Presidential Working Group on Sustainability in Education, Research and Operations
President Carol Folt established the Presidential Working Group (PWG) on Sustainability in September of 2019 to explore approaches for USC to become a model for sustainability in its education, research, and campus operations. The PWG currently has representatives from 13 USC schools as well as a range of departments, centers, and organizations across campus, including the Provost’s office, the Office of Sustainability, the Office of University Relations, the Office of Human Resources, Ethics, and Compliance, the Office of Research, Auxiliary Services, Facilities Planning and Management, Keck Medicine, the Trojan Sustainability Network, the Environmental Student Assembly, and student government. For multiple years, the PWG contained six active committees — Education, Inclusion, Research, Engagement, Operations, and Students — engaging over 100 students, faculty, and senior administrators.
During its first year (2019-20), the PWG explored how to integrate sustainability into the university’s curriculum, research, and operations. During 2020-21, the various committees developed multi-year initiatives and the PWG integrated them into a university-wide strategy. That strategy was formalized into a framework called Assignment: Earth, which was formally launched in April 2022 and contained goals that extend through 2028 and beyond. Since then, the committees have worked with university leaders to chart pathways for implementing Assignment: Earth initiatives and goals.
Slight changes to the PWG structure were made in 2024. The Inclusion Committee was integrated into each of the other committees, which is consistent with the original PWG vision that DEI needs to be woven into the fabric of all that we do as a university. The PWG Operations Committee moved to standby mode, as it had achieved what it set out to do — establish goals and a path for USC to be a leader in sustainable operations. Implementation is now under the purview of USC senior leaders and their departments.
The PWG’s goals for FY26 include developing a toolkit to assist more faculty in incorporating sustainability into existing and new courses, certificates, minors, and majors, and advancing a set of university-wide, interdisciplinary sustainability research initiatives.
Progress on each of the Assignment: Earth goals is posted publicly on the Assignment: Earth Dashboard.
- Mick Dalrymple – Co-Chair
Chief Sustainability Officer - Mahta Moghaddam – Co-Chair
Distinguished Professor; Ming Hsieh Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering; Vice Dean for Research, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Research Director, USC Center for SustainabilitySolutions - Margo Apostolos
Past President, Academic Senate; Professor of Dance Conditioning, Dance Science, USC Kaufman School of Dance - Burcin Becerik
Dean’s Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - Christina Bellantoni
Director of USC Annenberg’s Media Center; Professor of Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism - Elsie Bencke
Co-Chair of the Student Committee of the Presidential Working Group; Undergraduate Student - Marlon Boarnet
Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, USC Price School of Public Policy; Director, METRANS Transportation Center; Chair, PWG Research Committee - Jon-Marc Burgess
Co-Executive Director, Environmental Student Assembly; Undergraduate Student - Patrick Done
USG Chair of the Sustainability and Campus Infrastructure Committee; Undergraduate Student - Jessica Dutton
Executive Director for the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability - Ellen Dux
Associate Director, USC Office of Sustainability - Hannah Findling
Sustainability Program Administrator, USC Office of the President, USC Office of Sustainability - Genevieve Giuliano
Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government, USC Price School of Public Policy - Gloria H. Gonzalez
Sustainability Initiatives & Legal Assistance Specialist, USC University Relations - Carlos Gutierrez
USC Trojan Sustainability Network Representative and Chair - Howard Hu
Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC - Nichelle Huizar
Sustainability Administrator, Auxiliary Services - Anders Johnson
Presidential Working Group Administrative Assistant; Undergraduate Student - Hope Hsiao
Co-Executive Director, Environmental Student Assembly; Undergraduate Student - Marty Levine
Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost, USC Office of the Provost - LaVonna Lewis
Vice Dean of Student Success and Teaching Professor of Public Policy, USC Price School of Public Policy - Rebecca Lonergan
Past President, Academic Senate; Professor of Lawyering Skills and Associate Director of Legal Writing and Advocacy Program, USC Gould School of Law - Colin Maclay
Research Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; Executive Director, USC Annenberg Innovation Lab - Rob McConnell
Professor of Population and Public Health Science and Spatial Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC - Marla Padilla
Co-Chair of the Student Committee of the Presidential Working Group; Graduate Student - Daniel Pecchenino
Past President, Academic Senate; Professor of Writing, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - Tacoria Perry
Director of Sustainability for Graduate Student Government; Graduate Student - Ishwar Puri
Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation, USC Office of Research; Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering - Jon Reuter
Chief of Operations, Keck Hospital of USC - Maria Romero-Morales
Director of Community & Student Success; Office of Human Resources, Ethics, and Compliance - Bhavna Sharma
Associate Professor, USC School of Architecture; Director of Master of Building Science - Gale Sinatra
Professor of Psychology and the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Co-Chair, PWG Education Committee - Jill Sohm
Associate Professor (Teaching) of Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Studies Program, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Co-Chair, PWG Education Committee - Andy Stott
Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Dean of the Graduate School, USC Office of the Provost; Professor of English, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - Effie Turnbull Sanders
Vice President of Civic Engagement and Economic Partnerships, USC University Relations - Kate Weber
Executive Director, Public Exchange - Zelinda Welch
Director of Energy and Sustainability, USC Facilities Planning and Management
Download PDF: Working Group Committees Membership – Fall 2025