Sustainability Careers Meet & Greet

Monday, Oct. 23

HUB 340 | 3:30 p.m.

(please note the room change to HUB 340)

Presentations on sustainability careers with representatives from the business, non-profit, government and education sectors, followed by a meet and greet for students to talk with the speakers. Presenters speak briefly on their organizations but also on their individual career paths. This event is for students in all majors who are interested in learning how to connect their career path with sustainability.

Presenters

Emily NewcomerEmily Newcomer, Waste Management

Emily recently re-joined the Waste Management team after spending 5 years at the University of Washington overseeing its recycling and solid waste program. During her previous tenure at Waste Management, Emily was the public education manager and worked closely with our city partners to develop creative waste diversion educational materials and outreach programs.

In her current role at Waste Management, Emily manages municipal contracts in East King County and Seattle and works closely with city partners to ensure that all aspects of contract performance meet and exceed our customer’s expectations. Emily serves as a liaison between city staff and internal Waste Management departments to provide solutions-oriented customer service and implement new, effective programming and initiatives.

With over twelve years' experience in the recycling and solid waste industry, Emily brings a wealth of experience and passion to her role. She has had the good fortune of launching educational campaigns and sustainability initiatives at both the municipal level and on college campuses, and has also led several teams to implement successful sustainability programs while maintaining efficient operations.

Blair GriffinBlair Griffin, IslandWood

Blair Griffin serves as a IslandWood's Community Education Manager, overseeing a variety of informal environmental education programs aiming to deepen an individual's relationship with their natural and cultural communities. As a kid growing up in a family, he moved often from state to state. Gaining a sense of connection to each new place helped to develop his own interests in identity as it ties to the natural world. After double majoring in International Studies and Environmental studies at a small liberal arts college, he went into the field of environmental education and hasn't looked back since. He has since completed IslandWood's Graduate Program in Education for Environment and Community, and his Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at UW. For the past seven years he has worked with not only IslandWood's programs for the public, but also mentored graduate students in finding their own paths as educators for sustainability.

 

Sean SchmidtSean Schmidt, UW Sustainability
Sean Schmidt is the Sustainability Specialist at UW Sustainability where he focuses on tri-campus sustainability reporting, student engagement, and advancement. Sean has been passionate about applying the principles of sustainability to both his personal and professional life for over 30 years. Sean earned Bachelor of Science degrees at UW in Psychology (Animal Behavior) and Environmental Studies (Conservation Biology) in 1995 and a Master of Arts in Policy Studies from UW Bothell in 2009 focused on sustainable development and wildlife conservation finance. 
 
Sean spent almost 14 years at Nordstrom where he created and launched their initial Sustainable Business & Development program. After Nordstrom, Sean co-founded the Sustainable Style Foundation that worked across 15 design industries to promote sustainability. Sean later spearheaded several sustainability initiatives while working in healthcare and research administration at UW including Sustainability and Medicine (SAM) and the Multidisciplinary Efforts for Sustainability in Healthcare (MESH). In addition, Sean studied snow leopards in India and sandhill cranes in Cuba with Earthwatch, became an international expert in Russian Venture Capital Funds for a brief time, and was the Associate Director of a UW research center focused on Native health for almost two years.

 

2017 SustainableUW Festival