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Sustainability Quick Links

UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY (UOS) STAFF

Tom Kelly, Ph.D., UNH Chief Sustainability Officer & UOS Director

Tom KellyCall (603.862.8564) or email Alaina Pritchard to schedule meetings with Tom Kelly.

Tom Kelly, Ph.D., is the founding director of the University Office of Sustainability (UOS) and Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of New Hampshire, where he collaborates with faculty, staff, students and others in the development of curriculum, operations, research and engagement policies, practices and initiatives related to UNH's four educational initiatives in biodiversity, climate, culture, and food. Co-editor and co-author of "The Sustainable Learning Community: One University's Journey to the Future" (2009), Dr. Kelly has been working in the field of higher education and sustainable development for more than fifteen years in the US as well as Colombia and Brazil. Current activities include working with UNH colleagues and outside partners on the UNH organic dairy research farm, the New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future, Carbon Solutions New England, the Ecology, Climate and Health Working Group, and more. He is a founding member of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium working to coordinate activities in New England for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, current guest director of the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) Board of Directors, and serves on advisory or steering committees and councils for the Real Food Challenge, the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, the Community, Food and Agriculture Program at Cornell University, the National Association of College and University Business Officers' 2009 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). On campus, Dr. Kelly participates in the Academic Leadership Council, Energy Task Force, Transportation Policy Committee, Healthy UNH, Program Committee of the the UNH Master's of Public Health Program, UNH Lands Committee, Concerts Committee, and more. Dr. Kelly was a co-principal investigator on the INHALE project, a NOAA-funded research effort by the UNH Climate Change Research Center in collaboration with the UNH College of Health and Human Services to investigate the effects of climate variability, air quality, and weather on human health in New England, a visiting scholar at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego, and a visiting professor of transboundary environmental issues in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands at El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico DF.  In addition to an undergraduate and master's degree in musical composition and conducting, he holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

 

 

Sara M. Cleaves, Associate Director

Sara M. CleavesSara M. Cleaves, UOS's associate director since 2006, first joined UOS as its Biodiversity Education Initiative and Climate Education Initiative Program Coordinator in 2005. Sara works with administrators, faculty, staff, students, and outside partners in integrating sustainability throughout UNH's curriculum, operations, research, and engagement efforts. Along with planning, implementing, and managing UOS's communications and outreach efforts, Sara oversees UOS budgeting and staff management and participates in strategic planning and program evaluation for its four initiatives and for the office as a whole. She participates on the New England Carbon Challenge Steering Committee, Energy Task Force, Healthy UNH, Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference Planning Committees, Communicator's Council, Discovery Dialogue Committee, and more. Her past work includes teaching, research and outreach with the UNH Masters of Arts in Environmental Education Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and the New England Aquarium. A 2009 UNH Outreach Scholar, Sara has a master's degree in environmental economics and policy from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University and a bachelor's degree in English from Dartmouth College; she is currently pursuing a master's in education at UNH. Her interests include environmental psychology, motivation for engagement in sustainable behaviors, transformative learning, and effective engagement, communication, and education on sustainability.

 

 

 

 

Elisabeth Farrell, CAS and FAS Program Coordinator

elElisabeth "El" Farrell is the Program Coordinator of UOS's Culture and Sustainability Initiative and Food and Society Initiative. In this role, she assists with the organization and implementation of curricula, research, projects, and events related to the issues of culture, public arts, community, food, local and sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and other related issues. El has worked for the University Office of Sustainability for over five years managing initiative projects and events, including the New Hampshire Farm to School Program, the development of the UNH Dual Major in EcoGastronomy, the Cultural Excursions program, and many others. In addition to serving on numerous committees across campus, such as the Dual Major in EcoGastronomy Steering Committee, she is a member of the Northeast Regional Farm to School Steering Committee and the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture. El holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing and literature from the Bennington College Writing Seminars and her poems have been published in a number of literary journals; she also holds a Bachelor degree in anthropology from the University of New Hampshire.

 

 

Brett Pasinella, BEI and CEI Program Coordinator

Brett Pasinella

Since 2006, Brett Pasinella has been the Program Coordinator for UOS's Biodiversity Education Initiative and Climate Education Initiative. In this role, he assists with the organization and implementation of initiative curricula, research, projects, and events related to the issues of biodiversity, ecological and public health, conservation, climate change, energy, and other related issues. A member of the advisory committee of the Green Alliance, Brett holds master's degrees in geography and energy & environmental analysis from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree from Clark University with a double major in physics and environmental science & policy.

 

 

Michele Chapman, BEI & CEI Special Projects Coordinator

Michele ChapmanMichele Chapman is a part-time Interim Special Projects Coordinator for UOS's Biodiversity Education Initiative (BEI) and Climate Education Initiative (CEI). In this role, she organizes and implements key special projects, research, communications, and events related to the issues of biodiversity, ecological and public health, conservation, water, climate change, energy, and other related issues. Michele began working at UOS in August 2009. She has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Duke University and a master’s degree in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her past work includes lab and field-based research on the effects of environmental toxins, habitat destruction, and the ecological consequences of climate change on amphibian populations and bird populations in the U.S. and Antarctica. Michele also taught high school biology for several years and enjoyed engaging students in how their actions can directly and indirectly impact the conservation of biological diversity.

 

 

 

Kate Donald, FAS & CAS Special Projects Coordinator

Kate DonaldKate Donald is a part-time Special Projects Coordinator for UOS's Food & Society Initiative (FAS) and Culture & Sustainability Initiative (CAS). She began working at UOS in February 2009.  For the past nine years, Kate has been an organic vegetable farmer and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) manager.  As an advocate for local agriculture, Kate assists with Seacoast Eat Local’s winter farmers’ markets and educational programs.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Seacoast Growers’ Association.  Her past work includes urban agriculture and food security projects, development of school gardens, and teaching organic gardening and composting.  Kate holds a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the University of California at Santa Cruz.  

 

 

 

 

Alaina Pritchard, Administrative Assistant

Alaina Pritchard

Alaina has been the Administrative Assistant for the University Office of Sustainability since August 2007. In this role she accomplishes many daily tasks to contribute to the efficient running of the office, including assisting with with travel arrangements, scheduling and calendar maintenance, office management, communication and outreach projects, and interaction with UOS's Business Service Center.

Alaina gained many of her skills through her previous work and internship experiences in marketing, public relations, and community relations at local seacoast agencies, TD Banknorth Garden, and a local area restaurant. She is a 2006 graduate of Endicott College, holding a Bachelors of Science Degree in Communications.

 

 

 

 

 

Stacey Purslow, NH Farm to School Program Coordinator

staceyStacey Purslow is the Program Coordinator for the NH Farm to School Program. She started the position in June 2009. She holds a culinary degree, a BFA in photography from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC, and is currently enrolled at UNH's Thompson School studying nutrition and dietetics. Stacey has spent many years in the food service industry, most recently with the Headstart program in Strafford County, and before that as a restaurant owner. She originally hails from New Jersey and has been living in New Hampshire for eleven years.

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Barr, Graduate Research Assistant

AmyBarr

Amy Barr is the Graduate Research Assistant for the New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future. Additionally, she served as Research Assistant for the National Citizen Technology Forum, a project of the Culture & Sustainability Initiative. Amy is a Ph.D. candidate in the University of New Hampshire Department of Sociology. She holds a MA in sociology from UNH and a BA in sociology from St. Lawrence University.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Keeley, STARS &  Sustainabilty Communications Intern

Chris KeeleyChris H. Keeley joined UOS in September 2009 as the STARS and Sustainability Communications intern. Chris works with administrators, faculty, and staff to gather data for the Association of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s “Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS).” In addition, Chris also assists with communications and outreach to undergraduate students on campus. Chris most recently worked at the Maine State Planning Office to support municipalities in planning for and adapting to climate change, specifically by exploring rulemaking within comprehensive planning. In spring 2010 Chris will graduate from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Conservation Studies.

 

 

 

 

Want to reach any of us? Go to our Contact page!

In Memoriam

Crescentia Healy-True

CrescentiaCrescentia Healy-True was the University Office of Sustainability Associate Director from January 2005 to March 2006. We sadly lost Crescentia to breast cancer in March 2006. An incredible mother, sister, daughter, friend, and colleague, Crescentia inspired everyone with her vibrant personality, love for life, compassion, and dedication to volunteer work, her community, and her family. Although she's no longer with us, Crescentia left a lasting legacy at UNH. She helped launch our educational campaign around our compressed natural gas shuttle buses. She launched our WildCAP Discount Program (including our virtual energy efficient residence hall room) with Houghton's ACE Hardware in Durham, Lee, and Newmarket. She began our work setting up a biodiesel microprocessor at Woodman Horticultural Farm to convert waste vegetable oil from campus dining areas into biodiesel for off-road farm equipment and greenhouses. She launched our new UOS communications efforts. And she lead many of our outreach efforts in 2005 - from Bike/Walk to Work Day to the energy efficient residence hall room at SolarFest to the Oyster River Clean-Up Day in September 2005. We miss Crescentia very much, but her incredible legacy and passion live on in all that we do in UOS.

Jackie Cilley

Jackie CilleyJacqueline (Jackie) Cilley was our Administrative Assistant for 4 years, and we lost our good friend in 2002. These words about Jackie from a 2002 UNH Campus Journal story on her passing speak to how wonderful our dear friend Jackie was: "Jackie's passion at UNH was her work and her hopes and dreams for a sustainable earth. Through her position in the University Office of Sustainability and in her service to the UNH community and to the community at large, Jackie worked very hard to educate and inform all that she came in contact with about building a sustainable world. Jackie organized groups of UNH staff that shared her interests in energy use, transportation, and the purchasing and promotion of sustainable office practices. It was Jackie's influence that generated the inclusion of the word "sustainable" in the [UNH Administrative Office Professional's] mission statement. She made us understand and appreciate the benefits of living in a sustainable world and the value of protecting our natural resources and preserving our communities... "Jackie Cilley was many things to many people. She was a wife, a devoted, loving mother of three, a grandmother of nine, a sister, a friend, a faithful UNH employee, a lover of the arts and a caretaker of the environment. Jackie loved to hike, kayak, cross-country ski, work in her garden and generally enjoy nature's beauty. Jackie was passionate about the arts -- she loved good theater and good music. She had a diverse collection of books and was well read. Jackie treasured her opportunities to travel to the West Coast to see her grandchildren; her many trips with each of her children to various destinations: New York City, Tanglewood, hikes in the woods or walks on the warm sand; her trek to Quebec City with relatives and delighting in her French Canadian heritage. She loved good food, a good glass of wine, sharing family stories and, above all, Jackie loved to laugh!"

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