Terra Award Winners Announced at Climate Heroes Celebration

Side by side photos each show a man and a woman, all in facemasks. The men are in suits and the women are holding papers recognizing them as Terra Award winners

VP for Finance and Administration Todd Foreman recognizes staff Terra Award winner Lynn Greabell, left, while VP for Student Affairs Michael Christakis recognizes student Mya Darsan with her award.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 23, 2021) — Student Mya Darson, faculty member John Justino and staff members Lynn Greabell and Luke Rumsey all received Terra Awards for their work in promoting sustainability at the University during a Climate Heroes ceremony on Nov. 19. The event included awards for energy and water reduction during the Energy Campaign, and celebrated progress in the University’s sustainability goals.

Mary Ellen Mallia, the University’s director of sustainability, hosted the ceremony in the Campus Center’s Collaboration Lounge, and shared updates on the Climate Action and Sustainability Plan. The installation of solar panels on the Podium roofs, lighting improvements for energy reduction, and the new energy-efficient ETEC building were highlighted.

Top energy savers during the Energy Campaign were the Social Science Building and Parking and Mass Transit, which both recorded a 7 percent reduction during the 8-week campaign. Liberty Terrace and Indigenous Quad were the biggest energy savers among residences. New this year was a push toward water waste reduction, and Colonial and State Quads came out on top, both registering a 10 percent decrease in water usage.

Terra Awards

Mya Darsan, a junior double major in Biology and Environmental Sciences won the Terra Award for students. Darsan is president of UAlbany Students for Sustainability, and over the summer worked as an endangered species steward, monitoring piping plovers and other shorebirds for the Suffolk County Department of Parks’ Endangered Species Program.

John Justino won the award for faculty. Justino is director of the Center for Global Health at UAlbany’s School of Public Health, where he is a clinical associate professor. He was honored for his work aligning coursed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Lynn Greabell and Luke Rumsey won staff Terra awards. Greabell, program coordinator for the School of Public Health, was honored for her work sharing University sustainability goals and programs with the Health Sciences Campus, which she represents as a sustainability coordinator. Rumsey, director of community relations and a member of the Student Affairs Climate and Sustainability Council, was honored for his work with the Purple Pantry, neighborhood ambassador program and community cleanup drives.