Sustainability Committee

Mission

The mission of the UCLA Sustainability Committee is to create a culture of sustainability at UCLA in which the entire UCLA community is aware of, engaged in, and committed to advancing sustainability through education, research, operations, and community partnerships.

The Committee works under the Office of the Chancellor and supports sustainability at UCLA by:

Fostering cross-cutting collaborations for the purpose of increasing awareness of sustainability concepts throughout the campus community and creating synergies that will educate and engage students, faculty and staff in these efforts.

Infusing sustainability into core academic and educational programs to ensure that our students are prepared to face the global challenges of the 21st century; promoting the application of the University’s unique resources to complex environmental, economic and social issues by: incorporating sustainability concepts into the academic curriculum, advancing interdisciplinary research, and engaging in community service activities that promote sustainability.

Integrating sustainable practices into campus operations and long-term planning by minimizing resource consumption and waste generation; establishing innovative procurement practices; utilizing indicators of sustainability that enable assessment of performance; and recognizing, supporting, and rewarding initiatives that promote sustainability.

Background

In the spring of 2004, the CA Student Sustainability Coalition at UCLA drafted a letter to Chancellor Carnesale requesting the creation of a Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability. Chancellor Carnesale responded generously and commissioned the creation of the Campus Sustainability Committee.

Several faculty and administrators from a variety of campus departments, including student affairs, capital programs, general services, communications, and the chancellor’s office, along with two graduate and two undergraduate student representatives were appointed to the committee. Two co-chairs were appointed to the committee, Mary Nichols, then Director of UCLA’s Institute of the Environment, and Tova Lelah, Campus Environmental Planner. The committee was chaired for eight years by Cully Nordby, Academic Director of the Institute of Environment and Sustainability. 

Over the years the Committee has established three sub-Committees; Academics, Operations, and Communications, and later area specific taskforces to help coordinate initiatives across the broad campus. Sustainability is inherently multidisciplinary and involves all departments of an institution. The committee plays a critical role in managing the complex issues of sustainability in a university setting.

In 2016, in recognition of the scope of challenges ahead and the need for full engagement of leadership, an Executive Committee was created with key leadership from across the university.

UCLA Sustainability Committee Charter

Sustainability Committees

Executive Committee

Committee Chairs

  • Monroe Gorden, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs

Members

  • Allison Baird-James, Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
  • Kathleen Bawn, Vice Chair, Academic Senate
  • Michael Beck, Administrative Vice Chancellor
  • Ann Carlson, Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law
  • Mitchell Chang, Interim Vice Provost, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
  • Adriana Galván, Dean, Undergraduate Education
  • Garcia-Garibay, Miguel, Dean, Physical Sciences
  • Ursula Heise, Professor, English
  • Nurit Katz, Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Naomi Hammonds USAC President
  • TBD, Senior Dean for the Professional Schools
  • Dennis Lettenmaier, Professor, Geography
  • Noor Nakhaei, GSA President
  • Mary Osako, Vice Chancellor, Strategic Communications
  • Wendy Slusser, Associate Vice Provost, Healthy Campus Initiative
  • Monica Smith, Professor, Anthropology
  • Johnese Spisso, President, Health, CEO, Hospital System, and Associate Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences
  • Rhea Turteltaub, Vice Chancellor, External Affairs
  • Bonny Bentzin, Co-chair, Sustainability Committee (ex Officio)
  • TBD, Senior Dean of the College

Sustainability Committee

Members of the UCLA Sustainability Committee represent a broad range of campus experiences. Committee participants include administrators and staff from the Chancellor’s Office, Capital Programs, Facilities Management, Transportation, Environment Health and Safety, Recreation, Housing, Student Affairs, and University Communications; faculty with expertise in business, ecology, public health, and the environment, as well as both graduate and undergraduate students.

Committee Chairs

  • Bonny Bentzin, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer

Members

  • Pouria Abbassi, Executive Director and CEO, ASUCLA
  • Peter Angelis, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Housing & Hospitality
  • Elizabeth Ashforth, Director of Student Research Programs, Geffen Academy
  • Sarah Brockhaus, Sustainability Programs Manager, Health Systems
  • Sandra Chang, Commodity Manager, Campus Purchasing
  • Yoram Cohen, Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
  • Mick Deluca, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Life
  • Derek Doolittle, Associate Athletic Director, Facilities, Operations, and Capitals Programs
  • Peter Hendrickson, Campus Architect and Associate Vice Chancellor, Design and Construction, Capital Programs
  • Alison Hewitt, Senior Media Relations Officer, Strategic Communications
  • Chansoth Hill, Director, Events Office
  • Cynthia Holmes, Director, ASUCLA Trademarks & Licensing
  • Ariella Gaughan, Undergraduate Student Representative
  • TBD, Graduate Student Representative
  • David Karwaski, Senior Associate Director, Transportation
  • Lisa Koerbling, Executive Director, Events and Transportation
  • Liz Kennedy, Director of Ethical Labor and Sustainability, ASUCLA
  • Nurit Katz, Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Christophe LaBelle, Sustainability Analyst
  • Todd Lynch, Principal Project Planner, Capital Programs
  • Carl Maida, Adjunct Professor, School of Dentistry
  • Jared Meyer, Senior Director of Physical Plant & Project Management, Housing & Hospitality
  • Brianna Moncada, Sustainability Manager, Housing & Hospitality
  • TBD, Senior Environmental Planner, Capital Programs
  • Stephanie Pincetl, Professor, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
  • Curtis Plotkin, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Environment, Health, and Safety
  • Susan Santon, Associate Vice Chancellor, Capital Planning & Finance, Capital Programs
  • Kelly Schmader, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Facilities Management
  • Kayla Shirey, Assistant Athletic Director, Events Operations
  • Vanessa Thulsiraj, Associate Development Engineer, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Staff Assembly
  • Kelli Walters, Lab Assistant, Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, and Staff Assembly
  • OT Wells, Chief Procurement Officer, Purchasing
  • Madeline Zhang, Undergraduate Student Representative

Student Representatives

  • Nathan Au. Undergraduate Student Association
  • Ying Xuan Chua, Undergraduate Student Association
  • Hu Zhao, Graduate Student Association

Subcommittees and Task Forces

Communications Task Force
Chair: TBD

Events Task Force
Chair: Chansoth Hill

Water Task Force
Chair: TBD

Purchasing Task Force
Chair: TBD

Sustainable Food Task Force
Chair: TBD

Landscape & Ecology Task Force
Co-Chairs: Peter Hendrickson and Justin Wisor

Zero Waste Task Force
Chair: Bonny Bentzin

Green IT Task Force
Chair: Rey Soto

Health Sustainability Committee

Members

  • Amy Kraft, Project Manager, Planning, Design and Construction
  • Annie Hilliard, Principal Food Service Manager
  • Arturo Sanchez, Director, Environmental Services
  • Bonny Bentzin, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, UCLA
  • Cheryl Lehuquet, Project Manager, Nursing Operations
  • Donald Parks, Director, Procurement & Strategic Sourcing
  • Melissa Prado, Safety Director
  • Jasmine Briones, Assistant Manager, Main OR
  • Kurt Kainsinger, Director, Office of Emergency Preparedness
  • Jon Smithers, Facilities Energy Manager
  • Victor Mitry, Assistant Director, Logistics
  • Martin Lingard, Transportation
  • Michael Baca, Director, Materials Management
  • Michelle Tolentino, Director, Nursing Admin & Volunteer Program
  • Nurit Katz, Chief Sustainability Officer, UCLA
  • Philip Levin, Chief Medical Officer
  • Norm Lantz, Senior Director of General Services
  • Shaunte Walton, Director of Epidemiology & Infection Prevention
  • Suzanne Kiely, Planning Design & Construction Project Manager
  • Kurt Alexander, Director, Facilities