WOHESC

Keara is a first-generation, 4th year student at the University of Oregon, originally from Lake County, California. She is studying Globalization, Environment, and Policy with a minor in Geography. Keara has organized the SSC Food Equity Program for 3 years and is also working at a UO Food Security research lab. She intends to pursue a future in contributing to positive change within the systematic global issues of food insecurity.

Amy Bowers Cordalis is a devoted advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental restoration. A member of the Yurok Tribe and ceremony family from the village of Rek-woi at the mouth of the Klamath River, she is a fisherwoman, attorney, and mother deeply rooted in the traditions of her people. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, Amy leads efforts to support tribes in protecting their sovereignty, lands, and waters, including the historic Klamath Dam Removal project—one of the world’s largest river restoration and dam removal initiatives. Former general counsel for the Yurok Tribe and an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, Amy has earned honors as a UN Champion of the Earth and Time 100 climate leader, and is the author of the forthcoming book, The Water Remembers, anticipated in October 2025.

Laurie Frankel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of five novels. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Publisher’s Weekly, People Magazine, Lit Hub, The Sydney Morning Herald, and other publications. She is the recipient of the Washington State Book Award and the Endeavor Award. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and been optioned for film and TV. A former college professor, she now writes full-time in Seattle, Washington where she lives with her family and makes good soup.

Aimée Okotie-Oyekan is a British-Nigerian interdisciplinary environmental practitioner, weaving the boundaries between environmental science, artistic and cultural practice, and planning-policy to advance environmental, climate, and social justice. She strives to orient built, natural, and cultural systems towards care and community.

Johanna Stoberock is the author of the novels Pigs (Red Hen Press) and City of Ghosts (W.W. Norton). The 2019 recipient of the Artist Trust/Gar LaSalle Storyteller Award, 2016 Runner Up for the Italo Calvino Prize for Fiction, and a 2012 Jack Straw Fellow, Johanna has received residencies at the Corporation of Yaddo, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Millay Colony. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Review of Books, Lit Hub, the Best of the Net Anthology, and elsewhere. She lives in Walla Walla, WA.

Sarah (she/her) leads the office's academic, co-curricular, and community outreach and engagement programming and team, including staff members focused on reuse and recycling and the campus natural areas program. She earned her PhD in Literature from UO and her research focused on how narratives after the First World War manifested, but failed to resolve, the conflict's trauma and grief. She has since extended that overarching curiosity about the cultural and affective consequences of rupture, change, and traumatic events to the "polycrisis" of our current world. She has trained as a facilitator and program teacher with the Good Grief Network, the All We Can Save Project's Climate Wayfinding program, and the Stanford Design School. Sarah uses these trainings frequently in her work, from classes centered on envisioning sustainable futures for all or workshops for faculty and staff focused authentic engagement and deepening of professional practice.

As the daughter of immigrants who has grown up between two cultures, I often draw on my personal experience as a way to connect with and amplify the voices of those who have historically not been heard. As a scholar and academic, I also know that racial equity work is challenging, emotional, institutional, and personal. I’ve taught about global issues, race, gender, identity, and equity to thousands of students, presented at high-profile as well as more humble events, and collaborated with social change agents and innovative thinkers around the world. I partner with clients for the long haul and strive to build inclusivity and collaboration, inviting people into conversation.

Karen Thompson Walker is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Age of Miracles, which has been translated into twenty-seven languages and named one of the best books of the year by People, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Financial Times, among others. Born and raised in San Diego, Walker is a graduate of UCLA and the Columbia MFA program. She lives with her husband, the novelist Casey Walker, and their two daughters in Portland. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon.

Within her professional journey, Maddy has had the privilege of leading environmental justice programs rooted in gratitude, reciprocity, community care, cultural heritage, and sustainability. Maddy's work has been focused on celebrating and uplifting the voices of BIPOC and frontline communities, whose deep-rooted knowledge have long offered holistic and interconnected perspectives on sustainability. Maddy has worked alongside communities to develop initiatives that prioritize sustainability and justice, engaging in collaborative projects, educational programming, and conversations that center the voices and experiences of marginalized groups. Maddy's goal is to support communities in reclaiming their narratives and create spaces that nurture resilience, healing, and well-being at the core of the environmental justice movement. At the Campus Sustainability Fund, Maddy builds meaningful relationships with students and partners, understands sustainability through multiple lenses, and learns from the innovative projects students bring, hoping to help create a campus culture where justice and sustainability are fully intertwined, sparking collective action across the university for a more equitable and sustainable future.

Storytelling and fruit trees are woven into Karolyn's journey towards environmental justice work. Growing up with generational ties to the North Shore of Oʻahu, Karolyn's grandparent's Japanese-American community, she was surrounded by the values of Mālama 'Āina, compassion, and social justice, inspiring my understanding of sustainability. As Outreach and Connections Coordinator, Karolyn amplifies the mission of CSF by integrating love for art into creative approaches to uplift student-led efforts and intersectional narratives to sustainability at UW. She is excited to continue learning from others and build connections rooted in reciprocity and hopes to facilitate community-led events and partnerships across campus with shared goals of justice-centered action, wellness, and joy. At UW, Karolyn is studying Environmental Science and Resource Management with a minor in Urban Ecological Design. She is interested in exploring the intersection of ecological restoration and stewardship to engage community and climate resilience. In gratitude to the lands, people, and stories that nurtured my commitment to sustainability, Karolyn stands in solidarity with BIPOC and Indigenous-led communities at the forefront of the environmental movement.

Lorenzo is a second-year student at the University of Washington studying Environmental Science and Informatics, with a minor in Diversity. Lorenzo's academic and personal passions lie at the intersection of research, environmental justice, and inclusive outreach. As the Grant and Project Coordinator, Lorenzo aspires to support active and prospective project teams throughout the grant process, from application to implementation and long-term success. Lorenzo aims to cultivate a community of on-campus partners and resources, focusing on empowering project leaders who are advancing justice-centered sustainability with research experience within anthropogenic pollution and climate change through data science. Lorenzo is currently conducting research with NOAA, using quantitative methods to analyze oral histories to study the effects of climate change in the Bering Sea. Outside of research, Lorenzo is an officer for the Program on Climate Change Undergraduate Cohort, a Brotherhood Initiative PeerMentor, and an Undergraduate Research Leader.

Robert Smith is an Architect and one of LMN's firm experts on Progressive Design-Build, Integrated Project Delivery, and Low-Carbon Construction. Robert led the design team for two recent low carbon mass timber academic buildings, including Founders Hall at the University of Washington and the Undergraduate Academic Building at UC Berkeley.

David Woodson is the Executive Director of Campus Energy, Utilities & Operations at the University of Washington and is leading the effort to decarbonize the district heating system at the flagship Seattle campus. David had a similar role at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and is enjoying the opportunity to apply the lessons learned from UBC at UW. David is a UW Alum (Aero and Astro ‘91) and holds an MBA ‘06 from UBC. David is presently the Vice-Chair of the International District Energy Association (IDEA).