Capstone Advising

Devon Bertram leads strategy within the Sustainable Buildings team at the commercial real estate service firm, stok. With a tested background in strategic sustainability action planning, Devon helps organizations define, develop, and implement sustainability programs for their building portfolios, and align them with their broader strategic goals. Her early experience supporting organizations through LEED Volume uncovered the skills, passion, and intricacies required to effectively integrate a sustainability lens across an...

Ms. Follingstad is currently a PhD candidate in Planning and Design at the University of Colorado, Denver. Gretel’s research focuses on building water resilience for drought prone, rapidly growing communities under the pressures of climate change. Gretel examines water resilience at three scales: individual water use determinants, spatial design and land use planning adaptations and collaborative policy solutions. Gretel comes to this level of study with extensive experience in land...

Joel loves working with students and amazing staff and faculty, all focused on making the world a better place. He is passionate about supporting professionals who will spend their careers leading and enabling change in their fields, organizations, and industries. Joel’s expertise is in sustainability, resilience, behavioral change, stakeholder engagement, business development, partnership building, out-of-the-box thinking, and leading change. For the last 20 years, Joel has worked around the world...

Kimberly Kosmenko, M.S., MBA is a business strategist and educator focused on inclusive, sustainable, and resilient business practices. As a business owner and consultant, she provides strategy facilitation and leadership training to organizations that strive to differentiate themselves as leaders in the sustainable and socially responsible business space. As a member of the core faculty for the University of Colorado's Masters of the Environment program, Kimberly designs and teaches courses...

Lydia Lawhon received her PhD in the Department of Environmental Studiesat CU-Boulder in 2016. Her research considers the role of local knowledge in crafting environmental policy, as well as ways to reduce conflict and improve outcomes for controversial natural resources policy problems. Her dissertation focused on the transition to state management of wolves in Wyoming following federal delisting. In addition, she conducts research on wildfire issues in Colorado and is...

Josh is the Renewable and Sustainable Energy (RSE) Specialization lead within the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program at CU Boulder where he teaches classes on sustainability and decarbonization energy systems and built environment and serves on the campus climate action planning steering committee. Josh has worked as a sustainability and decarbonization consultant throughout his career, working across the clean energy and built environment spectrum. In addition to his work...

Social entrepreneur, executive, attorney and educator, William Shutkin has been at the forefront of the urban sustainability field for over three decades. David Brower, the father of the modern environmental movement, described him as “an environmental visionary creating solutions to today’s problems with a passion that would make John Muir and Martin Luther King equally proud.” Shutkin is a Teaching Associate Professor and Interim Faculty Director in the Masters of...

Damien Thompson, PhD is the Sustainable Food Systems Specialization Lead in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In addition to his training and teaching in anthropology, Dr. Thompson also holds a certification in Permaculture Design, an Advanced Permaculture Design certification as well as a Teaching Certification from the Yoga Alliance. He is a farmer and a designer of biodiverse food producing landscapes. In...

Taber Ward, J.D., serves as the interim Capstone Lead and CIL 2 instructor for the MENV program. Taber has worked with CU-Boulder for the past five years, teaching Social Innovation Execution in the Sociology Department, and serving as a Capstone Advisor for CU-MENV program. Taber’s process areas of expertise include project management, convening and facilitation, and conflict resolution. She has substantive knowledge in healthy food policy and land conservation, community...

Nicole leads energy efficiency and renewable energy program design, evaluation, and market studies for utilities and state agencies, as well as climate action, sustainability, and resilience-focused planning efforts for organizations nationwide. Her work helps guide program resource and policy decisions aimed at tackling the climate crisis and building a more sustainable future. Nicole has over twenty years of experience in environmental policy, planning and markets, with areas of focus including...