Making the Sustainable University / Education for Sustainability (PDF)

Katie Leone, M.A., is a systems thinker with proven success in connecting communities, organizations, and individuals to set and achieve audacious goals aimed at improving quality of life. She leads sustainability and impact programs at Collaboratory, where she works to accelerate local actions toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets. Her work centers on integrating sustainability as a strategic framework for solving social, economic, and environmental problems. She earned her master's from Chatham University's Falk School of Sustainability and completed a Climate Fellowship at the University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute. Before joining the team at Collaboratory, Katie studied and taught abroad in Italy and South Korea. She also served as Florida Gulf Coast University's sustainability officer, where she worked across institutional units to bridge educational and operational sustainability goals. Katie is committed to helping organizations and people transform communities by using sustainability metrics alongside stakeholder engagement processes. She is particularly experienced in food systems, climate action, education, and social equity.
Simeon Komisar, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Program Director of Environmental Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University where he holds the Backe Chair in Renewable Energy. His research focuses on sustainable water and wastewater processes, resource recovery, sustainable design, and energy efficiency which is reflected in his teaching. He developed the course Sustainability in Engineering, required of all graduating Florida Gulf Coast University Environmental and Civil engineering students, and has taken an active role in the teaching and assessment of sustainability practices at Florida Gulf Coast University as a whole. He has headed efforts to renew the Florida Gulf Coast University's signature course, University Colloquium-A Sustainable Future, and is actively participating in an effort to