Kids Day 2020--virtually-all year!

While we wait on opportunities to bring our selves (and our Kids) safely back to campus, we invite the community to bring ESF principles into their homes with activities created by ESF's #WORKPLACESUPERSTARS--students, employees, alumni, and our collaborators near and far.   Please visit https://www.facebook.com/ESFKidsDay

While we miss seeing your shining faces in person this April 23, we are pleased to have a forum to share opportunities that come up between these one-day annual events.

Meet Sue Fassler, Sustainable Facilities Manager

Sue Fassler, the Sustainable Facilities Manager at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, discussed her experiences in the sustainability field on Thursday, April 16, 2020 in a webinar coordinated by ESF Open Academy. 

Ms. Fassler’s first job in the field of sustainability took her down to Hallandale Beach in south Florida, where she became the Green Initiatives Coordinator for the city. She was the first sustainability coordinator ever hired by the city. Her role was to create sustainability policies for the city, essentially from scratch, culminating in the creation of the Hallandale Beach Sustainability Action Plan. Ms. Fassler mentions several strategies that became key takeaways from her time spent in southern Florida.

She talked about taking the tedious and hard work for herself in order to give more enjoyable and engaging tasks to the rest of the team. She mentioned allowing the team members the freedom to create their own sustainability projects which in turn gave them a sense of project ownership. She also encouraged the inclusion of skeptics on the team and talked about how those who were, at first, most skeptical often became the loudest advocates. Each of these strategies were successfully implemented to increase engagement with and passion for the projects by every member of the team. 

Ms. Fassler went on to discuss her work in Onondaga county as the Save the Rain Project Coordinator. The goal of this project was to reduce combined sewer overflow during large rain events through the use of green infrastructure, such as gardens and plantings. With this example, Ms. Fassler discussed the importance of simplifying sustainability data into visual and compelling stories in order to draw more people in and make sustainability concepts and results more accessible to the general public. Telling stories and giving examples of success stories also makes the project goals feel more achievable. 

After working with the Save the Rain Project, Ms.Fassler applied to become the Sustainable Facilities Manager at SUNY-ESF. When she first saw the job posting for her current position at SUNY-ESF she didn’t think she was ready for the job. Ms. Fassler pushed past her initial hesitation to put together the application, regardless of whether she would actually apply or not, and found, in doing so, that she was in fact highly qualified for the position and the more she thought about it the more she wanted the job.  Throughout the webinar, but especially when discussing her job at ESF, Ms. Fassler encouraged us to challenge our perceived limits. She encouraged us to approach all aspects of a position with equal enthusiasm, even aspects which might not align with our strengths or passions. By pushing ourselves past our perceived strengths, we allow ourselves to grow and succeed -- not only in a singular position but in our careers as a whole. 

Sue Fassler received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from SUNY-ESF. She went on to complete a dual degree masters program where she received an M.S. in Environmental Science from SUNY-ESF and an M.S. in Public Administration from Syracuse University. She is currently the Sustainable Facilities Manager at SUNY-ESF, where she is working to improve campus wide recycling and composting efforts among other projects.  

While currently postponed, keep an eye out for a presentation by Sharon F. Owens, Deputy Major for the City of Syracuse, on local lead paint remediation, and speakers in the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.

As part of the requirements in FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share the responsibility of reporting on speakers that visit ESF.  The preceding was prepared by Megan Hazlett, a MS student studying Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, and Arianna Wills, a MS student studying Ecology and Ecosystems, in the Department of Sustainable Management.