A core part of the Institute’s mission is to foster a new cohort of sustainability leaders – across disciplines and generations. Through these fellowships, the Institute seeks to help smaller enterprises and their communities in the U.S. and Canada utilize sustainability to improve their economic conditions and quality of life, and to provide a laboratory for leaders from different disciplines to learn about the triple bottom line from one another. In 2009, the Institute Sustainability Fellows cohort included graduate and undergraduate students in the fields of business, environmental studies, law, planning and politics.
Sustainability Fellows work collaboratively as a coordinated team to provide services to a growing network of small businesses and non-profits interested in understanding and implementing triple-bottom line sustainability strategies into their organizations and communities. In addition to active engagement in the ongoing operations of the Institute, each Fellow will develop one summer-long research project in line with both Green Plus’s needs and the particular interests and expertise of the individual fellow. Accepted Fellows participate in a special training at the start of the summer to prepare them with the skills necessary to offer coaching, consulting, and other services to Green Plus’s diverse client base.
Ting Lei
Ting is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at Duke University, with a concentration in Environmental Economics & Policy. Before coming to Duke, she received her Bachelor’s degree of Science at Renmin University of China (RUC), with a major in Environmental Science. During her undergraduate study, Ting served as an intern in both an environmental consulting firm as well as the local government. Also, she has been devoted to various kinds of volunteer activities, including the project manager and vice president of the department of environmental protection. As for academic research, Ting focused on issues of water management, water pollution control and environmental flows during her undergraduate study, and now is focusing on Resource Economics.
Megan Maltenfort
Megan is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Management with a concentration in Environmental Economics and Policy at Duke University. Before coming to Duke, she was a paralegal in Manhattan, helping to manage cases for a law firm of about 80 lawyers. She also held a position at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the environmental law division. Megan is interested in corporate environmental management and hopes to pursue a career in corporate sustainability in the future. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Science, Technology, and Society from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Catherine Noyes
Catherine is currently pursuing a Master’s of Environmental Management with a concentration in Global Environmental Change at Duke University. At Duke, Catherine is active in the Student International Discussion Group, and also serves as a debate/forensics judge for the Collegiate Forensics Association. Before coming to Duke, Catherine received a Bachelor’s of Science from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, where she majored in Business/Economics, Biology, and Environmental Studies. At R-MC, Catherine was a member of the strategic planning committee, editor of the newspaper, and a mentor resident assistant.
Bunny Tucker is currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Management with a concentration in Economics and Policy at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Before coming to Duke, she taught high school science for two years in Conway, North Carolina, as a 2006 Teach For America corps member, where she raised student scores by 206%. After leaving her classroom, she trained new teachers as a Teach For America staff member and ran an after school literacy program in Washington, DC. She graduated with honors from the University of Southern California.
Amanda Campbell
Amanda is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning with a specialization in land/use and environmental planning at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Before coming to UNC, she was a Park Naturalist at Gulf Branch Nature Center, for Arlington County, Virginia. Accomplishments included leading programs for adults on water conservation, integrated pest management, Energy Audits 101, and backyard wildlife habitats. She also pursuaded the county’s Energy Manager to fund an energy audit for nature center, which led to renovations, and a more comfortable, energy-efficient building. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and minors in Environmental Studies and Music from James Madison University, VA.
Dale Hammer
Dale was born and raised in northwestern New Jersey and has considered himself a Tar Heel his entire life. He spent his freshman year at Providence College in Rhode Island and is currently a rising senior at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in environmental studies and political science. Dale considers himself an environmentalist and serves as service chair of Phi Sigma Pi national honor fraternity where he organizes stream clean-ups and other community service activities. After graduation, he plans to continue his education at UNC School of Law and pursue a career in environmental law. Dale looks forward to the opportunity to intern at Green Plus where he hopes to gain valuable experience in the field.
Elizabeth Liedel
Elizabeth Liedel is a joint degree candidate at Duke University, pursuing an MBA at the Fuqua School of Business and a Master of Environmental Management at the Nicholas School for the Environment. She is on the Executive Committee of the Duke Microfinance Leadership Initiative and is active in Fuqua’s Net Impact chapter, the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club, and the Association of Women in Business. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG), a Boston-based non-profit that incubates small businesses which manufacture green technologies to improve access to clean water, sanitation and renewable energy for the global poor. Prior to returning to school, Elizabeth worked in major gifts fundraising for Combined Jewish Philanthropies. She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Smith College, where she has also served on the Board of Trustees.
Brooks Rainey Pearson
Brooks Rainey Pearson is a dual degree student at UNC working toward a law degree as well as a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. Brooks graduated from UNC in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and spent six years in the Outer Banks where she owned and operated three yoga and Pilates studios before returning to Chapel Hill for school in 2006. Since her return, Brooks has pursued her interest in land use and environmental law. She was the vice president of the Environmental Law Project, was published in the Environmental Law Symposium Journal, and completed an independent study on the tax law of conservation easements. Brooks hopes to build a career helping organizations and municipalities grow sustainably.
Teddy Salgado
Teddy Salgado is a master’s student at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business pursuing his MBA with concentrations in Social Entrepreneurship and Decision Sciences. His professional interests include business strategy and development, particularly with environmentally and socially sustainable organizations. Teddy recently traveled to Nicaragua to work with a solar energy company, Tecnosol, on expansion plans. He also worked with a Durham-based community development venture fund, Talent Capital, on a business development project. Prior to business school Teddy was the Business Analyst in Children’s Hospital Boston’s department of cardiology where he managed operations for several research studies and served as a finance committee member for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Pediatric Heart Network. Teddy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania where he completed a B.A. in mathematics with a music minor.
Napoleon Wallace
Napoleon Wallace is a master’s student at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business. Napoleon has an extensive background in finance, working as a high-yield credit analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets for four years and as the commercial banking credit analyst for M&F Bancorp for two years. He has a strong interest in the intersection between entrepreneurship and sustainability, and has been engaged with HIP Investor, SJF Advisory Services, CSE Consulting and the Center for Competitive Economies during his first year of business school. Napoleon is currently one of Kenan-Flagler’s 2009 Carolina Entrepreneurial Fellows.
