Sustainability and Resiliency

Staff

Meet the Office of Sustainability & Resiliency staff members and learn about their roles.

The Office of Sustainability & Resiliency is supported by eight staff members, as well as dedicated student interns.

Office of Sustainability & Resiliency Staff

  • Jess Berry

    Jessica Berry

    Assistant Vice President of Sustainability and Resiliency

    Jess is the Assistant Vice President of the Office of Sustainability and Resiliency and provides leadership and management across the University to enhance sustainability and resiliency at Brown. She works closely with the associate provost of sustainability and key stakeholders to identify opportunities for integrating sustainability and resiliency principles into University operations, including the development of a long-term Sustainability Strategic Plan and net-zero strategy. Jess has worked in the environmental field for over 20 years and holds a B.S. and M.S. in environmental studies and natural resources. She can be found mountain biking, skiing or in the Vermont mountains with her family.

  • Arthur Larson

    Dave Larson

    Senior Energy Engineer

    Dave serves as the primary energy engineer for all planning, design and construction (PD&C) projects and provides innovative and creative engineering solutions and guidance to Operations and PD&C in meeting Brown's high-performance design and energy-related standards and commitments. He also provides leadership for the National Grid Strategic Energy Management incentive program. In his free time, Dave enjoys hiking, sailing, biking, canoeing and yard work.

  • Chinmay Patil

    Chinmay Patil

    As an energy engineer, Chinmay provides an energy efficiency perspective to building-level commissioning activities. He gathers site information through work orders, utility data and energy management systems and performs assessments to identify design and operational problems. He serves as a primary interface between operations staff and the Office of Sustainability and identifies control system innovation to minimize building energy consumption. Chinmay holds a B.E. and M.S. in mechanical engineering and has prior experience in the field of energy efficiency. In his leisure time, he likes traveling, cooking and watching TV.​

  • Seth Owusu

    Seth Owusu

    Assistant Director of Resiliency and Adaptation

    Seth is the Assistant Director of Resiliency and Adaptation and leads the development and implementation of a campus resilience and adaptation plan at Brown. His primary focus is on ensuring the long-term viability of the physical campus and operations, collaborating closely with partners to address climate risks. With over 12 years of experience, Seth has worked extensively with top-tier international organizations, research and academic institutions to provide climate resiliency solutions. Seth holds a PhD in Water Risks and Resilience, an MS in Water and Environmental Management, and a BS in Geomatic Engineering. He enjoys cooking, spending time with family, and helping with community initiatives.

  • Derek Wietsma

    Derek Wietsma

    Assistant Director of Programs and Data

    Derek is a sustainability professional with extensive data science experience. He manages the office's data science practice, and oversees key programs such as living labs and the internship program. He manages the official greenhouse gas inventory for the University and works on a variety of topic areas, such as; renewable energy, food procurement, commuting, and more. Prior to Brown, Derek worked at MIT in a similar role and capacity. He received a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He likes snowboarding, good coffee, old Westerns, and exploring the food scene in Providence.

  • Liz Guthrie

    Liz Guthrie

    Sustainability and Living Labs Program Manager

    Liz is the Sustainability & Living Labs Program Manager and leads the development of the Campus as Living Lab program. A landscape architect and urbanist, Liz brings extensive experience developing national and global sustainability education capacity-building programs that catalyze healthy, equitable and resilient cities and communities. Liz received her master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University and her bachelor’s degree in Growth and Structure of Cities from Haverford College, and enjoys spending time outdoors exploring parks, vernacular architecture, and nearby nature.

  • Missy Berry

    Missy Berry

    Sustainability and Living Labs Specialist

    Missy is the Sustainability and Living Labs Specialist and participates in the development and implementation of Brown’s Strategic Sustainability Plan and other priority initiatives. She works to connect campus sustainability efforts with the campus’ academic mission and enhance student engagement across campus. Before coming to Brown, Missy worked in open space planning and environmental protection for municipal and state government in Massachusetts. She received a MS in Biology from Boston University where she researched the impact of climate change on carbon and nitrogen uptake of New England forests. Outside of the office she enjoys tennis, skiing, movies and travel.

  • Tim Jackson

    Tim Jackson

    Applications Engineer

    As an applications engineer, Tim assists the energy engineers by implementing control programming strategies to correct any identified energy waste issues on campus. Tim also works with Planning, Design, and Construction (PD&C) on project specifications and overall sequence of control strategies specific to climate controls (temperature/humidity), air conditioning, heating, lighting, fire detection/suppression and building protection systems. The end result is that building automation systems operate as efficiently as possible.

  • Photo of Leonora Gatto

    Leonora Gatto

    Administrative and Project Coordinator

    Lee Gatto is the Administrative and Project Coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. Lee provides daily administrative support to the office including scheduling and organizing meetings, researching data, and providing specialized support specific to divisional projects. Originally from Connecticut, Lee went to Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA, and lived in the historical town for another 10 years after graduation. Lee loves animals and has three rescue cats at home. She enjoys random trivia, reading, watching documentaries on many different topics, and traveling to both natural and historical places. Lee dreams of traveling to all 50 states and as many waterfalls around the world as possible.