Thanks, Bank of America!

Thanks to the generous grant funding by Bank of America, Chatham University professor, Iris Grossmann, Ph.D., of The Falk School of Sustainability and Environment, was able to recruit a team of students and other faculty members to work on what we hope to be a multi-year community-based sustainability project in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood with our community partnership agencies, Homewood Children’s Village (HCV) and Operation Better Block (OBB).

The first four months of the grant included recruiting the team and engaging in planning meetings as well as in multiple meetings with OBB staff to build a joint approach, meetings with OBB staff and Homewood residents to hear community concerns, site visits, as well as meetings to connect OBB with some of our other community partners. The team of students officially started on their projects and at their sites in the middle of May 2018, with the start of the summer semester. We look forward to sharing updates from each team member on the progress of this grant project.

Meet our team:

Lydia Aceto, BSUS: Lydia is interning onsite with Operation Better Block and is assisting with community development projects.

 

 

 

 

Morgan Block, MSUS: Morgan is interning onsite with Operation Better Block and is looking at the benefits of different green, safety, and walk-ability redesigns to the community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camilla Cook, MSUS: Camilla is working on completing a tree inventory South Homewood (Clusters 4, 8, and 9), and an independent study on mitigating air pollution with trees, and assessment of suitability of different trees for canopy restoration in South Homewood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sherrie Dunlap Gallagher, MBA/MSUS: Sherrie is serving as the Project Manager and is also studying how public-private partnerships can be the funding model to address community needs and to complete sustainable improvement, especially in the areas of green infrastructure, storm water management, and environmental restoration projects.

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Pepperman, MBA/MSUS: Lauren is studying the benefits of green infrastructure (GI) and is assistance with developing a dual-enrollment class on GI at Chatham that is free to seniors at Homewood’s Westinghouse Academy High School. She will explore of how GI training can contribute to workforce development and employment potential.

 

 

 

 

Riley Sunday, MFST: Riley is studying soil contamination testing and treatment experiment on selected plots that are important for community uses including play sites for children, and for potential community gardens. Riley works with the Conservation District and is currently engaged in similar soil testing projects in the region. 

 

 

 

Faculty Supervisors: Iris Grossmann, Ph.D, Linda LMK Johnson, Ph.D., Tom Macagno, Ph.D., Chris Murakami, Ph.D.