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CGRS Key Campus Contacts

WILLIAM LYONS ’90 Jr., JD, MSS, MTUS, MSt.
Colonel (Retired), US Army Reserve
Director, Center for Global Resilience & Security
Adjunct Faculty, Civil Engineering and Construction Management

William F. Lyons Jr. was appointed the director of the Center for Global Resiliency and Security in July of 2022. Bill has more than thirty years of experience in academia, consulting, law, government, and technology. He is a highly respected executive, entrepreneur, and thought leader. A 1990 graduate of �Ļ�Ӱ��, Bill earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Within �Ļ�Ӱ��, Bill has been as a senior fellow in the Center for Global Resilience & Security, an adjunct faculty member in the David Crawford School of Engineering, and a consultant to the �Ļ�Ӱ�� Applied Research Institutes (NUARI). He has also served the university as the President of the �Ļ�Ӱ�� Alumni Association and as a member of the Partridge Society. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the University of Massachusetts Amherst - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he is a candidate for a PhD and a Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellow. His previous academic appointments include adjunct faculty positions at Unity Environmental University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Southern New Hampshire University, and the US Army Command & General Staff College. He holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School (with honors in environmental law), a Master of Strategic Studies from the US Army War College, a Master of Transportation and Urban Systems from North Dakota State University, and a Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership from the University Cambridge (UK). Over the last fifteen years, the consulting firm Bill founded and led has executed projects in nineteen countries on five continents for U.S. government clients, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the special operations community. 

In his military career, Bill served in command at all levels from detachment through brigade. He is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and recently retired in the rank of colonel in the Army Reserves, having served most of his career in human intelligence and strategic military intelligence. He commanded two military intelligence brigades, including the 2200th Military Intelligence Group, Fort Devens, MA, and the 2500th Military Intelligence Group, Jacksonville, FL. His staff assignments include Multinational Division North/Stabilization Forces Bosnia, US Central Command/Combined Joint Task Force 7, the Defense Intelligence Agency, FEMA Region 1 Defense Coordination Office, US European Command CJ2, the National Ground Intelligence Center, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. He is fully joint qualified. His terminal assignment was Deputy G4/Deputy Director of Logistics for the US Army Corps of Engineers. His personal decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Action Badge.

Bill’s research interests include environmental security, sustainable urban design, infrastructure and environment in developing countries, and new urban mobility. He is widely published in academic journals, trade journals, and in periodicals. He recently resided in Juba, South Sudan for 14 months, where he was the Director of Design & Construction for the US Embassy.

KAHWA DOUOGUIH, PH.D.
Entrepreneur, Economist, Educator
Director, Center for Global Resilience & Security

Kahwa Douoguih  is committed to creating and growing business opportunities and sustainable solutions for the energy, mining, and agribusiness sectors. Over the course of her career, Douoguih has developed interactive modeling and scenario testing tools, harnessing the power of economics and data analytics for executive decision-making. She brings a broad scope of international experience in Africa and the Americas in the areas of economics, development, and finance at both public and private sector institutions and several start-up ventures.  As a CGRS senior fellow, she will leverage her international experience to help �Ļ�Ӱ�� students develop a globalized perspective in business and entrepreneurship. Kahwa holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland, an M.S. in mineral economics from the Colorado School of Mines, and a B.A. from Stanford University. 

MEGAN LIPTAK, M’09
Assistant Director, Research Centers

Megan Liptak joined �Ļ�Ӱ�� in 2010 and has planned, managed and executed events and provided various administrative services for over ten years. She has served on several campus committees, most recently as the chair of the Staff Retreat planning committee, and co-chair of the International Symposium of Military Academies planning committee. She is currently a member of the Faculty/Staff Campaign Committee and an NU Wellness Ambassador. She holds a bachelor of arts in history with a minor in anthropology/archaeology from Millersville University in Pennsylvania and a master of arts in military history from �Ļ�Ӱ�� where her capstone project focused on the comparison of combat soldier experiences during World War II and the conflict in Vietnam.

TARA KULKARNI, PH.D.
Founding Director
Associate Provost for Research and Chief Research Officer
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Tara Kulkarni, Ph.D., P.E., joined the �Ļ�Ӱ�� family in 2011 and served as the director of the Center for Global Resilience and Security at �Ļ�Ӱ�� from its launch in 2017 through 2022.
For CGRS, Tara co-led the university’s Environmental Security Initiative (ESI), and CGRS efforts in developing an energy resilience and security education track to create generational change in the US
Department of Army. At the state and local level, Tara created and led CGRS’s Dog River Conservancy for three years and CGRS efforts to coordinate the activities of the Resilient Vermont Network, including conducting professional development workshops and conferences for emergency responders, local area hazard mitigation professionals and nonprofit organizations. She serves on Vermont’s State Hazard Mitigation Planning steering committee and, on the science, and data subcommittee of Vermont’s Climate Council. She also serves on the boards of Vermont’s Energy Action Network, and Conservation Law Foundation and is part of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Association of Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation. The funds she has raised for CGRS have also resulted in supporting multiple undergraduate student fellowships. Tara complements her technical expertise with advocating for the humanities through co-directing the �Ļ�Ӱ�� Humanities Initiative.

CGRS Senior Advisors

KAREN GAINES, PH.D.

Dr. Karen Gaines has served as the Provost and Dean of the Faculty at �Ļ�Ӱ�� since 2022, where she oversees academic affairs and its internal operations. Dr. Gaines’s Ph.D. is in Environmental Toxicology from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. She is internationally recognized for her expertise in environmental and human toxicological risk assessment and worked for the Department of Energy prior to entering academia. Dr. Gaines is also a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has consulted for the USEPA, USFWS, USDA, NASA as well as the US Department of Defense and continues to serve these agencies in various capacities.

CGRS Advisory Board

BRIAN BALUKONIS '87
PG, Vice President of EnviroVantage, Inc.

MATTHEW BARRETT, PH.D, MST, MSC, MSC, BSC

Matthew Barrett is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments and Charted Associate of the London Institute of Banking and Finance. He has a PhD in Socially Responsible Investment and has written academic papers in the area. He is also a Chartered Wealth Manager and co-founder of Churchill Ethical investments (CEI). CEI helps people and organisations such as charities invest according to their specific ethical criteria. It is a member of the Social Investment Forum and Ethical Investment Association. Matthew is alumnus of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

CASEY BARTREM, PH.D.
Environmental Scientist

In her work with TerraGraphics International Foundation (TIFO), an international non-governmental organization, Casey Bartrem helps support mining and recycling communities in improving environmental health. Since 2010, Bartrem has worked with international NGOs and state and federal Nigerian governments in responding to severe heavy metal poisoning in artisanal mining communities in Northern Nigeria. She has worked on environmental health projects in Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and the United States, often in close collaboration with local stakeholders, government representatives, humanitarian organizations, and other NGOs. Bartrem is a visiting lecturer at the American University of Armenia’s School of Public Health, where she teaches environmental health/risk assessment for master of public health students. She also serves as a fellow for the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent, international academy of renowned scientists in the fields of occupational and environmental health. From 2007 to 2009, Bartrem was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Lesotho. She is developing a course in Environmental Crime for the �Ļ�Ӱ�� School of Justice Studies and Sociology.

RAY CARREIRA '96
Vice President of Security, Andreessen Horowitz

Ray Carreira is the vice president of Security where he oversees physical security, intelligence and investigations, residential and executive security, event security, and security support to portfolio companies.

Prior to joining a16z, Ray was a head of global security at Meta where he provided strategic direction for event security and operations at international and domestic events. Before that, Ray worked for the Santa Clara Police Department where he was a deputized FBI Task Force Officer, undercover detective, crime scene investigator, and head of intelligence operations for the Special Operations Division.

Ray began his career in the United States Air Force as an Intelligence Officer after graduating with a BS in business management & administration from �Ļ�Ӱ��. Outside of work, Ray loves traveling with his family, hiking, music concerts, and F1 racing events. 

KAYLA FRIEDMAN, PHD
Course Director, Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment, Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership, Cambridge University

JERRY GAGNE
Wolf & Company, P.C.

WENDI GOLDSMITH, PHD
Sustainability Visions LLC

JIM GOUDREAU '90, CAPT (RET.), US NAVY

CAPT (Ret.) James Goudreau is a senior sustainability consultant. He serves on several advisory boards, including �Ļ�Ӱ��’s Center for Global Resilience and Security (CGRS) and Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS). He is the former Vice President, Environmental, Social and Governance at CVS Health.

As a former United States Navy Captain, Goudreau brings significant leadership experience in environmental health and recently served as both the Head of Climate and the Head of Environmental Sustainability External Engagement at Novartis.

Goudreau was a member of the United States Navy for more than 26 years. He worked as a supply corps officer deployed on ships and in the field. He then led the Navy energy coordination office at the Pentagon, where he established a strategy and executed projects to help the Navy be greener, more sustainable and resilient.

Goudreau also served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy) – a role equivalent to a two-star Navy admiral – where he led sustainability for all the Navy and Marine Corps operational forces and installation commands.

KEVIN JONES '90, RADM (RET.), US NAVY
Senior Director of Logistics, North and Latin Americas at Meta

ANINA KOSTECKI
Foundation Director, Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation, Inc.

ALBERT (ALBIE) LEWIS ’73 & M’98
Colonel, Vermont National Guard (Ret.)

Albie Lewis ’73 & M’98 served as the Region 1 federal coordinating officer (FCO) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from February 2007 to August 2020.  In his capacity as FCO, he led disaster relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Ike. As deputy and special assistant to the FCO, he aided in disaster responses for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2005-2006 Texas wildfires. Albie previously held an appointment as the director of Vermont Emergency Management. In this position he oversaw all operations of the State of Vermont’s Emergency Management system, leading teams in preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts for hazard emergencies across the state. In 25 years with the Berlin (Vermont) Volunteer Fire Department, he lent his expertise as a firefighter, hazardous materials technician, high angle/mountain rescue, and cold water/ice rescue diver, and fire chief. He served twenty-eight years in the U.S. military, completing his last active-duty tour as the U.S. Military Liaison Team Chief for Macedonia. He helped establish Vermont's Army Mountain Warfare School, and retired as a colonel from the Vermont National Guard. In addition to his �Ļ�Ӱ��-earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Albie is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and holds a second graduate degree in Strategic Studies.

Albie knows something about resilience. Abandoned by his father at just a year old, he arose from humble beginnings as a ward of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As a young servicemember, he suffered broken cheekbones and a fractured eye socket following a horse kick to the head. While recovering from those injuries, he competed in the 1980 Olympic trials as a pentathlete. Albie turns every challenge into an opportunity to grow stronger and to serve. Learn more about him:

The �Ļ�Ӱ�� Record | Summer 2019, “”
The �Ļ�Ӱ�� Record | Winter 2017 (p. 32), “”

JOHN R. MULLIN, PH.D.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Emeritus Professor of Regional Planning, Associate Director of the Center for Economic Development, Former Dean of the Graduate School
United States Army National Guard: Brigadier General (Ret.)

A Senior Fulbright Scholar, John R. Mullin has written or edited more than one hundred book chapters, book reviews, technical reports, journal articles, and conference proceedings. His research and professional interests include industrial revitalization, port development, and downtown planning. Now retired from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he continues to teach in the honors program and serves on dissertation and thesis committees. In his capacity as associate director of the Center for Economic Development, he continues to provide technical assistance on economic development to cities and towns across the Commonwealth. As a consultant, he is assisting the town of Haddam, Connecticut in the preparation of its Higganum, Village Center. Mullin also continues his work with the American Planning Association, recently serving on a committee to help prepare a future research agenda for the APA Foundation. And, he has served as a referee for the Journal of the American Planning Association. His article on the Estey Organ Company and its impact on Brattleboro, Vermont, will appear in an upcoming issue of Journal of Industrial Archeology, and he is presently preparing a paper on the influences of nineteenth-century English industrial town planning on the American experience to be presented before the Association of European Schools of Planning.  

REBECCA SANBORN STONE M.S.
Community Workshop: Principal

Rebecca Sanborn Stone is a dynamic community planner and instigator, strategist, writer, and speaker who is passionate about helping people create great communities. She is known for using creative and surprising techniques to engage, delight, and build collaborative and inclusive community projects. Through her work with the Vermont-based consulting firm Community Workshop, she helps bring creative engagement, planning, placemaking, and effective communications to communities across North America. She demonstrates a particular expertise in economic development, resilience and sustainability, tactical urbanism, and capacity building, and is the author of the , a free, hands-on how-to guide to simple community projects. Her recent projects include the EPA’s Local Foods, Local Places initiative, the Vermont State Hazard Mitigation Plan, and the national Play Everywhere Challenge. Sanborn Stone holds a master’s degree in environmental science from the Yale University School of the Environment and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College. She lives in Bethel, Vermont, with her husband and two daughters, one dog, eleven chickens, and a big garden.

Faculty Fellows

�Ļ�Ӱ��: Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Michael Cross, PhD, teaching classes in the areas of circuits, electronics, energy systems, and engineering design. Cross received degrees from the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Vermont and began his academic career at UVM, where he taught courses in the areas of analog and digital circuits, electronics, semiconductor physics, power electronics, and engineering design. His doctoral and post-doctoral research at the University of Vermont explored the electrical, structural, optical, and electro-chemical properties of thin films and energetic nanomaterials. His professional experience includes working as a development engineer at IBM Microelectronics in Essex Junction, Vt., where he was involved in the development of state-of-the-art photomasks. His professional and scholarly work has been published both nationally and internationally.

�Ļ�Ӱ��: Assistant Professor of Health and Human Performance

Rachele Pojednic, Ph.D., Ed.M is an assistant professor and program director of exercise science in �Ļ�Ӱ��’s Health and Human Performance Department and a research associate at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Pojednic’s work examines nutrition and physical activity education for health care and fitness professionals as well as overall diet, supplementation and physical activity interventions on muscle physiology, chronic disease and healthy aging. Pojednic received her doctorate from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. She also holds a Master of Education in Physical Education from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Cardiopulmonary and Exercise Science from Northeastern University. Her research at Tufts was completed in the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia laboratory at the U.S. Department of Argiculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, where she received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

�Ļ�Ӱ��: Assistant Professor of Economics

Jacki Strenio is an Assistant Professor of Economics at �Ļ�Ӱ��. Her research and teaching interests are in gender, health, and public policy. Her current research focuses on violence against women and girls, including public space sexual harassment and intimate partner violence. Her research emphasizes that such violence not only constrains a person’s capability for life and bodily health but can also result in other significant unfreedoms including deprivation of the capability for economic well-being. Recent publications on these topics have appeared in the journal Feminist Economics, the Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan, and The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Economics.

She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Utah and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She also holds a Higher Education Teaching Specialist (HETS) designation and is committed to implementing more effective, research-backed practices in her classrooms and encouraging diversity in economics education more broadly. She has published on the necessity of plurality and innovation in economics education, with articles appearing in The International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education and the Journal of Economics Education (forthcoming). At �Ļ�Ӱ��, she teaches Public Finance, Health Economics and Policy, Principles of Microeconomics, and The Structure and Operation of the World Economy.

�Ļ�Ӱ��: Chair, Department of Health & Human Performance; Coordinator, Pre-Health Professions Programming

Amy S. Welch earned her Ph.D. from the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Leeds (UK) in 2007, after completing her M.S. and B.S. degrees in sport and exercise science at Sheffield Hallam University (UK). Prior to joining �Ļ�Ӱ�� in 2019, she held faculty positions at Iowa State University and Northern Vermont University-Johnson.

Early in her career, she explored affective responses to exercise among inexperienced exercisers, with the goal of identifying factors that can predict positive and negative exercise experiences. She has also been involved in developing and testing theory-based interventions designed to increase physical activity behavior. Her current research interests focus on understanding psychophysiological responses to psychological stress, and the use of behavioral strategies to mitigate that stress. For example, her recent scholarship involved using heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activity, and the use of aerobic exercise and HRV biofeedback training to reduce stress. Moving forward, Welch is particularly interested in using wearable biometrics to predict the stress, resilience, performance, and well-being of students.

Senior Fellows

BRUNA SOARES

Bruna Soares is a Business Process Engineer and provides project management support for the Defense Health Agency (DHA). She`s passionate about applying her business, language, and program management skills to sustainability issues in developing countries. She`s also interested in catalyzing action on climate change through greener policies in key sectors and helping local communities to become agents of change and market transformation. Before working with DHA, she provided program management support for Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), facilitated the execution of more than 20 projects in 15 sub-Saharan Africa countries, and coordinated all operational, logistics, and program-related issues during the development and execution of the African Military Education Program (AMEP). Along with degrees in international development and business, she brings over 5 years of experience in planning and coordinating international operations and logistics within the U.S. Government, working with foreign partners. Her expertise includes program monitoring and evaluation, Theory of Change development and budget forecasting and execution. Bruna earned a B.A. in Business Administration concentrated in Finance and a M.A. in International Development from American University. She speaks English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

STEVEN DAY

Steven Day is a candidate for a Doctorate in Education (EdD) at the University of Cambridge, where he is focusing on sustainability education. He is also a board advisor, entrepreneur, and business angel investor and advisor. He was previously a founder and principal at a clean energy company and now is a director of Smart Energy GB.

He is a TEDx talker, former UNICEF UK trustee with a background in journalism, communications, brand marketing and management.

TIM FORMAN

Tim Forman is a Senior Research Associate and Senior Teaching Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Tim is Deputy Director of the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) postgraduate courses, and he leads research into the exemplary retrofit and refurbishment of the Entopia Building by CISL.

He is a partner and founder in Undivided Ventures, investing in companies that are solving for sustainability challenges in the built environment. Tim holds a PhD in Architecture from Cardiff University. 

BRIAN LANGDON

Brian Langdon is a humanitarian response professional with experience across Africa and the Middle East, implementing and coordinating multi-sectoral operations and programming for both international non-governmental organizations and the United Nations system. His technical specializations include humanitarian supply chain and logistics, global health preparedness and response, conflict and displacement dynamics, and interagency coordination in sudden onset and complex emergencies.

He holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Criminal Justice from John Jay College, together concentrating on global underdevelopment and insecurity. His research interests center on protracted humanitarian crises and their interactions with national, international, environmental, and human security.

ESZTER SZENES, PH.D.
Lecturer, School of Education, University of Adelaide, Australia

Dr Eszter Szenes is a Lecturer at the School of Education, University of Adelaide, Australia and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Resilience and Security, �Ļ�Ӱ��, USA. Between 2020-2022 she was hosted by the �Ļ�Ӱ�� Peace and War Center as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research Fellow, co-hosted by the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University, Austria. Prior to joining �Ļ�Ӱ��, Dr Szenes held a post-doctoral researcher position at the Research Collegium for Language in Changing Society (RECLAS), University of Jyväskylä, Finland (2019-2020). From 2013-2019 she was based at the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Registrar Portfolio, The University of Sydney, where she completed her doctorate in Linguistics. Dr Szenes incorporates her training in linguistics, education, and sociology into her interdisciplinary collaborations, research and teaching. She has taught in several different countries and contexts; she was a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague, Netherlands. Her research focuses on the role of language and multimodal resources in emerging complex and interrelated societal threats, for example, information disorder, radicalisation and the links between climate change and (violent) extremism. She is especially interested in preventing and countering the effect of disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining democracies from the perspective of computer-mediated communication and critical digital and media literacies. As a Senior Fellow, Dr Szenes assists the Center for Global Resilience and Security in collaborative research activities to support its strategic interests and initiatives. 

KRISTINA TOUZENIS

Kristina Touzenis is a consultant to the UN and an advocate and leader on promoting effective implementation of international standards, including expertise in Human Rights. She has a deep understanding of the complexities of addressing sustainability from a variety of perspectives, including basing activities in the international framework to promote rights and further inclusion and participation of a plethora of stakeholders and affected societies. She has extensive experience in advocacy, policy making and strategy development/implementation. She is a highly skilled communicator and advocate working with a variety of stakeholders and partners. She is recognized for her ability to communicate international law in concrete, applicable terms, including in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.

MICHELE L. TURNER, MBCP, FBCI, CISA, CRISC, CCRP, CRMP 

Michele L. Turner, MBCP, FBCI, CISA, CRISC, CCRP, CRMP is an Amazon #1- bestselling author and resiliency leader with over 30 years’ experience in the areas of Governance, Risk, and Compliance.  She is the 2022 Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) International Lifetime Achievement award winner, and Vice President- Business Resilience for Marriott International.  This global role includes Corporate Business Continuity, Emergency Response for Marriot managed properties, and Risk Mitigation and Product Management representing Operational Resilience efforts.  Prior roles include Head of Global Business Resiliency for Amazon Corporate, as well as Governance, Risk, Compliance and Business Continuity roles within Microsoft.  Michele has a Master of Science degree in Business Continuity from �Ļ�Ӱ�� and is an international speaker on the topic of Business Continuity, Risk Management, Governance, and related areas.  In addition, she is a course instructor and Chairperson of the Board, for Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) International.

Student Fellows

Jasmin Sackey, Business Management | Environmental Security Fellow

David Shelden, Chemistry & Physics | Environmental Security Fellow

Joe Larson, Engineering | Environmental Security Fellow

Aadesh Ranabhat, Electrical & Computer Engineering | Environmental Security Fellow

Kirsten Atuhaire, Computer Security & Information Assurance | Environmental Security Fellow

Oluwapelumi Adefarakan, Architectural Studies | Environmental Security Fellow