2024-25 Student Sustainability Leadership - Full Nominations
Maredythe Cooper
Nominator:
Terri Armstrong, Assistant Director of Black Resource Center, Office of Belonging and Inclusion
Narrative Statement
It is with great pleasure to nominate Maredythe Cooper for the Student Sustainability Leadership Award, to recognize and encourage her commitment to conscious leadership that centers the important intersection between race and sustainability.
Maredythe currently works at the SoCal Black Worker Hub/Long Beach Black Worker Center as a Project Intern, where she conducts research on Black workers in Southern California that can help provide advocacy support. Her advocacy work in this role requires her to consider the environmental aspects within the workplace and learn the labor laws regarding fires and air quality to create resources that address hazards and protections.
In Maredythe’s pursuit of her degree in Environmental Science and Policy with a minor in Geography, she has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to sustainability, actively participating in projects that have significantly raised awareness and encouraged her peers to consider diversity and equity issues within sustainability. She applies a critical lens that links sustainability, environmental racism and unequal access to resources. I applaud Maredythe’s determination to persist in her major so that she can be a voice to address how the lack of diversity in the field reflects the field’s lack of accessibility to Black, Indigenous and students of color due to underrepresentation, thereby making a career in the field seem unattainable to this student demographic.
Notably, Maredythe is a member of Sisterfriends, a support network for our Black/African American women students. In her recent collaboration for Black Heritage Month, she coordinated a workshop for Black women students, “Don’t Touch My Hair” where they reviewed haircare products. As a student leader, Maredythe assessed that Black women students need hair products, however, such products are expensive, so she and her peers developed this workshop where they could review products, their ingredients, what ingredients to watch out for, and haircare tips while also partnering with the Basic Needs program to have haircare products donated to students.
For Maredythe, her leadership philosophy is service. As she learns the issues facing Sustainability and learns how to communicate the issues, she continues to seek opportunities to develop personally and professionally. One such opportunity was presented to her as a research project on national parks and the removal of indigenous Americans. The project examined the sustainability practices of indigenous Americans and their maintenance of the land before they were forcibly removed from their lands to establish National Parks across the countries. The project specifically addressed how different institutions and what theoretical ideas allowed such actions to take place, and what is being done in the present to reconcile harms done in the past.
Maredythe was also presented with the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica for a semester to conduct research with The Green Building Council of Costa Rica (GBCCR), a global non-profit that promotes community participation in construction and development through the recognition of sustainability principles and practice. Maredythe served as a student leader on the GBCCR Zero Carbon Building Accelerator, an initiative through the UN, where she researched sustainable technologies within the construction sector to determine ways to achieve net zero carbon emissions. She worked collaboratively with her international peers to create and present their report to the World Resource Institute. Maredythe describes this experience as enlightening, to work in Costa Rica with people from all different cultural backgrounds, to learn diverse sustainability practices from a global perspective, and to develop as a leader and researcher. She never would have thought that she would have such an opportunity, and it sparked a light in her.
Having studied abroad, Maredythe is able to lead by example to inform and empower her peers to consider sustainability beyond recycling. In her critical analysis of sustainability, she is conscious that asking communities of color to be sustainable is unfair because of the disproportionate environmental and systemic issues within their communities. She is also conscious of how the field centers whiteness, therefore, to be considered an environmentalist one must look a certain way. However, she does not believe she fits into this box so she has found other ways to engage as a leader in sustainability that would make her feel seen, which does not require her to be in the spotlight. For this reason, she does not have videos or photos of her engaged in her leadership activity because she works from behind the scenes. She feels seen by being in service of and being recognized by her community.
Since I have known Maredythe, I have been impressed with her conviction for environmental justice. Maredythe’ s passion is truly inspiring, and her leadership has demonstrably moved her peers towards a more conscious consideration of sustainability and environmental justice. I know that she does not want to be in the spotlight, and she does not want the attention because she does not want her work to be perceived as performative. I also know that she does not wish to be featured as a token Black student in Sustainability because of the lack of diversity in the field. However, I am confident that she is a deserving recipient of the Student Sustainability Leadership Award.
Sincerely,
Terri Armstrong
Capacity Nominator has worked with Nominee:
Maredythe currently serves as an intern in the Catalyst for Change program, and internship program that provides paid positions for students to engage in meaningful work in the community. She has interned for two organizations, Forward Long Beach and the Black Worker Center. In both positions, she has been able to connect her passions of environmental justice and social justice. Maredythe is a student leader who has held many leadership positions on campus. She is part of many student organizations, including Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, the Black Student Union, and the Black Campus Ministries program. As a student leader she has participated in planning committees for various programs including the Black History Month planning team. She is also a student assistant for the Women's Gender & Equity Center.
Christian Garcia
Nominator(s):
Emily Fitzpatrick, Fellow Student
Dr. Christine Whitcraft, Professor, Biology Department
Narrative Statement
The below is a statement from Dr. Whitcraft, who supported my nomination:
"After graduating, Christian followed his passion to volunteer with a local wetland stewardship group, Los Cerritos Wetland Stewards, and then eventually earned a position working as a biologist at Tidal Influence. In this capacity, I continue to work with Christian in two ways. First, he works with a non-profit where I am vice president, Friends of Colorado Lagoon (FOCL). He organizes and leads 2nd Saturday events for FOCL where he is responsible for developing talking points about ecology and history as well as leading community-based restoration events. He is also responsible for monthly surveys of the lagoon for any maintenance needs, and he reports this very professionally to FOCL as well as staff from the City of Long Beach. Next, he also supports service learning in my CSULB classes while working at Los Cerritos Wetlands also for Tidal Influence. In this capacity, he is knowledgeable about vegetation and bird sampling techniques as well as wetland plant restoration techniques. My students in classes and in service learning experiences rave about their time working with Christian. He is approachable, knowledgeable, and eager to inspire the next generation of ecologists."
As a student who has worked with Christian, I can confidently say that the experience was invaluable. He has advanced CSULB students' knowledge of restoration through service learning and internship experiences, as well as promoting community involvement in wetland conservation. I believe that Christian's community leadership, strength of commitment, and high impact on those who have worked with him make him a strong candidate for the Student Sustainability Leadership Award."
Capacity Nominator has worked with Nominee:
I met Christian in the Spring semester of 2024 when I was taking Dr. Whitcraft's conservation biology course. The course included a semester-long service learning project with local organizations, and I decided to work with the wetland restoration organization Tidal Influence. Chris, who had graduated from CSULB with his B.S. in Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography in 2021, was working at the Los Cerritos Wetlands for Tidal Influence. He remained connected to Dr. Whitcraft and supported CSULB student interns at Tidal Influence, advancing their exploration of wetland ecology. Over the semester, those of us working with Tidal Influence came to appreciate his friendliness, depth of knowledge, openness to answering questions, and genuine curiosity towards unfamiliar areas of study.
Eric Bohay
Nominator:
Jonathan Pando Ocon, Assistant Professor, Geography
Narrative Statement
I am writing to nominate my student, Eric Bohay, for the Student Sustainability Leadership Award as he exemplifies sustainability leadership through his dedication to integrating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) with modern geospatial analysis. In my multivariate statistics course, Eric developed a project that analyzed climate conditions and remote sensing imagery to characterize environmental factors influencing pinenut harvest success in the Eastern Sierras. Recognizing the significance of this work for his community, he expanded the project beyond the classroom, collaborating with his tribal council to integrate historical harvest data with geospatial modeling. By bridging Indigenous knowledge with environmental data, Eric’s work advances sustainable land management practices while reinforcing cultural traditions tied to seasonal harvests. Eric has also actively sought to institutionalize this interdisciplinary approach at CSULB. He brought his project to the American Indian Studies (AIS) department, fostering collaboration between AIS and Geography to create pathways for Indigenous-centered environmental research. His work underscores the importance of Indigenous knowledge in climate resilience and sustainable resource management, setting a precedent for future student-led initiatives.
Eric’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond academic research—his efforts have tangible benefits for both his tribal community and the CSULB campus. By analyzing environmental conditions affecting pinenut harvests, Eric’s work supports adaptive management strategies that ensure the sustainability of this crucial food source. His research informs local decision-making among tribal members who depend on successful harvests for winter sustenance, reinforcing the role of ITEK in contemporary climate science. Eric’s impact is also seen in his active participation in community-building efforts. As a member of the CSULB Pow Wow planning committee, he played an instrumental role in organizing and executing the university’s largest cultural event, which centers Indigenous traditions and environmental values. His contributions helped foster a space where Indigenous students and allies could celebrate their heritage while engaging in discussions about sustainability, land stewardship, and ecological justice.
Through his work connecting Geography and AIS, he has led efforts to create interdisciplinary research opportunities that serve both the academic community and Indigenous populations. Eric’s dedication to sustainability is not a passing interest but a defining aspect of his academic and professional journey. His work has reinforced his commitment to applying geospatial analysis in service of Indigenous environmental priorities. He plans to continue integrating TEK with geographic information science (GIS), exploring sustainable resource management strategies that prioritize Indigenous sovereignty and ecological resilience.
Eric’s future aspirations reflect his deep-seated passion for sustainability. He intends to pursue graduate studies in environmental geography, focusing on Indigenous climate adaptation strategies. His leadership, research, and community engagement demonstrate an unwavering commitment to fostering a just and sustainable future—one that honors and uplifts Indigenous ecological knowledge. For his groundbreaking work, dedication to community service, and inspiring leadership, I wholeheartedly nominate Eric Bohay for the CSULB Student Sustainability Leadership Award.
Capacity Nominator has worked with Nominee:
Eric took my GEOG 400 - Multivariate Geographic Analysis, and is currently enrolled in my GEOG 473 - Intro to Earth Observation course. Eric has also sought out additional advisement beyond class on applying geographic methods beyond the classroom.
Supporting Materials:
https://www.csulb.edu/news/article/csulbs-pow-wow-focuses-the-next-gene…
