The journey of sustainability at MSU is anything but simple. This panel brings together campus experts with decades of experience to share candid stories about what worked, what didn’t, and why. From incremental wins to setbacks that pushed us back to square one, this panel dives into the ups, downs, and cycles that define MSU’s sustainability story. It’s a story of progress, pauses, and pivots, reflecting the complexity of balancing environmental goals with operational realities, institutional culture, and resource constraints.
Panelists
Kris Jolley, Reuse and Recycling Manager, MSU Surplus Store & Recycling
Carla Iansiti, Sustainability Officer, Residential and Hospitality Services
Ruth Kline-Robach, Senior Outreach Specialist, Department of Community Sustainability
Doug Buhler, Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, Michigan State University
Moderator: Laura Young
Alessandra Carreon, Chief Climate Officer, Office of Climate and Energy, State of Michigan
From Forks to Futures: Cultivating Change in the Food System
Transforming food systems is complex, collaborative, and rarely linear. This session showcases voices spanning academia, practice, campus operations, and emerging professionals to explore how food systems work across scales and industries. Panelists will reflect on justice, partnerships, and the realities of turning sustainability vision into action the MSU campus will also be discussed as powerful living labs for food system change.
Panelists:
Phil Howard, Professor, MSU Department of Community Sustainability
Stacy Dawson, Associate Director of Support Services, MSU Culinary Services
Jude Barry, Associate Director, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems
Sydnie Burnstein, Graduate Student, MSU Department of Community Sustainability
Moderator: Rebecca Jordan, PhD, Chair, MSU Department of Community Sustainability
Strengthening Michigan’s Circular Economy
The transition to a circular economy represents one of the most significant industrial and societal transformations of the 21st century. Achieving it demands a coordinated approach that bridges the gap between knowledge creation, policy development, and commercial implementation. A successful circular economy cannot emerge from isolated efforts it must be co-designed and continually refined through the shared expertise of industry, academia, and regulatory bodies.
Participants in this session will learn what a circular economy is, what challenges and opportunities Michigan industries are overcoming to transition to circularity and the leadership role students are doing to assist in this transition.
Panelists:
Rex LaMore, PhD, Director of MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development
Chelsea Jensen, Project Leader Michigan’s Circular Economy Industry Council
Abigail Carrigan, MSU Circular Economy Research Assistant
Henry Jerred, MSU Circular Economy Research Assistant
Energy
Additional session information is forthcoming. This panel will explore current issues and opportunities in Michigan’s evolving energy landscape, highlighting perspectives from campus operations, extension, and community energy partners.
Panelists:
Sherri Jett, Assistant Vice President of Real Estate and Capital Planning/Utilities, MSU Infrastructure, Planning & Facilities
Charles Gould, Extension Bioenergy Educator, MSU Extension
Maggie Striz Calnin, Administrator for Corporate Sustainability, Lansing Board of Water and Light
Moderator: Annick Anctil, PhD, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental engineering and AgBio Research
Natural Resources
Additional session information is forthcoming. This conversation will feature MSU experts working across plant biology, urban forestry, wildlife ecology, and natural resource stewardship.
Panelists:
Alan Prather, PhD, Director, Beal Botanical Garden & Campus Arboretum
Asia Dowtin, PhD, Associate Professor, Urban Forestry, MSU Department of Forestry
Sonja Christensen, PhD, Assistant Professor, MSU Department of Fisheries & Wildlife
Moderator: Emily Silver, PhD, Associate Chairperson, Director of Graduate Studies, and Associate Professor, Human Dimensions of Forestry, Department of Forestry
Loving Our Downstream Neighbor: Connecting communities through watershed restoration and reconciliation ecology
This lunchtime session invites us to engage in the full complexity of watershed repair, where ecological science, lived history, and community partnership meet. Authors Gail Gunst Heffner and David P. Warners will share how reconciliation ecology confronts contamination, inequity, and fractured relationships without oversimplifying them, and how loving our “downstream neighbor” becomes a practical framework for cocreating healthier waterways and communities. Their stories from Plaster Creek model durable, placebased action amid realworld constraints.
About the Book: Like many American urban waterways, Ken-O-Sha (now known as Plaster Creek) has been in decline for nearly two hundred years and is so contaminated that it currently poses a public health hazard for the communities through which it flows. Once life-supporting, Plaster Creek is now life-threatening. In this provocative book, scholars and environmentalists Gail Gunst Heffner and David P. Warners explore the watershed’s ecological, social, spiritual, and economic history to determine what caused the damage, and to describe more recent efforts to repair it. Heffner and Warners provide insight into the concept of reconciliation ecology, as enacted through their group, Plaster Creek Stewards, who together with community partners refuse to accept the status quo of a contaminated creek unfit for children’s play, severely reduced biological diversity, and environmental injustices. Their work reveals that reconciliation ecology needs to focus not only on repairing damaged human–nature relationships, but also on the relationships between people groups, including Indigenous North Americans and the descendants of European colonizers. The heartbreaking yet encouraging story of Plaster Creek is one of reconciliation between people and their place and is a microcosm of the story of life on earth for us all.
The Sustainability Systems Think Tank was charged with providing thought leadership and developing a comprehensive framework to guide MSU's sustainability efforts. This work advances MSU's role as a living laboratory, balancing the economic, social, environmental, and operational priorities of a complex university. In a focused effort last fall, the Think Tank began shaping a new sustainability framework for MSU. This session will introduce the Think Tank, share what we learned from extensive campus engagement, highlight emerging priority areas, and look toward the next phase of this work.
Presenter: Laurie Thorp
Interactive Concurrent Sessions to generate ideas and actions for advancing MSU as a sustainability leader
What happens after you leave campus and step into the sustainability workforce? This panel features recent MSU alumni who made an impact during their time on campus and are now navigating the realities of early career life. They’ll share candid stories about the job search process, what their first roles are really like compared to expectations, and how they’ve stayed connected to mentors and networks. Students will gain practical advice on translating campus experiences into career opportunities, adapting to challenges, and finding their place in a field that’s constantly evolving
Panelists:
Cody Evans, Community Programs Coordinator, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Kevin Hayes, Deputy District Director for Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet
Dani Vincent, Environmental Analyst, RSI Logistics/Trinity Industries
Moderator: Laura Young, Assistant Director, Office of Sustainability
What does it really take to build a career in sustainability, and how has that answer changed over time? Hear from seasoned professionals who have spent years shaping sustainability strategies across sectors. They’ll share candid insights into their own career journeys, how the work has evolved, and what trends are reshaping the field today. Students will walk away with practical advice on preparing for roles in a space that’s dynamic and increasingly critical to every industry.
Panelists:
Emily True, Global Sustainability Director, Pizza Hut
Devan Dodge-Frye, Sustainability Systems Manager, City of Royal Oak
Denise Keele, PhD, Executive Director, Michigan Climate Action Network
Moderator: Rose Spickler, Director of Education & Engagement, Michigan Sustainable Business Forum
Attend this session to hear the top student proposals from MSU’s newest sustainability innovation competition. Finalists will present fiveminute pitches outlining scalable, costaware strategies to reduce waste and strengthen sustainable habits across residence halls and dining spaces. Engage with student changemakers and explore ideas that could influence the future of campus sustainability. The session will conclude with a People’s Choice Award chosen live by the audience.
Marcene Mitchell, Senior Vice President of Climate Change, World Wildlife Fund