UNH Sustainability Institute

Our Sustainability Fellowships program has officially launched! 49 tenacious Fellows are working with regional organizations on projects that positively impact the environment and society. Throughout the process, they receive mentorship from sustainability leaders within the host organizations and team members here at the Sustainability Institute. With expert-level guidance, Fellows are using their unique backgrounds and knowledge to solve some of our most pressing issues and add capacity and fresh thinking for our partner hosts. We're grateful to all of our community partners for providing our Fellows with these opportunities to gain skills for the future, and thank you to all of our esteemed mentors and team members who all make this possible. This is going to be another great summer and we're excited to showcase the Fellows' work! Stay tuned... Fiona Wilson, Dovev Levine, Ciara Tennis, Zack Angelini, Cassidy Yates, EIT, Adam Kohler, PE, Jonathan Gagne, Megan Carney, Shannon Rogers, Susan Kaplan, MBA

Today, we want to spotlight Dr. Stephanie Brockmann, Assistant Professor at Paul College, for her impactful research on the interactions between people and the environment. Read about it here! https://bit.ly/3KV23Cv Supported by the UNH Sustainability Awards, Dr. Brockmann recently conducted fieldwork in Costa Rica, focusing on sustainable coffee production in agroforestry systems. She engaged with local stakeholders and farmers to understand their decision-making and challenges in adopting sustainable practices. Her research shows that sustainable practices can bring unexpected economic benefits. For example, by utilizing natural pest control from biodiversity, small agricultural producers can increase productivity and income. This highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability. During her trip, Dr. Brockmann observed the crucial link between pest control and biodiversity, essential for coffee farmers facing pests like the coffee berry borer. Her interactions with farmers provided valuable insights and opened new research paths in cocoa production. Dr. Brockmann plans to expand her research to include more farmers in various less-developed economies, addressing issues like climate change mitigation and reforestation. Her dedication to these challenges offers hope for sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Leadership Transitions: I'm honored and massively excited to be stepping into the role of Chief Sustainability Officer for the University of New Hampshire and Executive Director of the UNH Sustainability Institute as of today, July 1, 2024. I'm succeeding Dr. Tom Kelly, a trailblazer, who was instrumental in the founding of the UNH Sustainability Institute, and nurturing and developing it for over a quarter of a century. His work (and that of many other colleagues at UNH and beyond) laid the path for the powerful platform we have today. I have deep admiration for Tom and grateful to him for all he established. Together with the team of passionate and dedicated experts that I'm fortunate to work alongside, our UNH Sustainability Advisory Board, and an incredible group of alumni, students, staff and faculty across UNH, I'm looking forward to maintaining and growing UNH's national and international excellence in sustainability, and, most importantly, continuing to innovate and expand our impact - here in NH, the region and beyond. Its particularly meaningful to move into this leadership role at a time when the need to create a sustainable, equitable and resilient future has never been more important or urgent. Here's to what we can do together! #sustainableunh #sustainability Elisabeth Farrell Jennifer Andrews Cathy Meyer Alexis Dwyer Jade Chalkley Jackelyn Harris Kathryn Jerome Susan McDonough Ciara Tennis Nicole Tocco Cardwell Shane Rogers Colleen Jennings Stacey Purslow Karen Spiller Dovev Levine Erin Hardie Hale Betty J. Woodman, PhD Ned Dane, CAIA Katie Bouton Deborah Merrill-Sands Ed Farrington, AIF® Kate Dumas, CFA Michael Burns Andre Beaupre Liz Torrance Atlanta McIlwraith Greg Jansen Phil Meldrum Clara Miller Austin Perea Ted Lague Topher Mallory Robert Bean Shaun McHugh Jason McBriarty Alexandra McPherson Harry Lamberton

Happy to share some exciting outcomes of partnering with Mexicali Blues, a local family-owned, clothing company dedicated to sustainability. Mexicali Blues participated in our B Impact Clinic last fall and worked with a team of student consultants to complete the B Impact Assessment and help them work toward becoming B Corp Certified. They ethically source handmade clothes and accessories from around the world, building strong relationships with their vendors. Their mission is to empower these communities and share meaningful experiences with customers. These are just some of the things that the B Corp Assessment considers. This spring they also participated in our Climate Action Clinic where a student team collaborated with them to track their greenhouse gas emissions. Completing a full carbon analysis allows organizations like Mexicali Blues to set and achieve tangible goals for emission reduction. Through the Clinics, our students are gaining valuable skills and organizations are making a sustainable impact – a win for students, companies, communities, and the planet. Check out their story and the role a UNH alum is playing in it: https://lnkd.in/ekVPsyH7 A big thank you to our students and community partners for making this collaboration a success! Fiona Wilson, Jennifer Andrews, Topher Mallory, Chauncey Erskine, Ellis Tonkin, Olivia Audet, and Aaron Eaton

Check out Granite Goodness, where Andy D. interviews and spotlights the good work happening in New Hampshire. The first ten episodes just dropped. I'm in this episode, but check out the others too... with Dovev Levine, Allyson Ryder, Fiona Wilson, Jules Good, Zack Angelini, Marisa Rafal, Ian Grant and many others! #changemakers University of New Hampshire UNH Sustainability Institute ReVision Energy

Thrilled to see this dream come true! Hisani Foundation Tanzania was born from connections made throughout Lauren's UNH education and travels and Abu and Ann's openness to give back. Please give what you can and support a new NGO. https://gofund.me/0cc03cc6 #unhchangemakers Fiona Wilson Cathy Meyer University of New Hampshire UNH Sustainability Institute UNH Alumni UNH Social Work Thank you Sharon Runge of Kenya Connect for helping dreamers make their dreams come true.

This spring, Anne E. Richardson served as a business advisor at the UNH B Impact Clinic through the UNH Sustainability Institute. Working with a team of fellow impact-driven business leaders (Mariah Morgan of Stout Heart and Benn Marine & Brittany A. of Campfire), Anne and her students guided hey freya through the B Impact Assessment, a tool that companies use to measure their impact and earn B Corp certification. Congratulations to the student team and hey freya on the completion of a successful B Impact Clinic semester! 🎓🎉 #bimpactassessment #bcorp #businessforgood #unh #businessleaders

In a new teaching model this spring, an incredible community of local B Corp business leaders and past UNH B Impact Clinic company clients have stepped forward to help us teach the clinic and mentor our students. This kind of engagement by the business community — working in a hands-on way to inspire and train the next generation of leaders — truly embodies an inherent value of the B Corp movement that sets B Corps apart: collective action and community engagement for a sustainable and equitable future. Check out this article where extraordinary business leaders share their insights on instructing the clinic and mentoring future sustainability leaders. We're grateful to these leaders: • Brittany A., Impact Strategist, Campfire Consulting, and Benn Marine, Director of Social and Environmental Impact, Campfire Consulting. • Mariah Morgan, Principal, Stout Heart • Anne E. Richardson, Owner and Media Director, Richardson Media Group, Inc. https://lnkd.in/eU-cYb3e Fiona Wilson, Kathryn (Kat) Hand, Alexis Dwyer

Today we’re uplifted by and feeling deep gratitude for your record-breaking support of our changemaker students! This feels especially important this year as we continue to see previous global records being shattered by record degrees of global warming, heat, ocean temperatures, wildfires, flooding, drought, and more.   It’s been our most successful 603 Challenge ever! 138 donors donated and unlocked an additional $153,000 from our generous underwriters: UNH’s Sustainability Advisory Board, as well as the Josephine A. Lamprey Designated Fund at New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Larrea Family Foundation. Your gifts will help us graduate thousands of passionate UNH changemakers who are becoming well equipped with the skills, experience, and confidence to be part of the solutions for a sustainable and equitable world.    On behalf of our students and staff, THANK YOU!   #UNH603 Fiona Wilson Alexis Dwyer Kathryn Jerome Katie Bouton Ned Dane, CAIA Deborah Merrill-Sands Harry Lamberton Shaun McHugh Robert Bean Atlanta McIlwraith Kate Dumas, CFA Michael Burns Jason McBriarty Phil Meldrum Liz Torrance Andre Beaupre Greg Jansen Austin Perea Ed Farrington, AIF®  Clara Miller Alexandra McPherson Diana Keohane

Today's the day to rep the Granite State! The NH Numbers Bonus Challenge is back! The first 1500 donors who make an online (603) Challenge gift today in a total amount containing the numerals 6, 0 and 3 (in any order i.e. $6.03 or $360) will have a $50 bonus added to their gift. Your gifts are supporting programs like our Sustainability Institute Internship program, which is only possible by annual fundraising gifts from people like you! The interns’ work is part of what makes UNH’s approach to sustainability unique: as students, they have the opportunity to work alongside sustainability professionals, play an active role in shaping UNH’s nation-leading sustainability practices, and develop tangible and valuable experience for their future careers. This year, intern projects span research, project design and implementation, outreach and engagement and are being undertaken with collaboration, guidance and support from staff partners across campus. Feedback from this year’s interns demonstrates their passion and action: "I love feeling like I am part of a greater sustainability effort! Being able to help empower other students to learn more and be more active in creating a sustainable community has been one of my greatest opportunities at UNH."   "The internship has allowed me to see how large-scale zero-waste projects can be carried out while developing my skills in budgeting, stakeholder collaboration, and overall project management."   Give today and rep the 603! #UNH603 Fiona Wilson Alexis Dwyer Kathryn Jerome