Since 2025 Sustain Penn State has offered sustainability career programming to empower student success by helping them explore career pathways and network with alumni in sustainability fields. We are excited to announce the Fall 2026 lineup for our events! If you have ideas for events, or would be interested in being featured in our programming, contact our Student and Public Programming Coordinator, Julius Camper (jac8761@psu.edu) and our Career and Alumni Programming Intern, Edith Rivadeneira (ecr5453@psu.edu).
Using AI in Sustainability Careers
September 23, 2026, 12:15-1:15 P.M. (EDT).
Zoom Webinar and Pizza Watch Party in HUB 131.
AI is transforming the world of work and sustainability fields are no exception. Are you wondering how you might use AI in a sustainability career? Are you looking to increase your AI literacy? Join us to learn about these topics as we kick-off our Sustainability Career Series for the 2026-2027 academic year. As Penn State and employers continue to adopt AI into everyday practices, knowing the current and future state of AI in sustainability work is critical to your career success. In addition to our Zoom webinar, we will have a pizza watch party in HUB 131 for University Park students.
Scheduled speakers include (with more to be announced):
- Eli Andrews, CEO, civiqIQ RE
- Amy Schirf, Education Coordinator, Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority
- Nasim Motalebi, AI Lead, United Nations World Food Programme
Sustainability Careers in Arts and Architecture
November 17, 2026, 12:15-1:15 P.M. (EDT).
Zoom Webinar and Pizza Watch Party in HUB 131.
Have you wondered how you can combine sustainability with a career in arts or architecture? Creating sustainable infrastructure, designing spaces and communities to be sustainable, and using art to interrogate the sustainable challenges of our time are increasingly important. Climate change, social justice, public health, biodiversity protection — all these challenges and more require innovative designers, artists, architects, and planners who understand how people and places interact. This panel will focus on what it looks like to have a job incorporating sustainability into these fields. Join Penn State alumni who will share what they love about their work, the challenges they address, how their Penn State education helped them, and how to break into these industries. In addition to our Zoom webinar, we will have a pizza watch party in HUB 131 for University Park students.
Speakers to be announced soon!
In 2025-26, we hosted six webinars. Check out recordings for those webinars where recording was permitted:
Sustainability Careers in Nonprofits
January 28, 2026
Our speakers included:
- Jillian Barskey, Streamside Projects Coordinator, ClearWater Conservancy
- Kara Miller, Community Nutrition Project Coordinator, The Food Trust
- Eric Sauder, Founder, RegenAll
- Logan Stenger, Project Manager, Chesapeake Conservancy
Careers in Earth and Mineral Sciences
February 18, 2026
Our speakers included:
- Jenna Bishop, Environmental Compliance Manager, Fairlife
- Elisabeth Clyne, Project Geophysicist, Tetra Tech, Inc.
- Parivash Moradifar, Principal Research Staff Scientist, Stanford
- Joe Thompson, Commissioning Coordinator, e-STORAGE
Careers in Outdoor Education
March 19, 2026
Our speakers included:
- Rachel Duke, Public Programs Manager, the Arboretum at Penn State
- Autumn Graham, BISCI Educational Coordinator, Shaver’s Creek
- Lydia Neuhauser, Environmental Educator, Dauphin County Parks and Recreation
- Christina Spohn, Senior Coordinator, Outdoor Adventure Program, Virginia Commonwealth University
Starting Your Sustainability Career: Turning Passion Into Profession
September 22, 2025
Our speakers included:
- Ashley Currey, ’25, B.S. Entrepreneurship; Job searching
- Isabella Briseño Elalfi, ’23, B.S. Environmental Resource Management; Associate, Converge Strategies
- Benjamin Lyman, ’20, B.S. Environmental Biology; Client Relations Manager, RoadRunner Recycling
- Marisela Sotelo Tornero, ’25, M.P.P. Public Policy Analysis; Doctoral student in Health Policy
- Nora Van Horn, ’21, B.S. Philosophy, Global Studies, and Chinese; NY Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection
Careers in Agriculture, Food Systems, and Sustainability
November 18, 2025
Our speakers included:
- Jessica Chou, Programs Director, Greener Partners
- Rachel Hoh, Director of Double Up Food Bucks Michigan program, Fair Food Network
- Eric Rosenbaum, Owner and Senior Agronomist, Rosetree Consulting, LLC
- Rachel Vanlandingham, R&D External Strategy, PepsiCo
Our Sustainability Career Programming would not be possible without the support of the University Park Student Fee Board.
