Sara Smiley Smith, MESc MPH, graduated from the joint masters program between the School of Epidemiology and Public Health and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale in 2007. She is now pursuing a doctoral degree at the University with a focus in sustainability and the process of innovation diffusion. In 2005 and 2006, Sara's work in the Office of Sustainability centered around improving move-out recycling and reuse efforts on the undergraduate campus known as Spring Salvage. In 2007, she worked to envision and implement Yale's first annual Sustainability Summit, a series of campus wide events designed to communicate sustainabiltiy initatives around campus, celebrate achievements, and encourage dialogue. Sara is now leading two teams of graduate students who will explore opportunities to advance the sustainabilty of both the Health Services and Athletics departments on Yale's campus. Prior to arriving at Yale, Sara received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT in 2004. Sara grew up in the small town of Winslow, Maine, a place she misses most in the fall.

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Matthew Thurston is a student at Yale's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies where he is a candidate for a Master of Environmental Management. His academic and professional pursuits include energy policy, environmental history, stream restoration, and the efficient use of natural resources. At F&ES he is studying industrial ecology. Matt hopes to apply the skills and knowledge he has gleaned from industrial ecology to his job at the Office of Sustainability. He looks forward to improving the sustainability of the university with his project team.

Matt is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Government from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His personal interests include international relations, renewable energy, and stream hydrology. Matt is also involved in the efforts of Yale Recycling.

Kate Ittleman is a Masters of Public Health graduate student from Charlotte, VT. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2006. Her current focus is the epidemiology of microbial disease and she is very interested in the connections between environmental and human health. She looks forward to working on the Yale Health Services team to improve their sustainability practices.

Kyle Williams was born and raised near Kalamazoo, Michigan. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.A. in French, both from Hope College in Holland, MI. During his undergraduate career he also studied engineering and chemistry in addition to spending a semester studying at the Universite de Haute Bretagne, Rennes II, in Rennes, France.

His focus here at F&ES is on sustainable development and urban planning, both in domestic and international contexts. Specifically, he is developing the technical skills and knowledge to work within community education and empowerment programs that address both technical problems at the community and household scale as well as the social justice issues inherent to those situations. He expects to complete the Masters of Environmental Management program in May of 2010 and either go to work for an existing organization (likely non-profit or NGO) or to create his own.

Tyler Hill is a senior in Pierson College hoping to graduate with a degree in Philosophy. His studies focus primarily on mathematical logic, metaphysics and epistemology.

Tyler has worked as an editorial intern at BusinessWeek and SmartMoney magazines, covering everything from environmental innovation to corporate bonds. His interests in addition to philosophy and journalism include music -- particularly classical organ and piano -- literature and running. During the comming year he will work on the Office of Sustainability newsletter.