Stewards Magazine

1970s

Sadik Artunç (MLA ’79), FASLA, FCELA, received the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) honor award. He has been the head of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University since January 2007. Prior to that, he taught in the Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. Artunç’s teaching involves design implementation and construction, site planning and design, and regional planning and design. His professional consulting involves large-scale planning and design with a focus on recreation and tourism, resource planning, and design implementation and construction. Artunç was inducted into the ASLA Council of Fellows in 2000 and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s Academy of Fellows in 2023.

1990s

Rebecca Watts Hull (MS ’95) spent more than three years as a service learning and partnerships specialist with the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). In January 2023, she moved into a newly created role in Georgia Tech’s Center for Teaching and Learning that is aligned with the institute’s strategic-plan goal of transformative learning that equips students to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As assistant director of faculty development for sustainability education initiatives, she collaborates with sustainability leaders and faculty development professionals to support faculty in redesigning courses across a range of disciplines to incorporate sustainability and the SDGs. In collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education staff, she also leads a monthly meet-up group of professionals in similar roles at other institutions.

2000s

Chingwen Cheng (MLA ’01) became the director of the Stuckeman School in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture on July 1. She previously was the program head and associate professor of landscape architecture, urban design and environmental design at the Design School at Arizona State University. Chen also serves as the 2023-2024 president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. 

Jennifer Dowdell (MLA ’07) is a senior technical advisor on landscape ecological planning and design at Biohabitats, a national interdisciplinary design and consulting firm. Biohabitats was this year’s recipient of the prestigious Landscape Architecture Firm Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which is the highest honor that ASLA may bestow on a firm. “The skills I gained during my time in SEAS’ MLA program, led by a cohort of incredible professors including my advisor and mentor, Joan Nassauer, continue to inform my contributions to Biohabitats’ body of design and planning work,” Dowdell says. “I find ongoing inspiration in SEAS’ contributions to the global potential for innovative regenerative design approaches and climate change responsiveness.”

Monique Oxender (MS/MBA ’04) was named interim chief corporate affairs officer at Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP). In this role, Oxender oversees the company’s corporate responsibility, government affairs, corporate communications and internal communications work. Oxender has been with KDP for more than 11 years, most recently as senior vice president and chief sustainability officer, where she designed the organizational and strategic framework for the company’s corporate responsibility platform. Prior to joining KDP, Oxender served in leadership roles at Ford Motor Company, overseeing supply chain sustainability programs and working with a wide range of external stakeholders. 

Kif Scheuer (MSc ’02, PhD ’07) is the national service director at Farallon Strategies. He writes: “Over the last year, I’ve had the chance to work on a great project in and for Michigan. Our team is helping the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s Office of Climate and Energy with the design and launch of a MI Healthy Climate Corps. Starting in early 2024, the MI Healthy Climate Corps will field a cohort of 30 AmeriCorps members who will provide critical support to communities tackling climate change. MI Healthy Climate Corps members will receive training and career development support to step into Michigan’s climate leadership pool. Our team is supporting the Office of Climate and Energy with program design and early-stage partner development. It’s been great to be back in Michigan (albeit virtually) and reconnecting with people I knew back in my School of Natural Resources and Environment days (I can’t quite say SEAS yet!).”

2010s

Kimberley Irby (MS ’18) moved to Washington, D.C., in July 2023. She is now a senior climate resilience specialist for ICF in its Arlington office, where she supports climate change vulnerability analyses and climate resiliency planning for government, transportation, utility and other clients. 

Shoshannah Lenski (MS ’11) is the new associate director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at SEAS. She previously worked at DTE Energy for 12 years, which included advising the CEO about clean energy strategy. She also served on the Ann Arbor Energy Commission for seven years. 

Juliana Pino (MS/MPP ’15) contributed recommendations to the 2023 mayoral transition report for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his incoming administration. Pino is the policy director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.

2020s

Marney Coleman (MS/MBA ’23) was hired as the sustainability manager at Trammell Crow Company (TCC), a global commercial real estate company. She works with TCC’s director of sustainability to develop the firm’s sustainability strategies, with a focus on the decarbonization of TCC’s portfolio of industrial, office and multifamily projects. 

Jannice Newson (MS ’20) is the co-founder of Lillian Augusta, a company that is developing a plantbased, 100% biodegradable braided hair product for Black women. Lillian Augusta recently was selected as the third-place winner in the National Black Business Pitch, of which 1,700 applicants were whittled down to the top three that competed in a live virtual pitch. Learn more about the company and how you can support its launch at hairwithoutharm.com.