Danielle Rourke is a Dell Technologies Senior Higher Education Strategist who brings extensive leadership and technology skills, having worked in a variety of disciplines and industries. Prior to joining Dell Technologies, Danielle served as an Associate Director of Information Technology for the University of Colorado Boulder, where she championed new and innovative methods of utilizing technology to make education more accessible to under-served student populations. A technologist and analyst at heart, Danielle's true passion is helping broker technological solutions to help students, staff, and faculty across the globe engage more fully in the power of education.
Tayler FearnTayler is a student at UVU finishing up her sophomore year in Bioinformatics. In addition to her love for Biology and Computer Science, she has a passion for sustainability. This passion comes from her upbringing in Vancouver, Canada where environmental sustainability is heavily emphasized. This passion grew as she learned how climate change affects the world at large and especially third-world countries. This passion has led her to be involved with planning the summit and doing research with professor Lauren Brooks to decrease water usage at UVU. She hopes the summit allows for people’s passion to help the environment be increased and that they can form meaningful relationships with others who have a similar passion.
Thomas H. Bretz is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Utah Valley University, where he is also the Environmental Ethics Fellow at the Center for the Study of Ethics and the coordinator for the Environmental Studies Minor. He is involved with various sustainability efforts on campus such as the sustainability committee, the planning of UVU's yearly Sustainability Week as well as the Environmental Ethics Symposium. His research agenda is overall characterized by a concern with inclusive, just and sustainable communities. Specifically, he investigates the possibility of norms and practices that allow for reciprocal relationships between and among humans and non-humans (including so-called inanimate beings). To pursue this project, he relies on research in environmental philosophy & ethics, phenomenology, anthropology, disability theory, feminist theory as well as North American Indigenous philosophy. He regularly teaches classes on environmental philosophy such as environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, climate change or animal ethics.
Title: Associate Professor, Philosophy and Humanities, co-director environmental studies, environmental ethics fellow at UVU’s Center for the Study of Ethics
Dr. Hill is a broadly prepared cognitive developmentalist who studies lifespan changes in cognition. She’s an internationally recognized scholar on teaching and learning in higher education and an award-winning educator who incorporates culturally relevant and learner-centered teaching across delivery modalities. A prolific grant writer and published author, she teaches general psychology, cognitive psychology, research methods, as well as graduate and undergraduate seminars in the teaching of psychology. As a strong advocate for women leaders, she co-created the Utah Women's Leadership Exchange. Dr. Hill won UVU’s Presidential Award of Excellence for leadership in 2022 for her work developing women leaders at UVU and throughout the state of Utah. She has been appointed as UVU’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow for Student Success, and focuses on how to provide equitable access to education for marginalized groups. She is currently the Director of Project-Based Learning within the Innovation Academy.
Title: Director of Project-Based Learning; Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Fellow for Student Success; and Associate Professor of Psychology.
Meaghan McKasy (Ph.D. University of Utah) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Utah Valley University. She is the Major Coordinator for the Public Relations and Strategic Communication major and she teaches courses such as Communication Research Methods, Crisis Communication, Environmental Communication, and Media Literacy. Her three-part research program examines (a) how communication theories and methods are tested in, and are affected by, the rapidly changing communication environment; (b) strategic communication and public opinion of science and environmental issues; and (c) how discrete emotions and humor affect information processing and attitude formation. She has published in the journals Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and more. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Meaghan has called Utah home since 2009. She enjoys being outdoors skiing, mountain biking, swimming, and hiking.
Valentina Ramirez is an environmental studies major and the Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility Impact Fellow for the Center for Social Impact. Valentina is a 2022 Design for Impact winner after designing a website prototype prioritizing and protecting indigenous land defenders in the global south when fighting against climate change. Valentina is passionate about analyzing oppressive systems and creating solutions that prioritize indigenous activism.
Title: Social Impact fellow
Dr. Weihong Wang is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Earth Science at Utah Valley University. She graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include anthropogenic impact on wetland ecosystems, GIS and remote sensing applications, and energy and sustainability. Her current research is focusing on assessing nutrient loading to Utah Lake and its correlation with algal blooms, and land use and land cover classification within the Utah Lake Watershed using GIS-remote sensing techniques.
Title: PhD, FHEA, Associate Professor & Chair, Earth Science
Sarah has long been an active community volunteer. After founding the City of Orem’s Natural Resources Stewardship Committee in 2016, she joined the UVU Sustainability Committee as a City liaison. Inspired by dedicated advocates on the Utah Valley Clean Air Task Force, she established the Utah County Sustainability Coalition (UCSC) in 2019. With 19 years as a stay-at-home mom, Sarah returned to school and will graduate next month from the University of Utah with an MS in International Affairs and Global Enterprise, emphasis in environmental diplomacy. She joined the UVU family in fall of 2022 as the Sustainability Outreach Program Manager.
Don Jarvis is Provo Mayor’s Sustainability Adviser, Chair of Provo City Sustainability Committee, and Secretary of Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Clean Air Task Force. He is a member of Utah Citizens Counsel, Provo Rotary, and Provo City’s Agriculture Commission. He publishes occasional guest editorials in Utah County’s Daily Herald newspaper.
Don is a retired BYU Professor of Russian, former Russia Moscow and Russia Yekaterinburg mission president and former LDS humanitarian missionary in Belarus. He lived and worked enough in Russia and Eastern Europe to deeply appreciate a free press, citizen activism, and democracy.
Quinn is chair of the Orem Natural Resources Stewardship Committee, a citizen committee that advises the city on sustainability issues. He previously served on the Utah County Good Governance Advisory Board and is active in a range of municipal issues. Quinn is Associate Director for Research and Academic Programs at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University. He is an Associate Professor of Political Science at BYU and has had a career in the private, public, and educational sectors, focusing on organizational development and international policy.
Todd Munger is the Environmental Sustainability and Recovery Director for Lehi City, Utah. Todd directs a 15 member citizen committee that promotes environmental stewardship for the residents of Lehi. Prior to his position as the Environmental Sustainability Director, Todd worked as the DirectorPublic Works for Lehi. In 2019, Mayor Mark Johnson commissioned the Environmental Sustainability and Recovery position, and asked Todd to direct it. Todd’s focus as director is to enable Lehi citizens the opportunity to become better environmental stewards through educational outreach, and participation in environmental projects.
Hannah Salzl is the Sustainability Coordinator and a Long-range Planner for Provo City. She previously worked as a Policy Analyst for Provo’s City Council. Hannah has a Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University, where she also received a bachelor’s degree in History and trained as a legal mediator. Although she has lived and studied in Cambridge, United Kingdom; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Changzhou, China; she is a Utah County native, born and raised. When she’s not working, Hannah enjoys hiking, board games, and chasing after her one-year-old son.
Susan Wilson, Chairwoman for the Lehi City Environmental Sustainability Committee, has lived in Lehi for 32 years and is a graduate of Brigham Young University. While raising her four children with her husband Chad, they visited many national parks which made her aware of the challenges that our natural resources face. This inspired her to become involved in bettering her environment and, with a little encouragement from her son who is currently working on his Masters of Environmental Policy degree, she became a member of the Lehi City Environmental Sustainability Committee (LCES). The mission of LCES is to educate the Lehi citizens on environmental issues that affect the community. In 2021, Lehi City received the award for “Utah Recycler of the Year”. The education efforts of LCES helped Lehi citizens improve their recycling practices, saving the city $251,408. Susan strongly believes that if each person does their small part, together we will make a big difference.
Kaile Akina is the Outreach Program Director for the Center for Social impact and a Community Health Worker/Advocate for the Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources non-profit in Salt Lake City. She’s most passionate about art and activism, building safe communities for QTBIPOC folks, and making joy and rest a priority when disrupting oppressive systems. If you are interested in collaborating with community partners or learning more about grassroots partnerships, please message her on teams to schedule a 1:1.
Jeremiah attended Utah State University for a B.A. in Communications and PR, Gonzaga University for a Master’s in Communications and Organization Leadership, and The University of Memphis for a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership. Jeremiah is most passionate about the student experience, and his research in the past has centered around qualitative methodology focusing on the lived experiences of students. In his current role with e2i, he is focused on finding real-world projects for students to work on that will allow them to follow their passions and be more prepared to enter a job market in their future.
Title: Jeremiah Harrison, Director, Excellence and Innovation Initiative (e2i)
Michael T. Stevens is a Professor of Biology and the Director of Capitol Reef Field Station at Utah Valley University (UVU). He received a PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught at California State University, Stanislaus, before coming to UVU. As a plant ecologist, he studies how plants interact with their environment and how such interactions affect the expression of plant traits and patterns of plant growth and distribution. Michael’s research has included studies of native trees and shrubs, invasive species, and endangered plants. In addition to his research in plant ecology, Michael also studies perceptions of crowding among national-park visitors, field-station partnerships between universities and national parks, and the roles that Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) play in higher education.
Gabriel is a UVU graduate with a Philosophy, Religious Studies and Software Development background. He is a web developer at Virginia Tech interested in applied ethics, technology policy and sociotechnical systems.
Adobe is committed to minimizing our impact on the environment through both our operations and our products. Here in Utah, we take pride in our LEED-certified building and achieving 100% renewable energy. As Lehi’s Sustainability Champion, I engage our 2000+ workforce with learning opportunities and activities - from how to compost and track down energy vampires, to planting waterwise native seeds and tackling Utah’s clean air challenges. With a background in Environmental Communication and hundreds of hours volunteering with local non-profits, I love to inspire my colleagues to be more “green.”
Trent currently serves as the VP of Global Sustainability and Transparency at Nature's Sunshine, where he leads the sustainability strategy across the company to ensure a positive environmental impact across all operations. His focus has been on advancing the company's climate action plan, furthering ethical sourcing initiatives, minimizing packaging requirements, and driving operational efficiencies. Prior to his current role he was the Head of Supply Chain. Trent holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and a master's degree in Business Administration.
Deven Patten is a sustainability professional having worked in the consumer goods and building materials industries. As a native Utahn, he is an avid outdoorsman, spending much of his free time with his wife and 4 sons enjoying the naturescapes of Utah and surrounding states. Deven is passionate about educating others on methods and the importance of reducing wasteful consumption, doing more with our precious, limited resources and preserving the amazing environment we are all part of. Recently, he has been working closely with colleagues at several other large organizations establishing the Utah Sustainable Business Coalition, a group dedicated to advancing sustainable business practices and developing a community of skilled sustainability professionals in Utah. Deven holds a Masters of Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University.
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Katelyn is BanQu’s Chief of Staff, leading the team’s marketing, sustainability, and partnership strategies. She has more than a decade of experience spanning non-profits, corporations, and start-ups. She’s skilled in sustainability, human rights, and economic empowerment program design and management. She holds an MA in International Affairs from The Elliott School at George Washington University and a BA in History from Brigham Young University.
Dr. Fern Caka has been on the faculty of UVU since 2001. She received a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Brigham Young University. Her research focus is air pollution chemistry. She served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2015-2019. She currently is an Associate Dean in the College of Science.
Director - Campus Services
Director - Grounds
Food Access Program Manager- CARE Hub
Kinsey works to decrease food insecurity at UVU and oversees the various programs to address food insecurity on campus. Those include the UVU Food Pantry, Fresh Food Fridays, Emergency Meals, Mobile Food Pantry and more.
Program Director - Outdoor Adventure Center; Chair, Bicycle Committee
Assistant Director - Physical Plant
Composting Specialist - Grounds
Lab Manager - Biology Department
Assistant Director - Custodial Services
Dr. Shurtleff received a PhD in physical chemistry from Brigham Young University. He did post-doctoral research in Materials Science at the University of Utah. He also received a MBA from the Marriott School. He is an associate professor of chemistry at Utah Valley University. He has been teaching and doing research at UVU for the past 11 years. Before UVU, he spent 25 years in industry, taking technologies from the laboratory into the marketplace. He’s worked in the energy, material science, environmental chemistry, and electrochemistry fields for the past 35 years. Dr. Shurtleff is a serial entrepreneur. He has started five companies. He is married to a UVU math professor. He has 7 adult children and 9 grandchildren.
