Staff
Linda Kurtos, Director of Sustainability
A 1988 graduate of Michigan State University, Linda earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1991. She also earned a master of science degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2009. From 1991 to 2006, when she began her own practice, Kurtos served in the Chicago law firms Seyfarth Shaw, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal; and Eimer Stahl Klevorn & Solberg. Before joining the Northwestern faculty in 2010, she worked at the Environmental Law and Policy Center on federal, state and regional sustainability policies including the City of Chicago Climate Action Plan. Since 2006 she has specialized in environmental law and energy and sustainability practices and policies.
Erin Hafner, Programs Manager
Erin Hafner is the Programs Manager for the Office of Sustainability at the University of Notre Dame. Her current projects include expanding the Green Ambassador and Green Office Certification programs she has developed. Erin created Notre Dame’s successful football Game Day Recycling program and is working to expand the model to other athletic venues on campus. She worked closely with Notre Dame Procurement Services and Office Depot to develop the national reusable tote delivery program and collaborated with several departments to bring a community garden to campus. Prior to joining the Office of Sustainability in September 2008, Erin was a member of Notre Dame’s Risk Management and Safety department, where she conducted one of the first comprehensive environmental assessments of campus. Erin has also held various environmental, health and safety positions within the public and government sectors. She holds a bachelor of science and a master’s degree from Indiana University, both concentrating in environmental science.
Rachel Novick, Education and Outreach Program Manager
Rachel is currently implementing greeNDiscovery, a sustainable laboratory practices program in the Colleges of Science and Engineering. She is involved in several projects to further incorporate sustainability into Notre Dame’s curriculum, including the new Minor in Sustainability. In 2010, she developed a video and text unit on sustainability for the required freshman seminar Contemporary Topics. In Fall 2009, she hosted the first national conference on sustainability in Catholic higher education, and she continues to work on building greater engagement with sustainability among Catholic universities around the country. Prior to joining Notre Dame in July 2008, Rachel worked for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and both a master’s degree in forestry and environmental studies and a doctorate in ecology and evolution from Yale University. She is a LEED Accredited Professional in new construction and major renovations.
Student Interns
Elizabeth Callam
Elizabeth is a senior from Cleveland, Ohio majoring in Anthropology and Environmental Sciences. She has been interested in sustainability since initially pursuing a major in the College of Science during her freshman year at Notre Dame. Her role as Co-President in Students for Environmental Action and involvement with GreeND inspired her to engage her interest more seriously. She is hoping to see a continual increase in the use of reusable bags and containers on-campus and a heightened student awareness of the positive impact of their energy-saving actions.
Kate Christian
Kate is a sophomore majoring in IT Management with minors in Sustainability and Theology. Originally from San Francisco, California, Kate has always been surrounded by sustainability-conscious people. Her passion for sustainability stems from her love of nature and hiking in Northern California and a desire to preserve the earth through stewardship. Kate enjoys finding the intersection among business, sustainability, and theology and hopes to integrate them through her work in the Office. She is involved with GreeND, cSEND, and the Office as the commissioner for Pangborn Hall. Kate is looking to improve sustainability efforts throughout campus, particularly in recycling, academic engagement, and food.
Max Ducey
Max is a freshman from Oregon studying Civil Engineering. His interest in campus sustainability began while working in the dining hall, where he witnessed the large amount of food waste produced by the student body. He is currently working on RecycleMania, which tracks over 600 University’s recycling rates over an eight week period. He will also be in charge of Game Day Recycling in the fall. Max’s long term goal is to implement a composting system on campus.
Stephen Elser
Stephen is a junior in Fisher Hall from Apache Junction, Arizona. He is majoring in Environmental Sciences and minoring in Sustainability. Stephen’s interest in sustainability stems from his love of the outdoors and his desire to conserve that wilderness. As a commissioner last year, he led recycling campaigns within his dorm and encouraged the t-shirts for Environmental Sciences majors to be made through SustainU. He would like to see a dramatic decline in the use of disposable water bottles this year as well as an increased amount of recycling receptacles across campus. When he’s not busy recycling and turning lights off, Stephen performs improv, plays soccer, and runs barefoot (or in those crazy toe-shoes).
Anna Gorman
Anna is a senior majoring in Film with minors in Sustainability and Business Economics. Interning at the Office last year, she worked on a variety of projects, helping to write articles for the website and Observer, creating short videos, researching different colleges’ sustainability initiatives, and co-chairing Waste Free Wednesdays in the spring. This year Anna hopes to help spread the recycling fever on campus, stem the use of individual plastic water bottles, and promote food sustainability awareness.
Colleen MacDonald
Colleen is a senior studying Graphic Design and Art History. She is from Norfolk, Massachusetts. She hopes to help raise awareness of environmental issues through graphic design and would like to see an increase in recycling on campus.
Christian Nofziger
Christian is a sophomore pursuing a degree in business with a supplementary major in Chinese. His passion for sustainability has grown from his interest in cars. While reading about a new electric sports car, his interest was piqued. He still enjoys reading about new green technologies while surfing the web. This year, Christian hopes to increase the number of outdoor recycling receptacles around campus, and incorporate the message of sustainability in signature dorm events. This is his first year as a Sustainability Intern.
