A student-run hydroponic farm located in Condon Hall, Project Indoor Farm (Project IF) has provided a demonstration of indoor vertical farming as well as creating a community centered around research, engagement, and sustainable agriculture. Project IF has grown to engage more than 50 students each year, who have helped grow 17 different types of crops over the past three years. These members learn the skills and knowledge necessary to grow their own food in a sustainable and regenerative manner, and foster relationships with regular potluck dinners and sharing the harvested plants. Project IF also hosts events where people share information on food systems, as well as presenting in classes and other educational outreach. Project IF has created a welcoming space for anyone interested in sustainable food systems to learn, form connections, and advance sustainable farming.
Husky Sustainability Awards 2025
The Husky Sustainability Awards recognize individuals and groups across all University of Washington campuses who lead the way for sustainability at the University of Washington. This is the 16th year awards have been given by the UW Environmental Stewardship Committee.
The Husky Sustainability Awards are given to students, faculty and staff from the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses who show impact, initiative and leadership around sustainability. The 2025 recipients are:
Project Indoor Farm (Project IF)
UW Medicine Supply Chain Department
The UW Medicine Supply Chain Department plays an important role as UW Medicine works to reduce its carbon footprint. The department spearheaded a single-use device reprocessing program which has diverted 355 tons of waste from landfills, recycled over $50,000 in precious metals, and achieved $1M in annual growth, totaling $28M in cost avoidance and savings since 2018. They developed an Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP) Policy for UW Medicine, and incorporated a sustainability questionnaire and language into all contracts. Inventory optimization efforts have helped reduce the amount of expired and wasted products. They also ensure broad buy-in through data-driven decision-making, transparent communication, and strong business cases grounded in Supply Chain’s Value Analysis and Quality Assurance programs. UW Medicine Supply Chain has shared their insights at regional and national conferences to help other institutions in their sustainability efforts and has won the Stryker Sustainability Solutions Healthy Hospital Platinum and Gold Awards. Through innovative programs, tireless collaboration, and a deeply mission-driven approach, the UW Medicine Supply Chain Management team has shown what’s possible when sustainability is treated as a core value - not an afterthought.
Angelina Durbin
As the Food Recovery Coordinator at the UW Food Pantry, Angelina Durbin has demonstrated a deep commitment to sustainability and food justice. In her year in the role, she has expanded the scale and scope of the food recovery program in ways that have transformed its reach and impact while achieving the highest-ever totals for both the volume and monetary value of food gleaned in a single academic year. In addition to increasing the volume of food recovered, Angelina has made it a priority to expand access to convenient, ready-to-eat foods, helping students grab nutritious options they can eat between classes without preparation. She has also approached her role with a systems-level perspective, identifying broader issues in food waste across campus. Her work has laid a strong foundation for future food recovery efforts and inspired others to think critically about how we can create a more equitable and sustainable campus.
Erin Edlund
Erin Edlund is the student lead of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) student chapter and has fostered a community of students passionate about clean energy by organizing workshops, company visits, and networking events that emphasize sustainable practices. Beyond outreach, Erin has also been deeply involved in research efforts that align with UW’s sustainability goals. She is currently collaborating with UW Facilities on the Green Buildings Demonstration Project, focusing on reducing airflow rates in chemical fume hoods to improve energy efficiency in campus laboratories. She is also part of the Sensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory (SEAL), contributing to projects focused on reducing energy waste through real-time monitoring and control systems. Her ability to lead with purpose, inspire others, and connect sustainable engineering practices to real-world impact exemplifies the kind of leadership that drives lasting change.
Faith Lambert
Faith Lambert has been deeply involved in sustainability efforts at UW Bothell. She re-established the Alliance 4 Sustainability, UWB’s sustainability student club which had been inactive, with an aim to revitalize student-led sustainability advocacy. Under her leadership, A4S has directly engaged with the UWB community by hosting events and working to expand sustainability student opportunities. She assisted in creating two key committees focused on advocating for more sustainability in the curriculum and pushed for the establishment of a Campus Sustainability Fund at UWB to support student-driven projects and initiatives. Faith's ability to unite people around a shared vision, create actionable plans, and implement those plans has been crucial in cultivating sustainability at UWB. She also worked in the UW Bothell sustainability office, engaging the student community through special projects, marketing and outreach. Some of her projects included assisting with Earth Month events, creating social media posts and helping with data reporting. She has demonstrated resilience and dedication even in the face of challenges, ensuring that sustainability remains a top priority on campus presently and will continue in the future.
Ivy Fangyu Lin
Dr. Ivy Fangyu Lin is passionate about climate action and is working to advance environmental sustainability within the UW School of Dentistry. She has successfully implemented multiple initiatives in the School of Dentistry to increase awareness regarding the environmental impact of dental care and how climate events impact the health of patients and communities. She helped found School of Dentistry’s Climate Action and Sustainability Team, which performed a waste audit to measure the number and weight of commonly-used dental products, started monthly newsletters and events to support sustainability, and has worked to incorporate sustainability into the School of Dentistry curriculum. Beyond the UW, she is the chair-elect of the American Dental Education Association's Sustainability in Dentistry Special Interest Group and is a Climate Taskforce member with the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. Dr. Lin is working to increase awareness and stimulate interest among the dental community about environmental impacts of dentistry, incorporate sustainability into the pre-doc curriculum, and increasing research related to environmental sustainability in dentistry.
Judy Bowes
Judy Bowes has led a multi-phase, student-powered initiative to address bird-building collisions on the University of Washington campus, advancing biodiversity, sustainable design, and environmental justice. Her work not only addresses a serious biodiversity issue but integrates education, equity, and community participation. She used the information collected in her work to create Bird Friendly Campus Design Standards which are included in the UW’s Green Building Standards site. Her team also created the first bird-building collisions app, Avian Impact, to help support other schools and organizations who are wanting to collect data and implement change on their campus. Bowes' work has elevated bird-safe design as a campus priority and empowered a new generation of students to lead sustainability efforts.
Katelyn Doan
Katelyn Doan is the Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) undergraduate group lead at the Sensors Energy Automation Laboratory (SEAL). As a the group lead, she oversees about 30 students and has led numerous energy and waste assessments for small to medium-sized manufacturers across the Pacific Northwest. She has used her Industrial and Systems Engineering background to help facilities implement process improvements, supporting energy savings while also fostering a culture of continuous improvement, helping them become more energy efficient and sustainable in the long term. These projects have led to measurable reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions in industries such as aerospace, agriculture, and wastewater management. By fostering collaboration and providing real-world experience, she has helped cultivate the next generation of environmental leaders.
Polly Olsen (Yakama)
The Director of Diversity, Equity, Access, Inclusion & Decolonization at the Burke Museum, Polly Olsen has co-led the Burke Meadow Team since 2019. The team is a collaboration of students, faculty, and staff who work to monitor, care, and steward the meadow as a 'living exhibit' of the Burke that represents a deeply rooted connection to indigenous knowledge and cultural practice. The meadow is home to a curated collection of native plants (including camas) that have been of particular importance for indigenous communities in the region for sustenance, medicinal, cultural, and spiritual reasons and represent a rapidly disappearing, yet critical, habitat type that has been lost to fire suppression management strategies and development. Among many of the sustainability successes of this work are the 'baskets' that are annually woven by students under the direction of indigenous weavers to protect the flowering camas plants from browsing by the meadow's rabbit neighbors. Other activities include the first cultural burn of meadow habitat on the UW campus, the design and construction of pollinator habitat, seed and plant collection, and the first, upcoming cultural harvest of camas on campus. Throughout the collaboration Polly has been a consummate elder for the team providing deep thought, experience, wisdom, and most importantly care for the team and the meadow. Her interest in advancing the learning and understanding of indigenous knowledge extends well beyond the stewardship of the meadow and is centered in building community.
Legacy winner: Mark Kirschenbaum
Mark Kirschenbaum has been the Assistant Director of Campus Utilities overseeing the UW’s Power Plant for 30 years. In this role he has ensured reliable and efficient operations of the Plant, which supplies heating, air conditioning and emergency power for the Seattle campus. Kirschenbaum has a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity when it comes to finding ways to transform the plant, and has been part of current efforts to improve resiliency and find a path toward a zero-carbon future. He has been the face of the Plant for many outreach efforts, including teaching courses and unknown hundreds of tours over the years where he shares information about the current operations of the power plant, as well as historic context. Over the past few years, he’s led a new version of the tours which provide a focus on how lessons from the history of our energy systems help drive what should and should not change as we look to a zero-carbon future.
The primary function of the Power Plant is to generate steam for heating campus buildings, using large natural gas-powered boilers. Kirschenbaum recently oversaw a Power Plant resiliency project which upgraded the boilers, increased efficiency and led to a 12% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Through his outreach efforts, Kirschenbaum has influenced generations of UW graduates and educated them on the complexities of energy infrastructure and the importance of looking forward. He is currently planning to retire this Fall, but his long leadership will continue to have an impact on our campus operations.