Colleagues

From faculty to students, there are many social impact and sustainability colleagues at Ross and the University of Michigan at large. Find like-minded impact advocates and resources in the sections below. Need another kind of resource? You may find it in our Careers section.

Search Ross Colleagues

SongHa Hailey Lee

MBA (’26)
songha@umich.edu

Aaron Slater

MBA (’26)
ajslater@umich.edu

Winter Brooks

MBA (’26)
winbrook@umich.edu

Natalie Ricklefs

MBA (’26)
ncrick@umich.edu

Jocelyn May

MBA (’26)
jocemay@umich.edu

Dominique F. Gill

MBA (’26)
dfgill@umich.edu

Alexandra Maxwell

MBA (’26)
alexmax@umich.edu

Hanyu Zhao

MBA (’26)
hanyz@umich.edu

Naya Whang

MBA (’26)
nwhang@umich.edu

Soha Vaziri

MBA (’26)
sohavaz@umich.edu

Amidat Sonekan

MBA ('26)
amidat@umich.edu

Pei-Hua Yu

MBA ('26)
peihuayu@umich.edu

Sudhanvi Konuthula

MBA ('26)
sudhanvi@umich.edu

Felipe Sahb Furtado

(MBA ' 26)
ffurtado@umich.edu

Apil Sanyashi

(BBA '26)
sanyashi@umich.edu

Ariana Almas

Senior Program Manager of Incubation and Research, Microsoft
arianana@umich.edu

Karen Biddle Andres

Director, Inclusive Saving and Investing - Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
karenbiddleandres@gmail.com

Sam Ashley

Strategy Consulting - BCG San Francisco
swashley@umich.edu

Ava Damri

Human Capital Manager - Deloitte Dallas/Fort Worth
avadamri@umich.edu

Ginamarie Gianandrea

Director of Transformation - Optum
gmarieg@umich.edu

Lily Hamburger

Director of Business Support Network - Invest Detroit
lilyham@umich.edu

Neesha Modi

Director of Programs and Social Investment - Kresge Foundation
nbmodi@umich.edu

Nate Rajpoot

Manager, Enterprise Strategy, IBM
nate.rajpoot@gmail.com

Paula Reinman

Franctional CMO - Marconi Society
preinman@impactful-marketing.com

Allie Schachter

Director of Development - The Flynn of Burlington, VT
schachtr@umich.edu

Charlene Franke

Analyst - Capital Innovation Lab of LISC Strategic Investments
cfranke@umich.edu

Matthew Muench

Head of Jobs and Skills - JPMorgan Chase
muench.matthew@gmail.com

Allan Afuah

Ross School of Business Professor of Strategy
afuah@umich.edu

Professor Allan Afuah has authored six books. His latest research focuses on how crowdsourcing, multi-sided platforms, and business model innovation can be used to explain how to create wealth, even in countries that have remained desperately poor despite being heavily endowed with natural resources.

Ravi Anupindi

Ross School of Business Colonel William G. and Ann C. Svetlich Professor of Operations Research and Management, Professor of Technology & Operations, Faculty Director, Center for Value Chain Innovation
anupindi@umich.edu

Professor Ravi Anupindi’s main research areas include supply chain management, strategic sourcing, supply chain risk, lean operations, supply chain sustainability, value chains for economic development and health care delivery in low and middle income countries. Under a USAID grant, he has assisted University of Johannesburg in South Africa develop a graduate degree program in Supply Chain Management.

Norm Bishara

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Business Law and Business Ethics
nbishara@umich.edu

Norm Bishara teaches business law and business ethics at the Ross School, where his research is focused on human capital law and policy, corporate governance, and corruption issues. He has previously taught nonprofit management and presented on international nonprofit and social enterprise issues with the William Davidson Institute. Professor Bishara has coached the Ross BBA nonprofit case competition team and covered social entrepreneurship, base of the pyramid, CSR, and related issues in both his BBA and graduate-level business ethics classes. He volunteers with several local nonprofits, including Growing Hope, the Neutral Zone, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Thomas Buchmueller

Ross School of Business Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Chair of Business Economics and Public Policy
tbuch@umich.edu

Professor Buchmueller is a health economist who is an expert on the economics of health insurance and related public policies. He has done extensive research on the link between health insurance and the labor market in the U.S., consumer demand for health insurance, the interaction between public policies and private insurance markets, and health care reform. He is an expert affiliate of Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan’s major initiative dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty.

Paul Clyde

Ross School of Business President, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, Tom Lantos Professor of Business Administration, Movses and Maija Kaldjian Collegiate Lecturer of Business Economics and Public Policy
pclyde@umich.edu

Professor Clyde’s recent work in emerging markets has focused on health care delivery to the poor in emerging markets. Over the past fifteen years he has advised or run 70 health-care projects in twelve different low or middle-income countries. He has worked with faculty from the Medical School, Nursing School and Law School in developing a financially self-sustainable health care business model that serves the poor.

David Hess

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Business Law
dwhess@umich.edu

David Hess’ research and teaching are in the areas of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and related corporate governance issues. He has conducted research on the governance of public pensions in the United States and in developing countries. In the near future, he plans to investigate the issues surrounding the new legal structures for hybrid organizations (e.g., low-profit, limited liability companies, etc).

Andrew J. Hoffman

Ross School of Business; School of Natural Resources & Environment Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise; Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Natural Resources; Director of Global Sustainable Enterprise
ajhoff@umich.edu

Dr. Andrew (Andy) Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan; a position that holds joint appointments at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources & Environment. Professor Hoffman’s research uses a sociological perspective to understand the cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues for organizations. In particular, he focuses on the processes by which environmental issues both emerge and evolve as social, political and managerial issues.

Aneel Karnani

Ross School of Business Professor of Strategy
akarnani@umich.edu

Professor Karnani’s interests are focused on three topics: strategies for growth, global competition, and the role of business in society. He is interested in global competition, particularly in the context of emerging economies. Karnani researches poverty reduction and the appropriate roles for the private sector, the state and civil society. He is interested in how society can strike the appropriate balance between private profits and public welfare in tackling major societal problems.

Gautam Kaul

Ross School of Business John C. and Sally S. Morley Professor of Finance
kaul@umich.edu

Dr. Gautam Kaul is the founding Managing Director of the Social Venture Fund (SvF) housed in the Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies. He has published extensively in the top journals on topics covering a wide spectrum of finance and is a leader in developing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Coursera. He was awarded the Senior Faculty Research Award for sustained, exceptional, and continuing contributions to scholarly research in the field of business, and noteworthy contributions to building and maintaining a strong research environment at the Ross School of Business.

Aradhna Krishna

Ross School of Business Dwight F. Benton Professor of Marketing
aradhna@umich.edu

Professor Aradhna Krishna’s research focuses on how sensory inputs impact consumers’ perceptions, judgements and decisions. Dr. Krishna also studies how contextual factors and design interfaces affect behavior with a focus on food and health, corporation social responsibility and donation, and voting behaviors.

Jun Li

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Technology and Operations, Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow
junwli@umich.edu

Li conducts research in empirical operations management and business analytics spanning areas across revenue management and pricing, healthcare management, supply chain risks and corporate social responsibility, and public sector operations. Her current research centers around improving the wellbeing of children and young adults through better education and care.

Ted London

Ross School of Business Ford Motor company clinical professor of business administration; Senior research fellow, William davidson institute; area chair of business administration
tlondon@umich.edu

Ted London is the Ford Motor Company Clinical Professor and Area Chair of Business Administration at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a senior research fellow at the William Davidson Institute. An internationally recognized expert on the intersection of business strategy and poverty alleviation, his research focuses on how organizations can achieve impact at scale, with a particular focus on building sustainable, scalable enterprises for low-income markets.

Thomas Lyon

Ross School of Business Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Professor of Natural Resources
tplyon@umich.edu

Professor Lyon is a leader in using economic analysis to understand corporate environmental strategy and how it is shaped by emerging government regulations, non-governmental organizations, and consumer demands. His current research focuses on corporate environmental information disclosure, greenwash, the causes and consequences of renewable energy policy, and voluntary programs for environmental improvement. His teaching experience includes energy economics and policy, environmental governance, non-market strategy, regulation, managerial economics, business and government, game theory, business strategy, and the management of innovation.

Dave Mayer

Ross School of Business Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations
dmmayer@umich.edu

Professor Mayer’s research interests concern social and ethical issues in organizations. Specifically, he conducts research in three major areas: (1) behavioral ethics, (2) organizational justice, and (3) workplace diversity. A hallmark of his research is a focus on the effects of the organizational context (e.g., leadership, coworkers, climate) on employees’ unethical and pro-social behavior.

Nigel Melville

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Technology and Operation
npmelv@umich.edu

Professor Melville has over 20 years of experience researching, teaching, and consulting on the topic of organizational transformation enabled by digital information systems. His recent research examines how the information systems field could help society and business interests make the transition to a sustainable world.

Sarah Miller

Ross School of Business Assistant Professor, Business Economics and Public Policy
mille@umich.edu

Sarah Miller is an assistant professor of business economics and public policy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Miller’s research interests are in health economics and, in particular, the short-term and long-term effects of public policies that expand health insurance coverage. In addition to her work on health economics, she is also a principal investigator in the Open Research Lab Guaranteed Income Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dana Muir

Ross School of Business Robert L. Dixon Collegiate Professor of Business, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Business Law, Area Chair of Business Law
dmuir@umich.edu

Professor Muir is a nationally recognized expert on fiduciary and remedial issues especially in the fields of investments, pension plan funding, plan investment selection and investment policies, and investment advice. She is a passionate supporter of Ross School research showing that business can play a positive role in society and the way law supports business in playing that role. Her research reaches extensively into her peer academic community (both domestically and internationally), the legal community at-large, as well as the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government. Her work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. Professor Muir was the Editor-in-Chief of the annual supplements to Employee Benefits Law, the treatise for the employee benefits field and is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel as well as a member of the College’s Board of Governors.

Amiyatosh Purnanandam

Ross School of Business Professor of Finance
amiyatos@umich.edu

Dr. Purnanandam’s research covers a wide range of topics in financial intermediation and corporate finance. His recent research work is mostly related to banking, the subprime crisis, and mortgage finance. He is especially interested in studying the role of financial regulation and markets in promoting financial inclusion and growth in minority and low income areas. He is an expert affiliate of Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan’s major initiative dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty.

Cindy Schipani

Ross School of Business Merwin H. Waterman Collegiate Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Business Law
schipani@umich.edu

Much of Professor Schipani’s research has focused on women in business leadership positions. Her research has also included analysis of directors’ duties utilizing tools of financial economics, consideration of specific issues confronting directors of financial institutions, analysis of the corporate fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, issues of liability for environmental violations and ethical links between corporate governance and sustainable peace.

Eric Schwartz

Ross School of Business Assistant Professor of Marketing
ericmsch@umich.edu

Professor Eric Schwartz’s expertise focuses on predicting customer behavior, understanding its drivers, and examining how firms actively manage their customer relationships through interactive marketing. His research in customer analytics stretches managerial applications, including online display advertising, email marketing, video consumption, and word-of-mouth. His work has taken him to Detroit and to Flint for work in the water crisis.

Jagadeesh Sivadasan

Ross School of Business Buzz and Judy Newton Professor of Business Administration, Area Chair, Business Economics and Public Policy, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
jagadees@umich.edu

Jagadeesh Sivadasan is the Buzz and Judy Newton Professor of Business Administration in the Business Economics and Public Policy group of the Ross School of Business, and a faculty associate at the Institute of Social Research, at the University of Michigan. His recent research is focused on understanding the drivers of firm growth and productivity, and worker performance and mobility. Ongoing and recent work include analysis of the effect of commute improvement on worker performance, review of the recent evolution of the retail sector in the US, analysis of firm growth patterns using a novel decomposition and data on the universe of US employers, evaluation of frictions from acquisitions-related legal doctrine on firm dynamics, and examination of the effect of non-compete laws on worker mobility.

Jim Walsh

Ross School of Business A.F. Thurnau Professor, Gerald and Esther Carey Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Management & Organizations, Professor of Strategy
jpwalsh@umich.edu

Walsh examines cross-level relationships: the influences between and among individuals, organizations, and society. Additionally, his work looks at how business leaders can make the world a better place. Broadly, how organizations enhance or undermine well-being is the study of corporate governance. His research explores the purpose, accountability, and control of the firm (and even more generally, business itself) in society.

Gwen Yu

Professor of Accounting, Michael and Joan Sakkinen Faculty Fellow, Accounting Faculty Doctoral Coordinator
gwyu@umich.edu

Gwen Yu is a professor of Accounting and Michael and Joan Sakkinen Faculty Fellow at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Prior to joining Ross, she was an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School in the Accounting and Management unit. Her research focuses on how accounting information affects various real economic outcomes, especially in an international setting. Professor Yu’s work has been published in top peer-reviewed journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and it has been cited and discussed in The New York Times, in The Financial Times, on CBS Money Watch, and in other outlets of the financial press.

Stefanie Barlow

Ross School of Business, Impact Career Services
slbarlow@umich.edu

Stefanie Barlow is an Associate Director of Career Coaching focused on guiding MBAs seeking career paths in Careers with Impact, General Management, Human Resources, Energy, and Off-Campus job search. She holds an MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from SUNY Binghamton. Throughout her professional journey, Stefanie has gained valuable experience in marketing and finance roles at renowned entertainment giants such as Disney, Viacom, and Time Warner. Over the past ten years, she has been dedicated to coaching aspiring MBA candidates, assisting them with the admissions process.

Glenn Bugala

Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, Business+Impact
gbugala@umich.edu

Glenn manages the marketing and communications for the Center. He has worked with a variety of local and national nonprofits in member services, events and marketing roles. He worked for Michigan Ross in Executive Education and the Marketing Communications prior to coming to Business+Impact. His work with nonprofits like the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Microsoft Healthcare Users Group, the Ann Arbor Symphony and Ann Arbor Civic Theatre has prepared him for the diverse offerings of the Center and the marketing channels utilized. Glenn has an MFA from Purdue and a BA from the University of Michigan.

Sarika Gupta

Managing Director, Zell Lurie Institute
sarikag@umich.edu

Sarika Gupta leads the development and execution of the Zell Lurie Institute’s student-oriented programs. In this role she also advises U-M student teams to help them advance their businesses. Sarika has extensive start-up experience as a manager, mentor, and coach. Sarika has extensive start-up experience as a manager, mentor, and coach. She served as President & CEO of Dance Telephone – a group party game, COO of V-teractive – an online gaming start-up, and Associate at MyBandStock.com – a site that delivers exclusive digital access to music fans. Additionally, she was a Senior Quantitative Research Associate at Cambridge Associates for 3 years.Sarika holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan College of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Dr. Neil C. Hawkins

B+I Executive-in-Residence, CEO & President, World Environment Center President, Michigan Sustainability Associates Research Advisor/Instructor, Harvard University

Neil Hawkins has spent a career collaborating to deﬁne a positive and impactful role for business in global sustainable development and public policy. For 31 years, he was a key leader at Dow, ultimately serving as Chief Sustainability Oﬃcer and CVP, Environment, Health, & Safety for the last twelve years – part of the top leadership of the company. After Dow, as President of Michigan’s Erb Family Foundation, a $350mm regional philanthropy, he focused over four years on improving regional arts, the Great Lakes ecosystem, promoting environmental justice, and founding the Sustainable Business Network of Detroit. Currently, he is interim CEO and President of the World Environment Center, a leading global sustainable business association in Washington, DC; President, Michigan Sustainability Associates; and Research Advisor/Instructor at Harvard University in the Master of Sustainability program. He graduated from Harvard University with a Doctor of Science in Public Health (Environmental Health Sciences) and is also an alumnus of Georgia Tech (Health Physics/Nuclear Engineering).

Michelle Hunt Bruner

Managing Director, Center for Positive Organizations
mhbruner@umich.edu

Michelle brings with her 21 years of professional service to the higher education community. Michelle earned her MA in Psychology from Wayne State University and a BA in Psychology with honors from Michigan State University. A frequent speaker on student success in higher education, she is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Executive Board Member of the Michigan American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network, Planning Committee Member of the Michigan ACE Senior-Level Leadership Shadow Program, a Member and Mentor of RISE Learning Community for Self-Identified Women of Color, and other roles.

Cat Johnson

Managing Director, Business+Impact
catjohn@umich.edu

In her role as managing director of the Business+Impact Initiative, Cat leads the team in their work across the school and the University to develop and support impact-related activities. Her career spans nonprofit, social enterprise, and higher education leadership, with a focus in workforce development. Prior to joining the Business+Impact team, Cat was Chief Operating Officer at Detroit-based social enterprise Empowerment Plan. She has also worked previously at the Ross School of Business on social enterprise and social innovation programming, and with social enterprises in the U.S. and around the world. Catherine earned a BA, MBA, and MSW from the University of Michigan.

Wendy Taylor

President and CEO, William Davidson Institute
wetaylor@umich.edu

Wendy Taylor is President and CEO of the William Davidson Institute, a non-profit affiliated with the University of Michigan dedicated to supporting businesses, entrepreneurship and market-based solutions in low- and middle-income countries. She is charged with leading the development of WDI’s strategy and steering the organization toward its next phase of growth. Taylor is an innovation leader and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience building and leading high-impact teams. Working at the intersection of public, private and not-for-profit sectors, she has founded multiple enterprises, catalyzed innovations to tackle some of the world’s toughest health challenges and leveraged market-based solutions for transformational impact. She received a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University.

Melissa Zaksek

Managing Director, Erb Institute
mzaksek@umich.edu

As Managing Director of the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, Melissa leads efforts to advance sustainable business practices and innovation through the institute’s education, research and engagement programming. With extensive experience in sustainability strategy, organizational leadership, and stakeholder engagement, Melissa plays a pivotal role in driving the Institute’s mission to create a sustainable world through the power of business.

Search Sustainability Colleagues

Want to see more than we have listed below? Search Graham Sustainability Institute experts here.

Todd Allen

Glenn F. and Gladys H. Knoll Chair and Professor, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
traumich@umich.edu

Following active duty in the US navy, Todd earned a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with specific focus on how radiation changes the physical properties of metals. Todd helped lead the Idaho National Laboratory as the Deputy Laboratory Director for Science & Technology. Since 2016 he has been a Visiting Senior Fellow with Clean Energy Program at Third Way, a Washington, DC-based think tank. Todd is the author of over 200 technical publications. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society.

Shalanda Baker

Professor of Environment and Sustainability
shalbake@umich.edu

Shalanda H. Baker is the University of Michigan’s first vice provost for sustainability and climate action. She joined the university after serving as the Director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to her appointment, she was a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. She was the co-founder and co-director of the Initiative for Energy Justice, which provides technical law and policy support to communities on the front lines of climate change.

M'Lis Bartlett

Lecturer, Environmental Justice
mlis@umich.edu

M’Lis is passionate about environmental and place-based education that incorporates issues of social justice. With over 25 years of experience as an urban environmental educator, activist, artist, and researcher in communities including New York City, Detroit, and Flint, Michigan, she is dedicated to building supportive and ethical partnerships between communities and institutions. Her research interests include participatory design, environmental education, environmental justice, and community-based participatory research.

Rosina Bierbaum

Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy
rbierbau@umich.edu

Professor and Dean Emerita Bierbaum, PhD, focuses her research on the interface of science and policy--principally on issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation at the national and international levels. She also holds an appointment in the School of Public Health at Michigan, and in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Her experience extends from climate science into foreign relations and international development.

Nina Brooks

Professor of Sustainability and Development
ninarb@umich.edu

Nina Brooks is an Assistant Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Her research seeks to document how climate change and air pollution threaten human health and well-being in the Global South and identify real-world, actionable climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. She is an interdisciplinary scholar and draws on methodological approaches from economics, epidemiology, demography, data science, and geography to investigate relationships between the environment and human health and well-being.

Bilal Butt

Professor of Environmental Justice
bilalb@umich.edu

Bilal Butt is a Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Global Health Equity, the African Studies Center, the Science, Technology and Society Program, and the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan. He is also a visiting research scientist at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mosharaf Chowdhury

Associate Professor
mosharaf@umich.edu

Michael Craig

Professor of Sustainable Systems
mtcraig@umich.edu

Michael is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed between the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. His ASSET Lab researches how to decarbonize energy systems while making those systems robust to climate change. He has received funding from several federal agencies, including an NSF CAREER Award.

Gregory Dick

Director of the Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research
gdick@umich.edu

Dr. Gregory Dick is the Director of the Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He also holds affiliations in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, and the Chemical Biology Graduate Program. Professor Dick's research focuses on the role of microorganisms in shaping environmental processes, water quality, and biogeochemistry.

Karthik Duraisamy

Professor, Aerospace Engineering
kdur@umich.edu

Professor Duraisamy’s research spans a broad spectrum of Computational Science & Engineering including new modeling approaches for complex physical systems, numerical methods, algorithms and uncertainty quantification. An overarching theme in his research involves the use of computational methods to answer scientific and engineering questions at the desired level of sophistication with an understanding of the effect of modeling uncertainties on the predicted results.

Kira Edwards

IES Program Manager
kirade@umich.edu

Kira Edwards is the Program Manager for IES. She works to facilitate energy research and coordination amongst the University of Michigan. Kira completed her Bachelor's of Science in Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. She worked in environmental consulting for a few years, working on investigations, remediation, permitting, and compliance. She then completed her Master's of Engineering in Energy Systems Engineering at University of Michigan.

Brian Ellis

Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
brellis@umich.edu

My research interests cover topics related to the sustainable and safe development of emerging energy technologies. Included among these activities are geologic storage of CO2 and large-scale hydraulic fracturing of unconventional oil/gas reservoirs. We examine important water-rock interactions that occur in these subsurface systems through a combination of experimental studies (bench-scale high-pressure flow-through and batch reactors), imaging techniques (computed micro-tomography, SEM, XRF, XANES), and geochemical modeling.

Brandon Marc Finn

Assistant Research Scientist in Sustainable Systems
brafinn@umich.edu

Dr. Brandon Marc Finn is a faculty member at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Finn received his PhD in Urban Planning from Harvard University in 2022. He leads The Informal Sustainability Lab at the University of Michigan and researches mining and urbanization. Finn is also a member of the Urban Sustainability Research Group.

Marc Gaden

Adjunct Assistant Professor in Environmental Policy and Planning
mgaden@umich.edu

Marc Gaden is the Executive Secretary of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a binational, treaty-based organization that works to improve and perpetuate the fishery that Canada and the United States share. Dr. Gaden's research interests include the human dimensions of natural resource management; cross-border conflict; governance, agreements, regimes, and institutions to address conflict; collaborative management; natural resource politics and policy; and environmental history.

Benjamin Goldstein

Assistant Professor in Sustainable Systems
benjgo@umich.edu

Benjamin Goldstein is Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability and head of the Sustainable Urban-Rural Futures (SURF) Lab. He develops methods and tools to quantify the scale of these changes and the locations where they occur using life cycle assessment, input-output analysis, geospatial data, and approaches from data science. Benjamin is particularly interested in combining quantitative methods with theory rooted in social science to explore multiple dimensions of sustainability and address issues of distributive justice.

Heidi Hausermann

Associate Professor in Environmental Justice
heidibak@umich.edu

Trained as a geographer and political ecologist, Heidi Hausermann, PhD, uses interdisciplinary approaches and mixed methods to understand landscape change, disease dynamics, contamination, and food systems. Current projects examine the local fate of mercury vaporized from small-scale gold mining in Ghana and edible insects and coffee agroecosystems in Veracruz, Mexico.

Catherine Hausman

Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
chausman@umich.edu

Catie Hausman is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her work focuses on environmental and energy economics. Recent projects have looked at energy transitions; electricity markets and climate change; inequality in pollution exposure; and the natural gas sector's role in methane leaks.

Geoffrey Henderson

Assistant Professor in Environmental Policy and Planning
geoffhen@umich.edu

Geoffrey Henderson is an assistant professor in the Environmental Policy and Planning specialization. His work considers how civic organizations and social movements stimulate political participation and form coalitions, with a focus on the climate justice movement. He has studied efforts to engage people in small-dollar campaign finance and environmental activism, how environmental attitudes affect behavior, and how members of Congress learn their constituents’ opinions.

Andrew Hoffman

Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise
ajhoff@umich.edu

Andrew (Andy) Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan; a position that holds joint appointments in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability. He has published over 100 articles/book chapters, as well as 18 books, and he focuses on the processes by which environmental issues both emerge and evolve as social, political and managerial issues.

Allan Hruska

Lecturer in Sustainability and Development
ajhruska@umich.edu

Allan is an expert in international development, with over thirty years of global experience leading, researching, teaching, and advising at universities, the United Nations, NGOs, civil society, and funding organizations, including USAID. He has lived and worked in eight countries for over thirty years. He has led major programs, including being the founding Director of Global IDEAS at Michigan State University, the Principal Technical Coordinator for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization Global Program on Fall Armyworm, and the founding Director of NicaSauld in Nicaragua.

Pamela Jagger

Professor of Environment and Sustainability
pjagger@umich.edu

Pam Jagger is a global leader in interdisciplinary population and environment research. She is an applied political economist whose research focuses on the dynamics of poverty and environment interactions in low-income countries. She leads the interdisciplinary Forest Use, Energy, and Livelihoods (FUEL) Lab, and is the Director of the National Science Foundation funded Energy Poverty PIRE in Southern Africa (EPPSA), a 5-year collaborative program to support research and training on the topic of energy access in Southern Africa.

Ruiwei Jiang

Associate Professor
ruiwei@umich.edu

Greg Keoleian

Peter M. Wege Endowed Professor of Sustainable Systems; Co-Director, Center for Sustainable Systems; Co-Director, MI Hydrogen
gregak@umich.edu

Dr. Keoleian co-founded and serves as co-director of both the Center for Sustainable Systems and the MI Hydrogen initiative at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the development and application of life cycle models and metrics to enhance the sustainability of products and technology. He has pioneered new methods in life cycle design, life cycle optimization of product replacement, life cycle cost analysis and life cycle based sustainability assessments ranging from energy analysis and carbon footprints to social indicators.

Alexandra Klass

James G. Degnan Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
aklass@umich.edu

Alexandra B. Klass is the James G. Degnan Professor of Law at Michigan Law. She teaches and writes in the areas of energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, tort law, and property law. From April 2022 to July 2023, she served in the Biden-Harris administration as deputy general counsel for energy efficiency and clean energy demonstrations at the US Department of Energy.

Raed Al Kontar

Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial & Operations Engineering
alkontar@umich.edu

Dr. Raed Al Kontar is an assistant professor in the Industrial & Operations Engineering department. He is also an affiliate with both the Michigan Institutes for Data Science and Computational Discovery and Engineering. Dr. Al Kontar leads the “Data Science Lab,” which focuses on data science using probabilistic models, with an emphasis on precision/personalized data science where knowledge from diverse data sources is effectively integrated. Dr. Al Kontar's research has been highly recognized, with his group winning 12 best paper awards since 2022.

Michael Kost

Lecturer in Ecosystem Science and Management
michkost@umich.edu

Mike serves as Associate Curator at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, and formerly he served as Lead Ecologist and Senior Conservation Scientist for Michigan Natural Features Inventory at Michigan State University. Through his teaching, curation, and research, he seeks to convey information helpful for advancing biodiversity conservation. His research interests include conservation planning, ecological restoration, fire ecology, oak regeneration, and rare species.

Andrej Lenert

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering
alenert@umich.edu

Geoffrey Lewis

Research Area Specialist Lead and Adjunct Lecturer in Sustainable Systems and Climate+Energy
glewis@umich.edu

Mr. Lewis is an adjunct lecturer at SEAS and runs the Center for Sustainable Systems for the University. The author of many publications, Geoffrey focuses on greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, battery management, and radiology sustainability, among other things. Mr. Lewis has a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture and MS degrees in Architecture and Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Xiaoxia (Nina) Lin

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
ninalin@umich.edu

Professor Lin’s research aims to unearth fundamental mechanisms underlying the diverse and complex functions of biological networks, and to engineer them for developing biotechnologies, through integrated mathematical modeling, computer simulation and wet-lab experiments.

Tom Lyon

Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology, and Commerce
tplyon@umich.edu

Tom Lyon is the Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce. His research and teaching interests include environmental information disclosure and greenwash; corporate environmental strategy; environmental NGOs; voluntary environmental agreements; government regulation of business; industrial organization; and energy and the environment.

Michelle Martinez

Lecturer and Inaugural Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment
mamz@umich.edu

Michelle Martinez is the inaugural director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment at SEAS. She has 15 years of experience of practicing environmental justice in her hometown of Detroit. Most recently she served as Executive Director of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition; she is a founding member of the Coalition and continues to serve on the board.

Johanna Mathieu

Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
jlmath@umich.edu

Prof. Mathieu’s research focuses on ways to reduce the environmental impact, cost, and inefficiency of electric power systems via new operational and control strategies. She is particularly interested in developing new methods to actively engage distributed flexible resources such as energy storage, electric loads, and distributed renewable resources in power system operation.

Sarah Mills

Director, Center for EmPowering Communities; Associate Professor of Practice, Urban & Regional Planning
sbmills@umich.edu

Sarah Mills is an associate professor of practice in the Urban & Regional Planning Program in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, as well as the director of the Center for EmPowering Communities at UM’s Graham Sustainability Institute. She conducts research and teaching at the intersection of energy policy and land use planning–especially in rural communities.

Lauren Mullenbach

Assistant Research Scientist in Environmental Justice
lemullen@umich.edu

Dr. Lauren Mullenbach is an Assistant Research Scientist and the Research Program Manager of Michigan Sea Grant. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. Her work covers urban environmental justice, with foci on climate adaptation, green space development, gentrification, and wellbeing. Current projects examine equitable green space planning; city climate change adaptation planning; and homelessness.

Joshua Newell

Professor of Environment and Sustainability
jpnewell@umich.edu

Joshua Newell is a professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is a broadly trained human-environment geographer, whose research focuses on questions related to urban sustainability, resource consumption, and environmental and social justice. He also leads a year-long interdisciplinary PhD student workshop that grapples with theories and concepts of urbanism, sustainability, and resilience.

Jonathan Overpeck

Samuel A. Graham Dean; William B. Stapp Collegiate Professor of Environmental Education
seas-dean@umich.edu

An interdisciplinary climate scientist, Overpeck is an expert on climate change, climate-vegetation interactions, earth history, environmental science and sustainability. He has authored or co-authored over 230 publications that have been cited over 60,000 times. He has been part of multiple efforts aimed at improving understanding of climate science in society and in legal decision-making.

Ivette Perfecto

Bunyan Bryant Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice
perfecto@umich.edu

Ivette Perfecto is an interdisciplinary scholar that works in agroecology with a focus on the intersection between biodiversity, agriculture, and food sovereignty. Her research examines arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural and agroforestry systems with an emphasis on understanding ecological interactions that result in autonomous pest control and reduction of pesticide use. She also works on the spatial ecology of the coffee agroecosystem and is interested more broadly in the links between small-scale sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and food sovereignty in Latin America.

Thomas Princen

Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning
tprincen@umich.edu

Thomas Princen, PhD, explores ecological and economic sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Treading Softly: Paths to Ecological Order and The Logic of Sufficiency(both published by the MIT Press).

Tony Reames

Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice; Director SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic
treames@umich.edu

Dr. Reames founded the Urban Energy Justice Lab and the Energy Equity Project and currently serves as Director of the U-M SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic. From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Reames was a Presidential appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration, serving in several senior roles within the U.S. Department of Energy.

Justin Schott

Lecturer in Environmental Justice, Climate+Energy
jbschott@umich.edu

Justin Schott serves as Director of the Energy Equity Project and served as Executive Director of EcoWorks, a Detroit non-profit, a position I held from June 2015 to November 2020. In recognition of the success of the Energy Equity Project, Schott received an appointment as a lecturer in the School for Environment and Sustainability in 2022, where he teaches an interdisciplinary graduate level course on energy justice, advises masters projects focused on community-led energy equity, and is expanding applied, lab-based courses on inclusive history and energy justice.

Mike Shriberg

Professor of Practice and Engagement; Director of University of Michigan Water Center
mshriber@umich.edu

Mike Shriberg’s (MS ’00, PhD ’02) work focuses on Great Lakes water policy and institutions, local and state energy policy, campus sustainability/carbon neutrality and sustainability leadership. Prior to coming to SEAS, he was the Great Lakes regional executive director at the National Wildlife Federation. Major initiatives included advocacy for federal Great Lakes restoration; ensuring water affordability and access; preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species; reforming Great Lakes water management; building Great Lakes resilience; combating environmental injustice; and engaging urban youth.

Jason Siegel

Research Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
siegeljb@umich.edu

Marc Smith

Lecturer Environmental Policy and Planning, Water Conservation and Restoration
marcsmi@umich.edu

Marc Smith is a government relations and public affairs professional with 28 years of experience in federal, state, and nonprofit sectors, specializing in water, wildlife, and conservation policy. As Policy Director for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Marc leads water and wildlife conservation programs from the Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor.

Sara Soderstrom

Associate Professor of Organizational Studies and Program in the Environment; Director of Program in the Environment; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
capasb@umich.edu

Professor Soderstrom was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan. She completed her PhD at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She studies how individuals within organizations mobilize others, develop coalitions, and access key decision makers when they are trying to implement sustainability initiatives.

Samuel Stolper

Associate Professor Environmental Policy and Planning
sstolper@umich.edu

Sam Stolper is an environmental and energy economist. His research, teaching, and writing are aimed at the design of equitable and efficient environmental, energy, and climate policy. He teaches courses on this subject to graduate students at SEAS as well as undergraduates in the Program in the Environment (PitE). He also serves as a member of the Governor of Michigan's Council on Climate Solutions.

Sita Syal

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
syalsm@umich.edu

Sita Syal is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and directs EMBERlab at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on studying human influence and embedding equity in sustainable energy and transportation systems. She uses human-centered design methods, builds quantitative models, and engages with communities to co-create a more just and sustainable future.

Shakara Tyler

Lecturer in Environmental Justice and Food Systems
shakarat@umich.edu

Shakara Tyler is a returning-generation farmer, educator and organizer who engages in Black agrarianism, agroecology, food sovereignty and environmental justice as commitments of abolition and decolonization. She obtained her PhD at Michigan State University in Community Sustainability (CSUS) and she serves as Board President at the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN), board member of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op (DPFC) and co-founder of the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund (DBFLF) and a member of the Black Dirt Farm Collective (BDFC).

Amanda Ullman

IES Research Specialist
amandanu@umich.edu

Amanda completed her Master of Environmental Management at Duke University (Energy Concentration) and her PhD in Energy Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her doctoral research used life cycle assessment and ethnographic field work to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of policies for sustainable and just energy transitions, with a specific focus on impacts in low- and middle-income countries. Her recent postdoctoral work has assessed the local impacts of repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal heat extraction.

Parth Vaishnav

Assistant Professor of Sustainable Systems, Climate, and Energy
parthtv@umich.edu

Parth Vaishnav's research aims to understand how technology can help solve social problems. Much of his work focuses on the environmental and human health consequences of energy production and use. He employs quantitative decision analysis, buttressed by qualitative insight, to understand how economic, political, and operational realities constrain technology deployment.

Noah Webster

Associate Research Scientist in Environmental Justice
njwebs@umich.edu

Noah J. Webster, Ph.D. is an Associate Research Scientist in the Life Course Development Program at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Dr. Webster’s research focuses on the interrelated themes of: 1) the bidirectional influences of health, health-related behaviors and social relationships; and 2) the role of environmental and social contexts in shaping health disparities across the life course. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Case Western Reserve University with specializations in Medical Sociology and Research Methods.

Andy White

Professor of Practice and Engagement in Environmental Justice
andywh@umich.edu

Andy leads a class on Indigenous and Community Rights, Conservation and Climate Action at SEAS. He also serves as an advisor to the Department of Natural Resources of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to assist their land return and co-stewardship initiatives with federal agencies, and as the convenor for the Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation (PACT), a new international network of indigenous-led research institutions and their allies.

Jalonne White-Newsome

Associate Professor in Environmental Justice
jalonne@umich.edu

Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Justice Specialization. Building on her multi-faceted, multi-sectoral and diverse areas of passion, practice, service and scholarship, Dr. White-Newsome’s areas of research include: environmental and climate justice policy and practice; finding solutions to address the social, economic and public health impacts of climate change – specifically, extreme heat, extreme flooding, and specific health impacts on the elderly and children; examining how to integrate justice, equity and corporate social responsibility; and advancing justice-centered leadership across the environmental sector.

Kyle Whyte

George Willis Pack Professor; University Diversity & Social Transformation Professor
kwhyte@umich.edu

Kyle is a faculty member at Michigan where he is George Willis Pack Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor. On campus, Kyle teaches in and coordinates the School’s environmental justice graduate specialization. He is founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, Principal Investigator of the new Environmental Justice + Humanities Hub, co-Principal Investigator of the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters, Faculty Associate of Native American Studies, Convener of the Secretariat for the Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation, STRIDE Committee member, affiliate Professor of Philosophy, and Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows.

Margaret Wooldridge

Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Professor of Aerospace Engineering
mswool@umich.edu

Professor Wooldridge received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 1995. Since her appointment at the University of Michigan in 1998, she has received numerous awards for both achievements in engineering and education. She is the director of the Wooldridge Combustion Laboratory at the University of Michigan, which focuses on high-temperature chemically reacting systems which are critical to widespread applications, including power and propulsion and chemical processing. Professor Wooldridge’s research program spans these diverse areas and focuses on experimental studies to enable major developments in materials, fuel chemistry, and combustion devices.

Steven Yaffee

Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning
yaffee@umich.edu

Professor Yaffee's research focuses on collaborative decision making on complex environmental and sustainability choices, including the ways that traditional political processes and organizations function, and how new collaborative structures can be developed to encourage more effective decision making. He is committed to professional education at SEAS and teaches skill-building courses in political and institutional analysis, negotiation and mediation.

Charlene Zietsma

Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise; Erb Institute Director
czietsma@umich.edu

Professor Zietsma’s research focuses on social innovation: the individual, organizational and collective efforts to make (and resist) significant, large-scale change in the context of sustainability and social justice issues. She held a Chair of Excellence at Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, as well as visiting appointments at the University Technology Sydney, University of Sydney, Queensland University, Queensland University of Technology, Nottingham University in Ningbo, China, Hebrew University, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Liverpool.

Lei Zuo

Professor of Naval Engineering
leizuo@umich.edu

Lei Zuo is the Herbert C. Sadler Collegiate Professor of Engineering in the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He recently established the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) GO Blue, for Growing Ocean Energy Technologies and the Blue Economy. Lei Zuo completed his BS (07/1997) from Tsinghua University and his MS (02/2002) and Ph.D. (02/2005) from MIT.