The 2022/23 Green Campus Team

Campus Reuse Team

Kalea Conrad

Campus Reuse Team Lead

Hello! My name is Kalea Conrad and I use she/hers pronouns. I am a recent (Spring '22) graduate of Cal Poly's Environmental Management and Protection major and am grateful for the opportunity to remain at Cal Poly to receive a master's degree. I am from Hermosa Beach, California, a truly beautiful southern beach town that inspired my desire to pursue an environmental science education. I am working on my graduate thesis with Dr. Nicholas Williams, doing ethnographic research on plastic utility and waste in strawberry production. I am intrigued (and preoccupied) by failing waste management systems and ultimately hope to expand the processing capacity for organic waste recycling to effectively transform landfill gasses into viable biofuels.

Angelo LaCommare-Soto

Campus Reuse Team Member

Angelo is a third-year Marine Sciences major from San Francisco, Ca. In his free time, Angelo enjoys playing baseball, going to the beach, listening to music, kayaking, hiking, cooking, and playing his flute and bass guitar. Traveling throughout the Americas and growing up along the California and Chile coasts fueled both his interest in marine sciences, and his drive to seek methods of halting the harmful environmental and social effects of climate change at a local level while keeping a global perspective in mind. As a Board Member of his high school’s Green Team, Angelo helped orchestrate a Climate Strike school walkout, in which he encouraged students to register to vote and vote for candidates who prioritized climate action. He has continued his sustainability-focused volunteer work at Cal Poly, joining Eco Reps, becoming a trained Surfrider BWTF seawater sampler, and helping out at the food pantry garden.

Carina Ballek

Campus Reuse Team Member

Carina is a second year Environmental Earth and Soil Science major from Berkeley, California. There, she was surrounded by various social movements both in and outside of school and attended protests often. Combining her passion for the environment and music, she co-founded her high school’s Musicians Against Climate Change pep band with which she helped lead several trips to San Francisco climate marches. Before living in Berkeley, Carina spent her first nine years in Bavaria, Germany, where proper waste disposal and alternative transportation were standards within her upbringing and family culture. If you spot her on campus, she’s likely to have her bike with her as it is and has been her main mode of transport for years. On campus, she has played Clarinet for the Wind Orchestra, been involved with the Eco Reps and Zero Waste Clubs and will be co-captain of Cal Poly’s women’s Ultimate team this year. As part of the Green Campus team, she’s excited to contribute to lasting projects that will make Cal Poly a more sustainable and inclusive institution.

Drought Response Team

Fiona Reyes

Drought Response Team Lead

Fiona Reyes is a third year Environmental Management and Protection major with a minor in Sustainable Environments. At home in Santa Clara, she loves hanging out with her family in their backyard with their two rescue dogs, one grumpy cat, and a flock of chickens. This past summer she interned at Santa Clara County's Water District: Valley Water, where she supported the Education Outreach and Creek Stewardship teams with engaging the community in water conservation and environmental stewardship. In her free time, Fiona likes going on hikes and spending time at the beach. She also enjoys cooking and baking, especially when she can use fresh ingredients from her backyard at home or from the farmers market. Fiona is interested in social justice and the intersectionality of many issues with environmentalism and sustainability, so she is very excited to be on the Green Campus Team and collaborate with her Cal Poly community.

Jeremiah Gallegos

Drought Response Team Member

Jeremiah is a second-year Architecture major from Palmdale, CA. He enjoys long-distance running on trails and admires the diverse flora and fauna of California’s central coast. Additionally, he is currently a member of Cal Poly’s American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Freedom by Design chapters. As a long-time resident of the high desert, he has first-hand experience of the issues faced by fragile ecosystems and the struggles their inhabitants endure due to climate change. For the past several years, he has been a community advocate for ecologically conscious developments that integrate sustainable and regenerative solutions into their functions. He strives to implement the fundamentals of environmental design into the collective work of the Green Campus Team and its collaborations.

Madi Bennett-Wells

Drought Response Team Member

My name is Madi Bennett-Wells and I am a second-year Environmental Management and Protection major. I am from Sacramento, CA, and when at home, I spend most of my time coaching volleyball at my high school. In my free time, I enjoy spending as much time as I can with my family and friends, as well as going on walks around my neighborhood to take in the scenery and enjoy nature. I grew up traveling and seeing new places and cultures, so I have an immense love for the environment around me and am eager to give back, so more people can learn to love the world as I did. I am passionate about helping preserve the environment, coming up with ways to lessen human impacts, and making a more equitable world for all, so I am super excited to work alongside The Green Campus this year! I am also involved in WOW and hope to study abroad next year to help spread the love and appreciation I have for the environment and world around me.

Energy Efficiency Team

Lauren Londoño

Energy Efficiency Team Lead

Lauren Londoño is a fourth year Nutrition Science major with a minor in Political Science. She is passionate about food sovereignty, environmental sustainability, policy, and education. During high school, Lauren gave a TEDx Talk about zero waste living, inspired by a sustainability service trip to the Dominican Republic. Lauren has been involved in Cal Poly's sustainability community since her freshman year of college. In addition to her position as Team Lead for Green Campus' Energy Efficiency Team, she was also president of the Cal Poly Surfrider Foundation for two years, and co-chair of the Pollinator Protection Program. She is also currently involved with the California Wheat Commission's Wheat2School Project and the Surfrider Foundation's National Student Council. Yoga, hiking, surfing, and cooking are some of Lauren's favorite things to do when she's not working! Lauren is bittersweet for her last year on the team before she graduates in Winter of 2023! The Green Campus Team has been a rewarding position for her for the past two years because she believes that the work she has been involved in has left a positive impact on Cal Poly's sustainability community.

Jhon Chavez-Matul

Energy Efficiency Team Member

Jhon Chavez-Matul is a third-year Environmental Engineering major and a Photography and Video minor from Los Angeles, CA. He particularly loves landscape and street photography and hopes to raise environmental awareness one picture at a time. He also enjoys listening to music, eating good food, and playing video games. As someone who regularly geeks out over and appreciates cool tech, he is determined to work toward a balance between innovation and sustainability. He is excited to work with the Green Campus Team to develop valuable skills and experience to build a healthier relationship between people and their environment. In the past, Jhon has also been involved with the Water-Energy Sustainability Training Team (WESTT).

Karen Morales De Leon

Energy Efficiency Team Member

Karen Morales De Leon is a third-year Mechanical Engineering major with a concentration in Mechatronics. Originally from Guatemala, Karen is a first-generation student from the Bay Area. In her free time she enjoys going to the beach, drinking coffee and boba, reading, cooking, and building and understanding how things work. Recently becoming part of the Green Campus team, she’s excited to explore more sustainable solutions, especially with renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Sustainable Transportation Team

Assata Golash

Transportation Team Lead

Assata (she/her) is a fourth-year Forestry and Natural Resources student minoring in Ethnic Studies and Biology from Seattle, WA. She loves to craft, hike, and play racquetball. Assata is passionate about understanding the natural world and our human relations to it. She hopes to accomplish this understanding through forest management research and implement it in natural climate solutions. She hopes to understand these integrations with an intersectional lens, which she hopes to start with her experience at Cal Poly on the Green Campus Team. Assata is also involved in the Student Association of Fire Ecologists, People's Revolutionary Garden Networks, and forest carbon research.

Anthony Colin

Transportation Team Member

Anthony is a transfer student majoring in Computer Science from Bakersfield, CA. He enjoys working on personal projects, lifting weights, and spending time with his 2 cats. Anthony loves the planet and realizes the importance of sustainability through transportation. He is passionate about his work on the Green Campus Team and the contributions to make transportation at Cal Poly safer, greener, and sustainable. Anthony is also the President of Color Coded and Treasurer of the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Club.

Haley Duran

Transportation Team Member

Haley Duran (she/her/hers) is a second-year City and Regional Planning major with a minor in Environmental Studies from Santa Ana, California. She is an animal lover and has two Sulcata tortoises, a chicken, and two dogs. Haley enjoys baking and implementing plant-based ingredients into her recipes. She is involved in several clubs and organizations on campus including Eco Reps, ASP, and TRIO Achievers. Being a part of Green Campus and College Corps is an opportunity for her to learn more about sustainable transportation and infrastructure, a career field she is considering entering. She is excited to be involved in creating a greener Cal Poly.

Sustainability Visibility Team

Hope Springer

Visibility Team Lead

Hope Springer is a Graduate Student in the Environmental Sciences & Management program. She received her bachelor's degree in Environmental Management & Protection from Cal Poly in June of 2022. Originally from Washington state, Hope spent a lot of time in the mountains, forests, and oceans growing up. These experiences led her to respect, love, and seek to protect the natural world.Hope has been involved with sustainability and education efforts on campus for the past 4 years, serving as the ASI Secretary of Sustainability for the 2020-2021 school year, working on the Cal Poly Organic Farm, as the co-President of The Real Food Collaborative, and more recently as a lecturer for the Land & Resource Measurements class on campus. Hope has worked with Green Campus for 2 years, and now oversees the Sustainability Visibility team. She is grateful to be a part of the Green Campus Team because she loves teaching others about intersectional sustainability and wants to continue making tangible change on campus.

Allie Mortensen

Visibility Team Member

My name is Allie Mortensen and I am a third year environmental management and protection major. I am from Orange County and grew up camping in nearby national and state parks across California. My time spent in the outdoors has led me to realize the great adventures that different environments offer, which is a big driver for my passion in respecting our natural resources. This summer, I volunteered at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy leading groups in restoration projects as well as working at the interpretive center on site. I have enjoyed furthering my sustainability journey at Cal Poly through being a member of Eco Reps and attending campus wide environmental events. Outside of school and work, I love volunteering at the SLO animal shelter training and rehabilitating dogs, hiking, and trying local coffee shops. I am excited for the opportunity to spark a desire within others to have a role in mending some of the leading anthropogenic environmental issues we are facing.

Kalissa Flint

Visibility Team Member

Kalissa Flint is a third year transfer student in Landscape Architecture. Beginning when she was younger, environmental science as well as environmental/social justice has been her passion. She loved learning about science from her Dad and seeing how that related to her classes in environmental science, engineering, and landscape. Kalissa is from Santa Barbara, CA and loves being outside, going to the beach, swimming, and going on bike rides. At Cal Poly, she enjoys getting involved in the student culture and joining extracurriculars such as CAED Ambassador Tours, being a WOW leader and doing pottery at the craft center. Being a part of Green Campus, Kalissa is excited to be working with our team to share sustainability news and the importance of being considerate of the Earth.

Graphic Design Team

Kailey Latin

Graphic Designer

Kailey Latin (she/her) is a Graphic Communication major with a concentration in Graphics for Packaging. She discovered her love for graphic design while acquiring her associate degree in Communications at the College of San Mateo. Outside of Green Campus, Kailey is also on the student advisory board for her major and is the communication coordinator of the TAGA club chapter. Having grown up near San Francisco, she's always loved to hike, go to the beach, and exercise. In her free time, she also likes to cook, play tennis, and rewatch her favorite movies. She's been looking for ways to get more involved in sustainability efforts, and loves working for Green Campus because she feels like she's constantly absorbing more information on climate activism from the amazing staff while putting her talents toward tangible change.

Matty Terrill

Graphic Designer

Matty is a third year Graphic Communication student. He comes from Solana Beach, California, and loves the beach. He enjoys surfing with his friends and going on adventures. Hiking and exploring new areas are at the top of his list for things to do. He has two brothers and two dogs that he misses up at school. He is excited to work with Green Campus and use his design work for a good cause. The earth and nature have always provided for Matty and he wishes to make a difference.