Award Webinar: Supporting Resilient Climate Leaders: How (and why) Tufts Redesigned the Eco Rep Program
June 17 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
For years, sustainability staff have worked to close the gap between our aspirations and operational realities. There have been good days, but we have been asking if there might be a better, more effective way to make change. One that fosters a shift in campus culture and approach by directly aligning our change initiatives with the primary purpose of higher education – education.
As a start, Tufts University’s Office of Sustainability redesigned its co-curricular offerings to better support the needs of its students. Inspired by our institution’s strategic vision for education, we’re testing the idea that when learning happens everywhere, organizational change will follow. Equity and justice considerations were a key catalyst for our programmatic redesign. Equity is central to the mission of our new programming, and we take care to provide training and opportunities for students to explore the connections between equity and sustainability.
Presenters will (1) discuss our current theory of change and its origins, (2) overview the four principles that underpin the Resilient Climate Leaders programming (drawn from research on youth climate activists and their emotions), and (3) help participants think about how these can be applied in diverse campus contexts. These principles and the programing we developed were designed to support the complex emotional experiences of our students, while also advancing the primary work of our institution: education and research.
Presenters
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Ann Ward, Sustainability Manager, Tufts University Ann Ward joined the Tufts Office of Sustainability in April 2022 as the Sustainability Manager. Ann is passionate about the critical role that education and engagement can play in creating a more sustainable, climate conscious world. Ann blends her research on the ways young climate activists manage emotions around climate change with the programming she runs for the Office of Sustainability. Ann received her PhD in Sociology from Brandeis University and graduated from Siena College with a BA in Sociology and a certificate in Community Development. While at Siena, she spent four years as an AmeriCorps member through the Bonner Service Leaders Program. |
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Dano Weisbord, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Director of Campus Planning, Tufts University Dano Weisbord joined Tufts in 2022 to further Tufts’ commitment to be a higher education leader in sustainability and climate matters. He works across the university to bridge campus operations with education, co-curricular, and research activities. Dano came to Tufts from Smith College where he held the position of Associate Vice President for Campus Planning and Sustainability. Dano was responsible for large-scale planning projects at Smith including the electrification and decarbonization of a thermal and electric district energy system. Over his fourteen years at Smith, Dano also served as Director of the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability and was the College’s Founding Director of Sustainability establishing sustainability and campus planning functions. Previously, Dano advised on corporate environmental responsibility strategy for CLF Ventures in Boston MA, where clients included international mining, energy and real-estate companies, and organized a regional wind-power industry alliance. He was a director of the Global Association of Corporate Sustainability Officers in London, and lead author on Sustainable Endowments Institute’s Greening the Bottom Line. Dano has a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design. |
Resilient Climate Leaders is the recipient of a 2025 AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award. This webinar is part of a June showcase highlighting all winners in this category.