Director
Dedee DeLongpré Johnston is the director of Sustainability at Wake Forest University. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California with a concentration in entrepreneurial studies and a master’s of business administration with an emphasis in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco. She has 18 years of experience in nonprofit management, primarily in the areas of education, sustainability, and the environment. Her most recent appointment was as director of the University of Florida’s Office of Sustainability. DeLongpré Johnston serves on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. She was named one of the 10 Innovators of the Year in 2007 by Florida Trend magazine and was featured in a cover story in the October 2008 issue of Sustainability: The Journal of Record.
Program Assistant
Tiffany White is the joint Program Assistant for the Office of Sustainability and the Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES). She graduated from Wake Forest University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and from the University of Vermont in 2004 with a Masters in Historic Preservation.
After working with several sustainability-oriented organizations in Vermont, she moved back to Winston-Salem in 2007 to marry a fellow Wake alumnus. She became involved with the Piedmont Environmental Alliance NC, and served for two years as the Earth Day Volunteer Coordinator.
She joined the staff of WFU in February 2011. White is most looking forward to working with students to create a more sustainable community.
2012-2013 Interns
Emily Bachman, Senior
Sustainability in Dining Intern
History major Environmental Studies and Anthropology double minor
Why is sustainability important? To me, the importance of sustainability is common sense. It’s about having the foresight to see that the way we are living today is threatening our future and our children’s future, and then taking the initiative to reverse that trend. I love the holistic approach of sustainability, because it really is all-encompassing of the human experience. It’s not about being an environmentalist or a businessman or a politician or any other label; it’s about being a human and caring for others.
Inspirational Quote: ”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Tenure: January 2012 – December 2012
Becka Brolinson, Sophomore
Greeks Go Green Intern
Economics major, Spanish and Women’s Gender Studies double minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because every single choice that we make today affects our future positively or negatively. All relationships are those of cause and effect and one day our poor treatment of the earth and its natural resources will come back to haunt us.
Inspirational Quote: “For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world”
Tenure: Fall 2012
Kiana Courtney, Senior
Communications and Outreach Intern
Communication major, Environmental Studies and Sociology double minor
Why is sustainability important? As a species, we will not be able to continue our current state of livelihood years down the road, if we do not adapt more sustainable practices. Sustainability is more than an environmental issue. It is a social justice issue that everyone needs to be concerned about.
Inspirational Quote: “We are responsible for what we are, whatever we wish ourselves to be. We have to power to make ourselves.”
Tenure: Spring 2013
Joey DeRosa, Junior
History major, Middle East South Asia Studies and Economics double minor
Why is sustainability important? The adoption of sustainable practices anywhere has the ability to impact humans, animals, and plants everywhere. What could be more important?
Inspirational Quote: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” -John Muir
Tenure: Spring 2012 to Fall 2012
Shoshanna Goldin, Sophomore
Sustainable Community Development Intern
Global Health Major, South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies & Chemistry double minor
Why is sustainability important? By focusing on sustainability, we can significantly improve the quality of life now and in the future for individuals across the world.
Inspirational Quote: The obstacle is the path.
Tenure: August 2012- December 2012
Peter Goodspeed, Junior
Natural Resource Management Intern
Biology major, Environmental Science minor
Why is sustainability important? While growing up spending my summers in northern Michigan, I spent much of my time in Lake Michigan or exploring the inland streams on the Leelanau Peninsula. Because of the inevitable growth of industry and development, it is important to study the interface between anthropogenic activity and the natural environment in order to develop sustainable systems that minimize human impact. These efforts should specifically focus on ecologically sensitive watersheds that provide a multitude of services for wildlife and humans.
Inspirational Quote: “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature
Tenure: Summer 2012, Fall 2012
Allie Gruber, Senior
Office of Energy Management Intern
Biology major
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because the choices that we make now will affect the future. The only way to ensure that the opportunities and experiences available to us today persist for future generations is to begin assessing how the choices we make affect the world around us.
Inspirational Quote: Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale
Tenure: Fall 2012
Joseph L. Matt, Senior
Office of Energy Management Intern
Biology major
Why is sustainability important? “We are all a part of an interconnected system with limited resources. By choosing to pursue sustainable, systematic solutions to the issues we face, we can maintain a high quality of life and sustain our species as a whole.”
Inspirational Quote: ”A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek proverb
Tenure: Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Sanders McNair, Senior
History major and Politics and International Affairs minor
Why is Sustainability Important? Climate change and environmental degradation are the greatest challenges the Earth and humans face. We must be able to make some small sacrifices for the rest of the world and the generations after us.
Inspirational Quote: ”A town is saved, not more by the righteous men in it, than by the woods and swamps that surround it.”–Henry David Thoreau
Tenure: Fall 2011-Spring 2013
Erin Murphy, Senior
Greeks Go Green Intern
Communication major and Environmental Studies and Political Science double minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because it is about understanding and caring about the impacts our actions and choices have on the earth. Everything that we do and do not do matters.
Inspirational Quote: “In wilderness is the preservation of the world” – Henry David Thoreau
Tenure: Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012
Austin Smith, Senior
Game Day Recycling Intern, Earth Day Fair Planning Intern
Political Science & English double major Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies minor
Why is sustainability important? I think our relationship with nature should be based on coexistence, reciprocation, and the idea that we are not above nature but are part of it.
Inspirational Quote: ”Little fly, Thy summer’s play,
My thoughtless hand has brushed away.
Am not I a fly like thee?
Or art not thou a man like me?
For I dance and drink and sing,
Till some blind hand shall brush my wing.”
-William Blake, The Fly
Tenure: Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Nicky Vogt, Sophomore
Campus Garden Intern
Politics and International Affairs major, Psychology and Spanish double minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because I want future generations to be able to enjoy the beauty of nature and all it has to offer.
Inspirational Quote: “All good things are wild, and free.” – Henry David Thoreau
Tenure: Fall 2012- Spring 2013
De’Noia Woods, Senior
Photography Intern
Anthropology and Studio Art Double Major
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is all about adaptation. If we do not adapt, we will not survive!
Inspriational Quote: Be the change you wish to see in the world- Mahatma Gandhi
2011-2012 Interns
Carrie Stokes, Senior
Campus Garden Intern
Anthropology and Religion Double major, Environmental Studies minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because I know that each and every choice I make has an impact, for better or worse. I work for the office because I believe that ordinary people making smart choices in their daily lives is one of the most difficult but essential facets in building a more sustainable world.
Inspirational Quote: “We live in the world when we love it.” -Rabindranath Tagore
Tenure: Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Ashley Suchoski, Senior
Campus Carbon Inventory and Energy Conservation Campaign Intern
Mathematical Business major, Spanish minor
Why is sustainability important? For me, it’s really simple. I believe that if we want to continue living on this planet, we need to change the way our society functions. We need to change the way we eat and shop, how we use energy, and our modes of transportation. I chose to work for the Office of Sustainability because Wake Forest is composed of future leaders. If we’re going to make a change in the world, affecting the intellectual minds of our future is a good place to start.
Inspirational Quote: “If we cannot envision the world we would like to live in, we cannot work towards its creation. If we cannot place ourselves in it in our imagination, we will not believe it is possible.” - Chellis Glendinning
Tenure: Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Jane Connors, Senior
Communications and Outreach Intern
English major
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability requires us to re-think the massive system that has evolved to meet human needs, and then use conscious effort to rework the system in a way that will produce an existence that will sustain human existence. Sustainability is both the end product and the actual equation for human health on this planet.
Inspirational Quote: “After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on – have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear – what remains? Nature remains.” – Walt Whitman
Tenure: Fall 2011
De’Noia Woods, Junior
Community Inter-cultural Coalition for Sustainability Intern
Anthropology major, Studio Art minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is all about adaptation. If you don’t adapt you will not survive.
Inspirational Quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Tenure: Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
Anna Donze, Junior
Student Programming Intern
Anthropology major, Environmental Studies minor
Why is sustainability important? I believe that sustainability is important because it is becoming increasingly apparent that our decisions today, whether we choose to move in a positive or destructive direction, have the capacity to affect not only our immediate communities, but also the entire planet for generations to come.
Inspirational Quote: “Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” – Carl Sagan
Tenure: Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Sanders McNair, Junior
Campus Garden Intern
History major, Political Science and Environmental Studies double minor
Why is sustainability important? Because today sustainability is more than conserving trees, it’s about protecting social justice, our health and the economy.
Inspirational Quote: “Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” – Wendell Berry
Tenure: Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Erin Murphy, Junior
Game Day Recycling and RecycleMania Intern
Communications major, Environmental Studies and Political Science double minor
Why is sustainability important? I think we all need to make changes in the way we interact with the earth and how we use the natural resources we depend on. I think it is incredibly important to understand how every system on the earth is interconnected.
Inspirational Quote: “In wilderness is the preservation of the world.” – Henry David Thoreau
Tenure: Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Logan Healy-Tuke, Sophomore
Student Programming Intern
Economics major, Environmental Studies, Religion, and Latin American and Latino Studies minor
Why is sustainability important? Sustainability is important to me because in a matter of 150 years – since the Industrial Revolution, our planet has changed abruptly due to our actions. Sustainability means that we are able to live at the standards at which we live currently or better for future generations. However, it seems like the human peak of quality of life may be past, and we are spoiling our living spaces for our future generations. I am involved in sustainability to reverse this trend.
Inspirational Quote: “If all medicines in the world were thrown into the sea, it would be all the better for mankind and all the worse for the fishes” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Tenure: Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Frannie Speer, Senior
Econics major, Entrepreneurship minor
Area of Interest: Reducing water bottle waste
Post Grad Plans: TBD
Sustainable Living Tip: Drink water fro ma BPA-free plastic bottle instead of buying bottled water.
Inspirational Quote: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tenure: Fall 2010, Spring 2011
Shayna Egan, Senior
Health and Exercise Science major, Spanish and Latin American Studies minors
Area of Interest: Focusing on sustainable living practices that are good for our bodies and the environment, such as buying produce from local farmers.
Post Grad Plans: Graduate school for public health
Sustainable Living Tip: Buy recycled.
Inspirational Quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
De’Noia Woods, Sophomore
Environmental Studies minor
Area of Interest: Photography
Post Grad Plans: Law School
Sustainable Living Tip: Practice the R’s: respect, refuse, reduce, repair, reuse, rot. Recycle as the last resort.
Inspirational Quote: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” –Edmund Burke
Josh Dewitt, Senior
Business and Enterprise Management Major with a concentration in Non-Profit Management
Area of Interest: Green architecture
Post Grad Plans: School for Architecture
Sustainable Living Tip: Get rid of your screen saver. A screen saver uses energy and is rarely appreciated.
Inspirational Quote: “Monkey see, monkey do.”
Carrie Stokes, Junior
Anthropology Major, Environmental Studies Minor
Area of Interest: Rebuilding sustainable communities around local resources; public awareness and education
Post Grad Plans: Hopefully working with an organization that strives for environmental and social justice – enriching culture and sustaining the environment
Sustainable Living Tip: Every little lifestyle change can make a difference – volunteer at a community garden, buy local produce from a farmers market, ride a bike, etc. and witness the fruits of your labor (literally).
Inspirational Quote: “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” – John Muir
Katherine Sinacore, Senior
Biology Major, Environmental Science Minor
Area of Interest: Environmental management of forests
Post Grad Plans: Grad School for Biology
Sustainable Living Tip: Unplug laptop chargers and cell phone chargers when they are not in use!
Inspirational Quote: The only people for me are the mad ones; the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’” – Jack Kerouac
Anna Donze, Sophomore
Anthropology Major, Environmental Science Minor
Area of Interest: Sustainable development and responsible consumption
Post Grad Plans: Masters of Environmental Management
Sustainable Living Tip: Consider the long-term environmental consequences of your actions versus the temporary personal benefits. Excess energy consumption may save you time now, but it will cost everyone in the future.
Inspirational Quote: “You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.” –Nelson Mandela
