Local Sustainability Panel
This panel aims to provide insights into the sustainability endeavors taking place in Pittsburgh with perspectives from established professionals in industry, government, academia, and society. The panel will discuss relevant activities that have helped Pittsburgh reinvent itself and continue its transformation from a historic industrial town to a world-class city over the last several decades. The panelists will talk about how collaborations across sectors at the intersection of equity, environmental stewardship, and economic development can and should coexist. The session also contemplates discussing the current and future challenges while looking to build a more resilient and sustainable future for Pittsburgh and its residents.
Panelists
Aurora Sharrard
Executive Director of Sustainability at the University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Aurora Sharrard is the Executive Director of Sustainability at the University of Pittsburgh, leading Pitt’s Office of Sustainability, cross-departmental sustainability staff, and University-wide sustainability strategy, activities, policies, collaborations, and partnerships. The Pitt Sustainability Plan guides these efforts with 61 sustainability goals at the intersection of equity, environment, and economics. Building on decades of Pitt progress and successes, Dr. Sharrard and her colleagues work daily across the spectrum of sustainability, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2037, incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, transparently communicating progress, providing access and opportunity to all, and embedding a culture of sustainability into the University of Pittsburgh so that it’s a sustainability leader in every scale, from campus to international.
Prior to joining Pitt, Dr. Sharrard worked at Green Building Alliance (GBA) for 11 years, ultimately serving as its Executive Director. She led the nonprofit in advancing innovation in the built environment by empowering people to create environmentally, economically, and socially vibrant places. GBA is one of the oldest regional green building and sustainable community organizations in the United States, with a focus on innovative, evidence-based, and collaborative work throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Dr. Sharrard serves on boards for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, and Will Allen Foundation. She co-chairs Pittsburgh’s Higher Education Climate Consortium and serves on the Advisory Council of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE).
Tiffany Taulton
Director of Outreach & Sustainability at Hazelwood Initiative
Tiffany Taulton is the Director of Outreach & Sustainability for Hazelwood Initiative, Inc., a community development corporation focused on preservation of affordable commercial and residential spaces in a former steel mill community on the verge of becoming Pittsburgh's newest tech hub. In her role, Tiffany oversees community engagement, communications, housing assistance, and sustainability initiatives with an eye towards strengthening equity and inclusivity in the development process.
Prior to working at Hazelwood Initiative, Tiffany evaluated national clean energy strategies for the Environmental Defense Fund in New York, worked for the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, where she authored the food chapter of the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan 3.0, and spent four years working for the Department of Public Information at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Her interest in climate adaptation and resilience strategies for historically disinvested communities evolved from her experiences as a child living in Puerto Rico and later as an adult in New York City impacted by the 2003 Northeast Blackout and SuperStorm Sandy in 2012.
Tiffany has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Studies from Georgetown University and a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as certifications in permaculture design, Climate Reality Leadership, and EcoDistricts. In addition to her work for Hazelwood Initiative, Tiffany teaches Environmental Justice at Duquesne University, where she is an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Environmental Research and Education. She is a founding member of Pittsburgh's Black Environmental Collective and had the great honor to serve the city this year as a member of Mayor Gainey's Infrastructure and Environment Transition Committee.
Rebecca Kiernan
Principal Resilience Planner at the City of Pittsburgh
Rebecca Kiernan is a Principal Resilience Planner with the City of Pittsburgh, where she works on developing and implementing initiatives such as the ONEPGH Resilience Strategy and Investment Prospectus, Pittsburgh Equity Indicators Reports, Climate Adaptation Analysis, and supports the City’s Climate Action Plan on urban forest and vehicle electrification initiatives. Her position focuses on building social, ecological, economic, and physical resilience to city-wide shocks and stresses. She holds a BA from SUNY Geneseo, and an MS in Public Policy and Management with a focus on Environmental Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Rebecca serves on the City’s Shade Tree Commission and Allegheny County Sanitary Authority's Municipal Oversight Committee.
Shelly Danko+Day
Urban Agriculture and Food Policy Adviser at the City of Pittsburgh
Shelly Danko+Day, Food Policy Planner, has worked for the City of Pittsburgh since 2014. Based in the Department of City Planning, Sustainability and Resilience Division, her work focuses on creating programs and advancing policies that increase healthy affordable food access for all Pittsburgh residents.
Having a passion for sustainable local foods and food systems, Danko+Day has worked over the past 18 years as an organizer, teacher, farmer, chef, and advocate. Shelly earned her MA in Food Studies from Chatham University and is a member of Pennsylvania Urban Agriculture Advisory Committee and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Food Policy Advisers group.
In her free time, Shelly enjoys cooking, eating, preserving, and fermenting the food she grows, sharing her knowledge and harvest, and exploring nature.
Developing a Career in Sustainability - Exploring the Different Career Paths After Graduate School
This panel aims to introduce the various career paths in sustainability after graduate school to the ISSST student and postdoctoral participants. The session will include a panel of established professionals representing various career paths in sustainability, including academic, national lab, consulting, industrial, government, and non-profit positions. The panelists will first introduce 1) the entry and the trajectory of their career paths; 2) their primary job responsibilities; 3) what they like and do not like about their career paths; 4) the required skillsets/preparation for their specific career path, and 5) tips to share with students who are interested in this career path. An interactive Q&A session will then follow the panel introduction.
Panelists
Brandie Sebastian
Senior Director of Sustainability, Energy, and Environment at AISI
Brandie Sebastian is AISI’s Senior Director of Sustainability, Energy, and Environment based in Pittsburgh, PA. She has fifteen years of professional sustainability experience in industry and consulting. In her multi-faceted role at AISI, she coordinates the American steel industry’s technical sustainability data and decarbonization activities. She has extensive experience conducting, managing, and reviewing ISO-conformant LCA and carbon footprint studies in the automotive, construction, energy, and consumer product sectors. She is also experienced with sustainability and circular economy strategy, metrics, and reporting, Product Category Rules (PCRs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and sustainability standards development through ASTM and ISO. Brandie has served as the Vice Chair/Secretary of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) since 2014 and is an LCA Certified Professional (LCACP). She holds a B.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering and an M.S. in Energy & Geo-Environmental Engineering from Penn State University.
Timothy Skone
Senior Environmental Engineer at the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory
Mr. Skone is a Senior Environmental Engineer within the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Strategic Systems Analysis and Engineering Directorate. He leads Life Cycle Analysis Research efforts within the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management on carbon utilization technologies, methane emissions from the natural gas value chain, hydrogen production, alternative transportation fuels, advanced power generation systems, and energy water impacts. He is the primary author on multiple natural gas and coal related life cycle analyses published by the Department of Energy. He also leads research on energy resource availability, water scarcity, integration of biomass and fossil energy resources, and strategic energy concepts for new programs. Mr. Skone is an elected member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North American Life Cycle Analysis Interest Group, SETAC liaison to the American Center for Life Cycle Analysis, member of the University of Michigan Global CO2 Initiative Advisory Board, and founding organizing member of the Federal LCA Commons. Mr. Skone has 22 years of experience in the field of energy analysis and is a graduate of the Penn State University.
Ray Smith
Chemical Engineer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research & Development
Dr. Ray Smith has been a Chemical Engineer in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research & Development for over 20 years, after earning his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. During his tenure with EPA, Ray has established an expertise in sustainability by performing research in the areas of life cycle assessment, biofuels, industrial ecology, process design, sustainability indicators, optimization, and decision making. His most recent research is on the material flow analysis of plastics, with emphasis on modeling recycling processes, resource use, and environmental releases. Other recent work focuses on exposure and risk assessments, where he develops methods for rapidly estimating releases for chemicals from manufacturing processes. He has over 45 peer-reviewed publications and has reviewed research proposals, books, and articles for over a dozen different journals. He’s on the editorial board of Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy. He has organized technical conferences and mentored several students. In 2018 he chaired the International Congress on Sustainable Science and Engineering, and in 2019 he became a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Lise Laurin
CEO of EarthShift Global
Lise Laurin, CEO of EarthShift Global, has been working for over 20 years to support enterprises in their endeavor to reduce social and environmental impacts. With EarthShift Global, she has focused on Sustainability Return on Investment (S-ROI) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as tools for measuring sustainability. She was the driving force behind the LCA Capability Roadmap. She is a pioneer in S-ROI, having broadened the scope from the original Total Cost Assessment methodology to include benefits and impacts to society, and in particular how a decision can be adapted to be a win-win-win solution for all stakeholders. Her focus is on building capacity in industry and government, providing software tools, training, and consulting. She was awarded the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA). She is the Treasurer of the Sustainability Conoscente Network, a member of the SETAC North American LCA Interest Group Steering Committee, a member of the board of directors of the ACLCA and a member of the AIChE Institute for Sustainability Managing Board. She brings to this effort over 20 years in semiconductors and electronics. and holds a BS in Physics from Yale University.
Paulina Jaramillo
Professor of Engineering and Pulibc Policy at Carnegie Mellon University
Originally from Medellin - Colombia, Paulina Jaramillo is a naturalized citizen of the U.S., where she has lived more than half her life. She is currently a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Jaramillo is also the co-director of the Green Design Institute at CMU, a fellow of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and Research at CMU, and a research affiliate of the Kigali Collaborative Research Center. She also holds a courtesy appointment in CMU Africa. Finally, Jaramillo is a lead author for the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report as part of Working Group III. Jaramillo’s past research focused on life cycle assessment of energy systems with an emphasis on climate change impacts and mitigation research. As a professor at CMU, she is currently involved in multi-disciplinary research projects to better understand the social, economic, and environmental implications of policy-driven changes in the operations of the energy system. Over the past five years, her research and education efforts have expanded to include issues related to energy access and development in the Global South. She has also worked to incorporate values and beliefs in energy planning in historically disenfranchised communities and to understand the implications of energy access in gender equity.