As the new sustainability analyst, Katie Zheng is growing our small team of two to three. She will be supporting Green Buildings, Toxics Reduction, Zero Waste, Water Conservation, and Wellness work groups.
Originally from Los Angeles, Zheng received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley and Stanford. She’s passionate about sustainability because it’s the intersection of climate change and public health. “The health and safety of our communities are directly impacted by climate change. This is what motivates my career in sustainability - it’s an opportunity to protect our environment, while also improving people’s quality of life,” she explains.
One of her biggest aha moments of how sustainability and public health work together was during a summer fellowship in Nicaragua, where she worked on an eco-sanitation pilot project for composting human waste. “In developing countries where water sanitation and sustainable food production are major issues, human waste composting is an opportunity to address both.” The project reclaimed valuable nutrients from human and organic waste and used it to amend soils and provide nutrients for crops. This loop created a process for sustainable food production and prevented fecal matter from contaminating the local water. “While there’s definitely an ick factor that must be overcome, this experience opened my eyes to a creative way of turning trash into treasure,” says Zheng.
Three Facts About Katie
- Her favorite sustainability tip for reducing food waste is to buy what you need and eat what you buy–shop your pantry and fridge first, and plan meals around items that need to be eaten soon.
- She owns six reusable bottles and mugs, but each serves a unique purpose therefore she uses them all.
- In her free time, she enjoys climbing, biking, and trying new recipes.
Katie Zheng is growing our small team of two to three. She will be supporting Green Buildings, Toxics Reduction, Zero Waste, Water Conservation, and Wellness work groups.
