Campus Conversations

Season 8 Episode 3: Mariela Cavo and Tim Volk

SUNY ESF — Wed, 14 May 2025 16:30:00 +0000

In the final episode of season 8, President Mahoney dives into the interdisciplinary work shaping the future of sustainable energy with Dr. Mariela Cavo and Dr. Tim Volk from SUNY ESF’s Bioeconomy Cluster. Together, they explore how integrating economics into environmental research helps us better understand the true costs and benefits of renewable energy solutions like biomass. Mariela, an environmental economist, emphasizes the need to address market failures and account for hidden social costs. At the same time, Tim, a biomass expert, underscores the importance of making renewable systems economically viable. From Onondaga Lake to sustainable aviation fuel, this dynamic conversation reveals how collaboration across disciplines is essential to building an equitable, efficient, and sustainable future.

Season 8 Episode 2: Eden Gardner and Bailey Cunha-Bustamante

SUNY ESF — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:30:00 +0000

In this episode, President Mahoney sits down with Eden Gardner and Bailey Cunha-Bustamante, the President and Vice President of MOSA (Mighty Oak Student Assembly), to explore what sets the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) apart. Eden and Bailey share how ESF fosters a deeply engaged student community, where hands-on involvement and leadership opportunities are woven into the academic experience.

They dive into their journey of revitalizing MOSA post-COVID, breathing new life into student government and reconnecting the campus community. The conversation also looks to the future, as both leaders reflect on how their experiences at ESF are shaping their ambitions to influence policy and governance — particularly by bringing scientists and scientific perspectives into the decision-making process.

This episode is a testament to the power of student leadership, resilience, and the importance of scientific voices in shaping our world.

Season 8 Episode 1: Jamie Shinn & Nathan Young

SUNY ESF — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:30:00 +0000

Welcome to Season 8 of the Campus Conversations Podcast! In this episode, President Joanie Mahoney sits down with Dr. Jamie Shinn, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies, and DR. Nathan Young, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sustainable Resource Management. In this conversation they discuss the delicate dance around terminology related to climate change, the importance of being able to communicate with people who are affected by extreme weather, and the potential for getting involved politically to help make informed change.

Season 7 Episode 4: Laura Schifter

SUNY ESF — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

In the final episode of this season, President Mahoney has a fantastic conversation with Laura Schifter, a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute's Energy and Environment program. She leads This Is Planet Ed, an initiative of Aspen Institute aiming to unlock the power of education as a force for climate action and solutions.

In this conversation, they discuss Laura's motivation to become more involved in educating about climate change, understanding how it affects what is important to you, and how to educate and inform about what's important. They talk about the Higher Ed Climate Action Plan that President Mahoney and SUNY Chancellor King participated in with Laura and the Aspen Institute.

Season 7 Episode 3: Spencer Berg

SUNY ESF — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

In this episode, President Mahoney speaks with Spencer Berg. Spencer is an Environmental Studies major with a minor in Landscape Architecture. He is also the president of the Environmental Studies Student Organization, known as ESSO, the Chief Academic Officer for the Mighty Oak Student Assembly, and an R.A. in Centennial Hall. Listen in as Spencer talks about what drew him to ESF, his interest in politics, environmental activism, the SUNY system, and the importance of decision-making with the environment in mind.

Season 7 Episode 2: Sue Fassler

SUNY ESF — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

In this conversation, President Mahoney speaks with the Director of Sustainability at ESF, Sue Fassler. Listen in as President Mahoney and Sue discuss ESF's Sustainability Action Plan, encouraging small changes in habits that can produce a big impact, the value of having difficult discussions, and being OK with trying something and failing.

Season 7 Episode 1: Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer

SUNY ESF — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 20:00:00 +0000

As we kick off season 7, we welcome back Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer! President Mahoney and Dr. Wall Kimmerer talk about her new book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World and the benefits of a gift economy. The conversation builds on the role of the serviceberry tree and how we can incorporate its relationship to the natural world into our lives.

Season 6 Episode 4: Commissioner Richard Ball

SUNY ESF — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 16:30:00 +0000

In this conversation, President Joanie Mahoney speaks with the Commissioner of New York State's Department of Agriculture and Markets Richard Ball. Listen in as they talk about how he fell in love with farming helping his grandparents out as a child, the benefit of owning and maintaining a currently active farm in New York while being the Commissioner of Agriculture, the future of farming in New York State and the New York State Fair's role in generating excitement around the wealth of opportunities in agriculture in New York State.

Season 6 Episode 3: Camille Dungy

SUNY ESF — Mon, 20 May 2024 20:30:00 +0000

Join us as President Mahoney speaks with the 2024 Honorary Degree Recipient Camille Dungy. In this conversation they discuss the expansion of literary voices in the realm of nature literature and environmental studies, acknowledging that writing about nature goes beyond writing in the solitude of beautiful spaces, and Camille's process as a writer. Joining the discussion is Tyler Dorholt, Director of the Writing Program at ESF and Coordinator of the Digital Storytelling Studio.

Season 6 Episode 2: Silas Cochran

SUNY ESF — Fri, 03 May 2024 16:30:00 +0000

In this episode, join President Joanie Mahoney in her conversation with former Mighty Oak Student Assembly President Silas Cochran. The conversation highlights Silas' path to ESF, along with his achievements in student government, advice for incoming students, and what he will be doing next.

Season 6 Episode 1: Commissioner Basil Seggos

SUNY ESF — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:30:00 +0000

Welcome to season six of the Campus Conversations podcast. In this episode, President Joanie Mahoney speaks with the former commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Basil Seggos. Join the conversation as they discuss Basil's tenure as the longest-serving DEC commissioner, his involvement with the state's transfer of land back to the Onondaga Nation, his ties to ESF, protecting drinking water, and his time spent in Ukraine.

Season 5 Episode 6: Moon Library - The Pillar of the College Community

SUNY ESF — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:30:00 +0000

In the final episode of this season, President Mahoney sits down with Matt Smith, Director of College Libraries. Listen in on this conversation as they explore Matt's path to ESF, his dedication to supporting public and affordable higher education, as well as being a rallying force in advocating for ESF, its students, faculty and staff for the visibility and support it deserves within the SUNY system. They also discuss his focus is on re-centering the Moon Library as a student-centric destination and space that also supports the College’s research.

Season 5 Episode 05: Influence of Culture on Human Behavior and Climate Change

SUNY ESF — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Join President Mahoney as she sits down with ESF students Isabel Valentin and Savannah Wright. In this conversation, the discussion goes into Isabel's and Savannah's areas of focus, and how they both are interested in evolving current policies around disability (Savannah) and new models around researching marginalized populations in climate impacted areas (Isabel). They also talked about their experiences here at ESF as a student, the power of facts and data and their future plans.

Season 5 Episode 04: A Journey of Paper and Perseverance

SUNY ESF — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the podcast, President Joanie Mahoney sits with Dr. Ericka Redmond, a professor of in the Chemical Engineering department with a focus on Paper & Bioprocess Engineering. Dr. Redmond is a new, young professor at ESF who is passionate about the paper industry, her students, and making a positive impact in people’s lives and on campus. In this conversation, they discuss Ericka educational journey, her experience as a Ph.D. Student at ESF, the power of networking, and how making life changing decisions for personal or family reasons can sometimes open doors to other opportunities.

Season 5 Episode 3: Bridging Diversity and STEM in the Adirondacks

SUNY ESF — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Join President Mahoney in her conversation with Paul Hai, the Associate Director of Education at ESF’s Adirondack Ecological Center (AEC). Paul has spent two decades working to make STEM more accessible. In this episode, they discuss informal science education and experiential learning, the importance of school aged kids meeting individuals in different fields who come from similar backgrounds and whom they can identify with, as well as living and working in the Adirondacks.

Season 5 Episode 2: Advocating for Diversity in STEM

SUNY ESF — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 16:10:00 +0000

Join us as President Mahoney speaks with Danushi Fernando, ESF’s Chief Diversity Officer. Danushi has more than a decade of experience working at higher education institutions as a champion for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity – and her passion is contagious. Appointed to her role at ESF in May 2023, Danushi has big ideas to help create a welcoming and inclusive community at ESF. In this episode, they discuss what brought Danushi into this field, the importance of sharing experiences to better understand the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity as well as her ideas to help create a welcoming and inclusive community at ESF.

Season 5 Episode 1: Making Environmental Messages Stick

SUNY ESF — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In the inaugural episode of Season five of Campus Conversations, President Mahoney speaks with Dr. Benette Whitmore, a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at ESF. This conversation explores the benefits of storytelling to communicate the work being done at ESF, the differences in going from faculty to a more administrative role, ESF's involvement with Planet Forward, and the different ways using humanities that we can communicate information about the environment.

Season 4 Episode 4: Building a Bridge between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge

SUNY ESF — Tue, 09 May 2023 20:00:00 +0000

In the final episode of this season, join President Mahoney's conversation with Neil Patterson, Assistant Director for the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at SUNY ESF. In this conversation they talk about what brought Neil to study at ESF, how scientific ecological knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge can work together, the growth of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, the role of indigenous communities as stewards of biodiversity, and the partnership with the DEC, Nature Conservancy and others in addressing indigenous land justice in the state.

Season 4 Episode 3: Shifting the Narrative on Climate Change

SUNY ESF — Tue, 02 May 2023 20:00:00 +0000

Join President Mahoney as she speaks with Anne Therese Gennari, author of The Climate Optimist Handbook and this year's ESF's Commencement Speaker. In this conversation, Anne Therese speaks about her passion for the environment as a child, coping with the climate anxiety, and the importance of personal health and well being as a path towards climate optimism.

Season 4 Episode 2: Connecting to Communities through the Landscape

SUNY ESF — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0000

In this episode, President Mahoney sits down with Anne Godfrey and Matt Potteiger, faculty members in the Landscape Architecture program at SUNY ESF. The discussion explores the interactions of photography, food and landscape, how varied the interpretations can be and how these stories matter for our future.

Season 4 Episode 1: The Intersection of Environmental Issues and Literature

SUNY ESF — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:00:00 +0000

In this conversation, President Joanie Mahoney speaks with Janine DeBaise, a tenured instructor in ESF’s Writing Program. They discuss Jeanine's path to ESF, the cross-section of literature and the environment, and how writing is a part of everything and how to become a stronger writer.

Season 3 Episode 7: The Hidden Power of Uncertainty

SUNY ESF — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 21:30:00 +0000

Are you afraid to admit what you don’t know? Dr. Ruth Yanai argues you can’t learn new things if you're unwilling to embrace uncertainty. On Episode 7 of Campus Conversations: The Podcast, President Mahoney chatted with Dr. Yanai about how she approaches uncertainty in her research on forest nutrient budgets and carbon finance for climate mitigation.

Season 3 Episode 6: Compost Systems and Contamination

SUNY ESF — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 21:30:00 +0000

Did you know that you can't recycle an egg carton? Finding the next best use for non-recyclable paper products as new materials is the focus of Doug Daley, an ESF Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering. On this episode of Campus Conversations: The Podcast, President Mahoney sat down with Professor Daley to discuss his research and the strides they are making to divert materials from landfills, protect our water resources, and restore our environment.

Season 3 Episode 5: How Healthy Fish Create Happy People

SUNY ESF — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:00:00 +0000

In this episode, President Mahoney speaks with Dr. Josh Drew, an aquatic conservation ecologist working at the intersection of human and natural systems. The conversation goes into what sparked Josh's interest in his field of study, the value of colloborating with people who live in the places where research is taking place, podcasting and the importance of getting out to vote.

Season 3 Episode 4: The Sustainable Materials Economy

SUNY ESF — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:05:00 +0000

Join President Mahoney in her conversation with Dr. Chang Geun Yoo, an assistant professor of Chemical Engineering at ESF, around his research working with the sustainable materials economy.