About Arianna

Q&A

Q: Title:

A: Assistant Director, Business Operations

Q: How long have you been at Georgia Tech?

A: 10 years

Q: What does sustainability mean to you and/or why is it important?

A: I look at sustainability as a desired state of well-being for people, the planet, and their peaceful co-existence. It’s important because it can guide decision making, from indiviuals to nation states, on practices and policies that balance economic goals with responsible consumption and societal benefits. 

Q: What is your favorite quote (sustainability related or not)?

A: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.  -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Q: What is your favorite daily sustainability practice?

A: My favorite daily practice would be meditation. I believe the connection between mental health and sustainability/susatinable development is grievously overlooked.

Energy data from the Krone Engineered Biosystems Building, pictured, was included in Georgia Tech’s submission to the City of Atlanta’s Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance. 

About Greg

Greg has been a champion for efficient resource use at Georgia Tech for more than 25 years. During his employment, Greg has worked on a wide variety of projects including mechanical building systems, state of the art research laboratories, and central plant and underground chilled water/steam utilities. He has served as a project manager, an engineer of record, facilities engineer, and has taken an active role in promoting and enforcing Georgia Tech’s standards and sustainability initiatives. 

Additional projects includes the planning, development, and tracking for the The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, the implementation of Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance contracts, and a project management team member for the Campus Comprehensive Plan and the associated Climate Action Plan. Greg has also served as a voting member on the ASHRAE BACnet committee and the USG’s Design Criteria for Laboratories committee.

Currently Greg is managing the development of the Campus Utility Master Plan, a 10-year plan informed by both the Campus Comprehensive Plan and the Climate Action Plan. It will define utility needs and improvements that align with Georgia Tech’s emission reduction goals as well as support campus construction prioritized for the next decade.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tech and he is a licensed professional engineer, an accredited professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), as well as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM).

From the Nomination: “It is fantastic to have someone in Greg’s position who is so knowledgeable and tirelessly dedicated to sustainability. Greg is always thinking about how to embrace new technologies and set up systems that improve the ways we think about and use energy and water. Greg has been an invaluable contributor to Georgia Tech, and campus emissions are lower than they would be otherwise due directly to his impacts.”  

Q&A

Q: Title:

A: Executive Director of Infrastructure

Q: How long have you been at Georgia Tech?

A: 25 years

Q: What does sustainability mean to you and/or why is it important?

A: Sustainability is about adopting technologies and practices that allow future generations to thrive in perpetuity.

Q: What is your favorite quote (sustainability related or not)?

A: My grandmother always told me, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Q: What is your favorite daily sustainability practice?

A: Probably driving my electric car because, even though I lost my carpool partner after 17 years, I can still use the HOV lane.

About Jason

As a triple Jacket, Jason Wang has a strong dedication to Georgia Tech. For the past several years, he has lent his expertise in managing data from across the Institute to support sustainability reporting efforts. Sustainability reports enable Georgia Tech to identify opportunities for improvement and highlight progress. The Office of Sustainability is extremely appreciative of Jason’s contributions.    

From the nomination:

“Jason has helped the Office of Sustainability and Sustainability Next collect data for numerous projects including serving on the team for the The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®) Report for over a year. Jason is always willing to connect on how data can be most efficiently shared and used to connect folks from across campus.”

“Despite his demanding job, Jason repeatedly and graciously makes time to support requests from the sustainability team. This helps us ensure our reports are consistent with data reporting from other units in the Institute.” 

Q&A

Q: Title:

A: Senior Director, Institutional Research and Planning

Q: How long have you been at Georgia Tech?

A: Over 5 years in GT IRP, but I first started at Tech as an undergraduate in Fall 2004

Q: What does sustainability mean to you and/or why is it important?

A:  Sustainability to me means taking responsibility for our actions and acting intentionally to build or enhance systems and processes that will ensure the “next” is possible. When I think about the IRP office as a living system, I ask myself whether or not what I am doing now is going to help this system to continue to thrive after I am gone.

Q: What is your favorite quote about sustainability?

A: Coincidentally sustainability related, lol. From the movie Gladiator, “What we do in life… echoes in eternity.”

Q: What is your favorite daily sustainability practice?

A: Growing as much of my own food as I can! We have a variety of fruit growing on my property and also are members of a CSA where we get local fruit, vegetables, milk, and eggs.

About Wendy

Wendy has been an advocate for sustainability at Georgia Tech for more than 17 years. She has brought numerous sustainable initiatives to campus and has consistently been Georgia Tech’s strongest champion for green cleaning products and practices. Wendy has assisted the Building Services Department in achieving over eight national green cleaning awards and certifications, including the Green Seal Certification and the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) Green Building Certification “with Honors,” a rare designation reserved for top performing organizations.     

In addition to her green cleaning work and focus on productivity improvements through standardization and training, Wendy goes above and beyond contributing to diverse sustainability efforts at Georgia Tech. She is a founding member of the Facilities Sustainability Committee; she served on working groups during the formation of the Sustainability Next plan; she has been a consistent contributor to the Georgia Tech Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) report; and she has recently brought attention to improving campus soil quality – to name just a few.

She is a CIMS Certified Expert and serves on the ISSA Sustainability Committee, participating in both the Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Education groups. ISSA is an international Service Standards organization with an over 100-year history. It is the premier janitorial organization worldwide. Wendy is the only representative from the higher education sector on these working groups globally.

Wendy is dedicated to sustainability at Georgia Tech and has been an incredible asset towards advancing key initiatives. She has been the driving force behind many of the standards and trainings that Georgia Tech uses to embrace sustainability in our operational practices. We are lucky to have her as a champion!

Q&A

Q: Title:

A: Facility Operations Coordinator, Infrastructure and Sustainability

Q: How long have you been at Georgia Tech?

A: 17 years this month

Q: What does sustainability mean to you and/or why is it important?

A:  I believe we are a part of this planet, not just living on it . When you realize this truth more deeply,  then the natural world is an extension of your own body and your own spirit, and as such, what could be more important?  The effortless functioning of nature provides us with all the necessities of life, fresh oxygen, clean water, healthy food. And, just as importantly, nature nourishes our spirits. When we walk through the quiet forest, swim in the ocean or gaze upon majestic mountains, our spirit soars with happiness and gratitude. 

Q: What is your favorite quote about sustainability?

A: “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” – (Multiple Attributions)

Q: What is your favorite daily sustainability practice?

A: Working in my edible garden.

From the nomination:

“On a daily basis, Leonard embraces the SDGs and through his leadership and service, he makes campus and our planet a better and happier place.

He is a true champion of SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. He spends time before, during, and after our Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB) events setting up composting bins and educating our guests on how they can divert items from the landfill. Leonard brings enthusiasm and care to the often overlooked and not pleasant process of what to do with the “trash.” Just today he delightfully shared with me that he helped someone use the compost bin correctly. He works to recycle paper and staples in our office space. In addition, IBB’s café reopened last month, and Leonard has been patiently working with the café vendor to get them to recycle and compost more. To Leonard, each paper towel composted or aluminum can recycled makes a difference.

In addition, Leonard’s efforts address other SDGs such as 2: Zero Hunger and 15: Life on Land. Last month, he started working on collecting leftover food from our events and ensuring those items are delivered to Klemis Kitchen. During spring and fall bird migration seasons, he educates our Petit Biotechnology Building occupants how they can reduce bird collisions by turning off research lab lights before they leave every night. He also cuts of Nadina berries in the IBB courtyard, since sadly those berries can poison birds.”

Q&A

Q: What is your title?

A: Building Coordinator

Q: How long have you been at Georgia Tech?

A: Approximately 2 years

Q: What does sustainability mean to you and/or why is it important?

A:  It means a healthier oceanic life, atmospheric and quality of life. Sustainability allows mankind to take what was used to make it greener and to help reduce emissions and carbon footprints.

Q: What is your favorite saying about sustainability?

A: To compost and recycle matters!