Green Fund Committee

Yazhmin Dozal, Co-Chair

Yazhmin is a senior Environmental Science major with an emphasis in Management, a minor in Biology, and a certificate in Wildlife and Ecology management. By having worked on research projects on Hairy Woodpecker foraging behavior and pond ecology with macroinvertebrates, she understands the drive and determination it takes to work on the management of resources and species. Being driven by her roots in a small agricultural town, she has had a  passion for wildlife and ecology conservation.. Having seen the need for regulation, sustainability, and policies in small towns, she realizes that there needs to be strong leadership in sustainable and eco-friendly development. In the future, she hopes to work with a conservation-based organization on projects that will help manage environmental conservation and anthropogenic development.

Alanna Goodell, Secretary

Alanna is a junior at NAU majoring in environmental engineering and minoring in chemistry. Her love for the environment began in high school when she took an environmental science course and started getting involved with more clubs and volunteering opportunities focused around helping the environment. During her time at NAU, Alanna has been involved in small research projects that focus on creating a sustainable campus and ensuring that current implementations are not degrading to the environment. In the future Alanna wants to be able to create new technologies that benefit the environment as well as spread awareness for important environmental issues. In her free time, Alanna enjoys hiking, dancing, hanging out with her friends, and taking care of plants.

Owen Murphy, Co-Chair

Owen is a junior Mechanical Engineering student at NAU. Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Owen fostered a love of the outdoors predominantly through hiking and eventually through skiing and surfing during high school. In 2017 he travelled to Tanzania to volunteer at an orphanage and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The next year, he flew to Bali, Indonesia to volunteer in a turtle conservation facility on a nearby island, Nusa Penida. He was drawn to Flagstaff and NAU by the climate, study abroad opportunities, and school culture. He is also a Wilderness First Responder and volunteer courtesy patroller at Arizona Snowbowl. Throughout the rest of his time at NAU, he aims to further his knowledge of both sustainability and engineering in hopes of applying his STEM education to environmental initiatives.

Emily Hackett, Public Relations

Emily is a freshman at NAU pursuing a double major in Spanish and Environmental & Sustainability Studies. Being raised in the scenic Santa Cruz mountains of California, her passion for the environment has always run deep. She has had a great opportunity to work in her high school’s aquaponic greenhouse for two years, providing the school and community with fresh produce. After her time at NAU, she hopes to bring sustainable practices to mainstream agriculture businesses in California. In addition to Spanish and sustainability, Emily enjoys traveling, learning, going to NAU sporting events, and spending time at the beaches in her hometown.

Colton Babaro, Data Analyst

Colton is a senior at NAU majoring in Computer Science. Clean air is something Colton cares considerably about as being able to breathe in clean air while spending time outdoors is critical for the continued enjoyment of them as well as the sustainability of the environment as a whole. Having grown up in Phoenix, he has always been fond of hiking the various summits around the area, most frequently Camelback, and the longest being the Grand Canyon. Outside of hiking, he also enjoys distance running, video gaming, and messing around with computer programs.

Bryce Thayer, Community Outreach

Bryce is a junior at NAU studying Environmental Sciences with an emphasis in Administration and Policy. Having grown up in the beautiful and biodiverse Southern California coast, Bryce was fortunate to develop a passion for the outdoors and sustainability at a young age. Now at NAU, Bryce works towards climate action and social justice through communications/marketing, and when he gets some free time, you can find him out in the forest mountain biking, hiking, and enjoying all that nature has to give. After graduating, Bryce plans to gain real life experience by working odd jobs in national parks, forests, and public spaces for a few years before settling down to work in the sustainability sector, possibly as a sustainability manager at a university or with a environmental company as a communications and outreach specialist.

Joseph Thomas, Graduate Intern

Joseph is a first year PhD student in the Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability program and an NAU Presidential Fellow. His research interests are primarily focused around paleoclimatology, with several ongoing projects that span from the northern Rocky Mountains to central Alaska. Joseph’s career goals include improving the current understanding of how climate has shifted, in the Arctic and high elevation regions of the northern Rocky Mountains, over the past 12,000 years. Additionally, Joseph has been involved in several educational and political science organizations throughout his masters (MS Geology, Idaho State University, 2019) and undergraduate degree (BS Geology, Western Colorado University, 2017), to promote the connection between scientists, the general public, and legislators. Outside of education, Joseph enjoys backpacking with his wife and two dogs throughout the southwest and Rocky Mountains.

Agnes Drogi, Faculty Advisor

Agnes is a professor of practice in the Construction Management program in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences (CEIAS), as of Fall 2017. Prior to that, she was the director of Planning, Design and Construction at NAU, and championed sustainability across campus, contributing actively to the design and construction of (11) LEED Certified (Silver, Gold and Platinum) buildings on NAU campus. She has 27 years of project management experience, handling planning, design and construction of large commercial, industrial and institutional construction projects using multiple delivery methods (Design/Build, CMAR, JOC, Hard Bid). She successfully managed multi-million-dollar construction projects, with accurate budget and schedule forecasts.

She encourages her students to think about how, as construction managers, they will be in ideal leadership positions to help reduce the impact our build environment has on the natural environment.

Agnes has been living in Flagstaff since 2004, when she came up as a General Contractor’s project manager from Phoenix to manage the construction of the College of Business on NAU Campus.

She loves her new job as a teacher, engaging with students while keeping her connections with professionals in the construction industry.

In her spare time, you are most likely to find her riding the local mountain biking trails, skiing, trail running, having fun with her family and friends.

Michele Ann James, Faculty Advisor

Michele is a wildlife biologist and graphic designer. She completed her master’s degree at NAU in 2003 in what is now the Sustainable Communities Program, her Bachelor’s in wildlife biology at Colorado State University, and most recently, a post-baccalaureate degree in Visual Communication (graphic design emphasis) at NAU.

Michele is part-time faculty currently teaching three classes in the First Year Seminar Program: Slam Poetry and Art in Action, Zombies and Fear of the Future, and a science seminar, Hacking the Planet. She previously taught environmental communication at NAU. Michele was previously Research Coordinator in the Marks Lab of Aquatic Ecology and at the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at NAU. In these positions, she focused coordinated research on the restoration of Fossil Creek, led the diverse Fossil Creek Stakeholders group, acquired grants for specific resource improvement and monitoring projects at Fossil Creek, and communicating science via website design and writing.

Michele loves living in Northern Arizona and loves teaching and meeting students. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and camping with her family, graphic design, photography, poetry, and traveling.

Jennifer Wade, Faculty Advisor

Jennifer Wade is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering where she teaches engineering design and thermal fluid topics.  Prior to her time at NAU she worked in the development of catalysts to clean the exhaust of automobiles and refineries for a major chemical company and researched technologies to separate carbon dioxide gas from power plant exhaust for carbon capture and storage solutions.

Chad Stiller, Staff Advisor

Joshua Spear, Staff Advisor

Joshua Spear is currently employed at Northern Arizona University in the role of Senior Project Management and oversees multiple construction projects from conception to completion. In this role he has helped NAU achieve many honors including the USGBC Heavy Metals award two years in a row 2014 and 2015. This is an award for LEED projects that have gone over and above expectation of facility performance and aesthetics.

Matthew Muchna, Staff & Green Fund Business Manager

Matthew has his M.A. in Applied Sociology from NAU with a focus on Documentary Studies and Environmental Planning. His Graduate research was looking at social vulnerabilities faced by longtime residents in the Southside neighborhood through the Rio “de Flag” Project.  Matthew’s past experiences span the spectrum of User Experience (UX) Design Research,  Outreach & Facilitation, and Restaurant Management. This experiences help him craft creative solutions to solve many different types of problems. His focus is on strengthening the culture of sustainability at NAU and creating a road-map to carbon neutrality alongside community and regional partners. He is a long-distance trail runner and an average ping-pong player.