editor at the Behavioral Scientist. Her research focuses on the perceptions and politics that drive waste management solutions. As a HEASC fellow, she will be supporting the sustainability efforts of I2SL’s Landfill Diversion Working Group.

Tara Bayer

Tara is passionate about researching and writing on environmental policy and politicians. She founded the Sustainable Politician Project, an organization dedicated to vetting sustainability platforms for politicians in upcoming election cycles. Tara works as a legal professional and contributes to various HEASC projects as needed.

Andrea L. Brock

Trained as an environmental archaeologist, Dr. Brock is passionate about incorporating sustainability and environmental teaching across diverse disciplines in higher education. A HEASC Fellow since 2017, she is currently researching and writing about pedagogies, assessments, and educational projects to foster sustainability change agents. She is also involved in efforts to improve civic engagement for democracy.

Laura Greenwood

Laura is instrumental in the identification and description of resources for the Sustainability Education and Economic Development initiative at the American Association of Community Colleges. She is also in charge of social media for this initiative. Additionally, Laura is a professional artist and photographer.

Sarah Kennehan

Kate Krull

Kate has over 15 years of experience serving in nonprofit and political organizations from educational outreach, community building and organizing, voter education and mobilization, serving on board of directors, lobbying, and leading organizations specifically within and for the LGBTQ community and people. Her studies are diverse and include German, Global Studies and the Fine and Applied Arts. She currently resides in Berlin, Germany. Kate is glad to assist HEASC by supporting voter education, updating the Sustainability Primer, and mobilization for a more sustainable and engaged democracy.

Jessica Ostrow Michel

Jessica is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the assessment of postsecondary environmental and sustainability education, with a particular emphasis on instructors’ pedagogies and students’ learning competencies. Jessica has published her work in Research in Higher Education and Innovative Higher Education, and she has presented at the annual conferences of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). She helps write publications and is working on the Sulitest initiative.

Kathleen Ng

Kathleen’s breadth and depth of knowledge comes from over 15 years of experience working in campus sustainability; a diverse academic background ranging from science and humanities to the prestigious International Master’s Program in Practicing Management; and an extensive network of collaborators from the local to international levels. She provides consultation to HEASC and contributes to special projects wherever her skills are needed.

Rachel Peet

Rachel received her Masters in Global Sustainability with an additional focus on sustainable business practices and food security. Currently involved in social justice advocacy work, she worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA, increasing access to quality education for at-risk youth to create success in their educational pathways. She helps support HEASC with various sustainability initiatives, including Beyond Doom and Goom: Climate Solutions, and developing mechanisms for effective follow-up.

Star Scott

With a background in wildlife biology and ecology, Star Scott spent nearly a decade as a Research Professional in conservation-driven research at the University of Georgia (UGA) prior to joining the Office of Research Safety as a Chemical Safety Specialist. During this time, she developed and advocated for a Green Lab program at UGA. In 2016, the program was created with Star as the Green Labs Program Coordinator. Star is passionate about conservation, sustainability and research. She is a member of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) Laboratory Waste Landfill Diversion working group, the I2SL University Alliance Group, the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) Environmental and Sustainability Community of Practice, and the Bringing Efficiency to Research (BETR) Grants working group. Star is the CSHEMA representative for The Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), as well as the co-vice president for the Georgia Chapter of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories.

Catherine Wright

Catherine is the Executive Director for the Collaborative for the Common Good and an Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Wingate University. She works with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) on identifying sustainability practices on member campuses.

Cassandra Troy

Cassandra has a background in visual and written communication and currently works as the Communications and Engagement Specialist at the University of Richmond’s Office for Sustainability. She recently earned a master’s degree in communication and is passionate about telling the program’s and institution’s sustainability stories in a way that invites others to get involved. As a HEASC Fellow, Cassandra is developing materials to promote student, staff, and faculty participation in environmental policy decisions in their states.

Past Fellows

Thank you to our past fellows: