Staff

Professor Phillip Thompson serves as Director of the Seattle University Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability and served as Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Chair from 2006-2013. He received the 2015 Seattle University Alumni Association's  Distinguished Faculty Award and the 2011-2012 Father James McGoldrick Fellowship, Seattle University's highest faculty honor. He was also awarded the 2009-2010 Thomas J. Bannan endowed chair of engineering. Dr. Thompson joined Seattle University after receiving his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1997. He also earned an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.A. in Biology from the University of Iowa and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington.

Yolanda is a graduate of the "Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)" (Brussels, Belgium) with a Masters in Contemporary History, specializing in Immigration studies, and a Masters in International Humanitarian Aid from the "Université Catholique de Louvain" (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). She also holds a post-masters degree in Teaching. She is the author of "Chileans in Exile: Their Immigration, Reception and Integration" (2004), published by the "Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)" Press, and worked for the Regional Integration Center of Brussels, providing social orientation programs to newcomers. After relocating to Seattle, she worked at the World Affairs Council and Pacific Village Institute promoting international exchange for professionals and developing cross-cultural and global issues curriculum for high school students and educators. Yolanda also worked several years in documentary production. She assisted in the production of feature-length documentaries on topics such as Fair Trade, Motherhood, and The Ecological Footprint; and edited over forty short films for Longhouse Media, a non-profit organization seeking to catalyze Indigenous people and communities to use media as a tool for self-expression, cultural preservation, and social change.

Yolanda joined Seattle University in 2015 where she manages the institution’s sustainability initiatives. In this role, she collaborates with faculty, staff, students, and external stakeholders to plan, assess, and improve SU’s climate action and sustainability performance. She is the recipient of the 2018 Seattle University Lee Thurber Outstanding Staff Award. Since 2022, Yolanda serves as co-chair of Seattle University's Laudato Si Action Platform (LSAP). Outside SU, Yolanda teaches at the “Oranjeschool,” supporting elementary school students in maintaining and nurturing their Dutch heritage language.

Richard Conlin is a consultant on sustainability, food policy, and local government. He has just completed a Food Policy Plan for the City of Riverside, California, and currently manages the Duwamish River Opportunity Fund for the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Richard is also a faculty affiliate at Seattle University, Antioch University Seattle and the Evans School of Public Affairs of the University of Washington. He served four terms on the Seattle City Council; his colleagues elected him to two terms as Council President. Richard has run an energy conservation business, led the City Light Study Group, directed Seattle YMCA Earth Service Corps, co-founded Sustainable Seattle, and directed the Energy Policy Project for PIRGIM. He is currently co-chair of the Regional Food Policy Council.

Nicole DeNamur is a Seattle-based attorney whose practice focuses on insurance coverage and construction litigation.   She is a LEED® Green Associate™ with a passion for the intersection of sustainable building design, construction, and the law.  Nicole regularly presents on her holistic and proactive approach to risk management and the legal issues associated with sustainable buildings.  She is an Affiliate Instructor at the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, where she developed the content for the interdisciplinary course, Risk and Reward in Sustainable Development.  Nicole also developed the content for, and teaches, Policy and Planning, part of the Master’s Program in Design for Human Health at Boston Architectural College.

John Hainze has pursued interests in environmental ethics and the relationship of religion and science through an M.A. in Religion from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Wisconsin. John served as Teaching Fellow at Yale in courses on Religion and Ecology, and Law, Religion, and the Environment. He worked on developing online courses for the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale. He served as Adjunct Faculty in Entomology at the University of Wisconsin and in Biology at Carroll University. John is also a film producer, and completed a series of educational videos on Christianity and Cosmology, Evolution, and the Environment. Previously, he worked as a scientist and manager at SC Johnson and Son. John is now president of BioOpus LLC, through which he pursues entomological consulting, writing, and film projects. Check out John's blog "Nature Underfoot", a blog that considers the smaller organisms that are intimately associated with human beings.

Danica Hendrickson is an educator with a passion for science, sustainability, and justice. She has taught middle school science and math for almost a decade, co-authored interdisciplinary curricular units for Facing the Future, and facilitated professional development events for teachers focused on global sustainability and energy. Danica served as Facing the Future’s Co-I for the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA), a USDA-NIFA-funded aviation biofuels project. As a member of the NARA Education team, her primary focus was the development and dissemination of educational resources that foster energy and bioenergy literacy in K-12 students. She led the research and development of Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use, co-developed an energy literacy assessment tool for middle school students, and participated in national conversations about energy and bioenergy literacy. Danica has a B.S. in General Science from Seattle University and a M.Ed. from the Mind, Brain, and Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she focused on misconceptions and metacognition in science education. Danica’s interests lie in designing research-based educational resources and events that foster critical thinking, science literacy, and sustainable action.

Dr. Troy D. Abel is an award winning teacher and author whose research and teaching interests focus on the dynamic tensions of environmental science and democratic politics. He is an Associate Professor of Environmental Policy at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment with specializations in the fields of environmental justice, natural resource conservation and climate governance. His scholarship informs a teaching program that fosters an interactive classroom and student research collaborations. Dr. Abel was recently selected as one of three Western faculty for their commitment to engaging social justice for the 2018 teaching showcase curated by WWU’s Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment. He also was co-recipient of the 2012 Lynton Keith Caldwell award for the MIT book Coming clean: information disclosure and environmental performance. Dr. Abel believes that when we see environmental problems and solutions in only technical or political prisms, environmental governance suffers. His collaborative work and publications reflects Dr. Abel’s dedication to the pedagogy of environmental interdisciplinarity and the development of techniques and experiences to bridge the teaching schism between environmental science and political science, or, between learning about the natural world and the civic world.

Dr Jose Antonio holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil), an MBA in International Banking and Finance and a PhD in Accounting and Finance from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He built a technical and executive career at Lloyds Bank and the groups Andrade Gutierrez and Mendes Junior. He is professor and researcher at the Pedro Leopoldo Foundation and the Minas Gerais School of Engineering (EMGE), visiting professor at Fundação Dom Cabral and Skema Business School (France) and affiliated professor at the University of Seattle (USA). He works in areas related to business development, corporate finance and value creation, project development and financing, corporate governance, compliance and sustainable engineering. Since the early 1990s, he has devoted most of his work to the field of infrastructure concessions and PPPs. He is also a partner of Investor Consulting Partners where he is active in the field of M & A. He was Honorary Consul of the United Kingdom and Representative of UKTI (United Kingdom Trade and Investment) in the State of Minas Gerais between 2007 and 2015. In 2017 he received from Queen Elizabeth II the distinction (Honors Degree) of Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Mitchell Thomashow works independently, consulting with colleges and universities on climate, sustainability, environmental studies, and organizational process. Previously he was a Sustainability Catalyst Fellow at Philanthropy Northwest in Seattle (2016-2017), the Director of the Presidential Fellows Program at Second Nature (2012-2015), the President of Unity College in Maine (2006-2011), and the Chair of the Environmental Studies program at Antioch University New England (1976-2006). His new book, To Know the World: A New Vision for Environmental Learning will be published by The MIT Press in Fall 2020. His previous books include Ecological Identity, Bringing the Biosphere Home, and The Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus, all published by the MIT Press. You can learn more about his work at www.mitchellthomashow.com. He lives in the hill country of the Monadnock Region in New Hampshire.

Kevin Wilhelm is an Affiliate of Seattle University. CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting and is one of the world’s pre-eminent business consultants and teachers in the field of sustainability.Mr. Wilhelm has 21 years of experience working with 165+ clients in 37 industries including: Amazon, New York Life, Expedia, Nordstrom, REI, Alaska Airlines, The North Face, Expeditors, PSE, the Seattle Sounders, Whole Foods, the Cities of Seattle & Tacoma and the Norwest Seaport Alliance. He has taught 12 different courses in sustainability both in online and in-person formats at nine institutions, has lectured across the country hundreds of times including two TEDx Talks. Kevin is the author of six acclaimed books in this field including the just released: How to Talk to the Other Side: Sustainable Tools for Finding Common Ground.

Nikki is a sophomore from Naperville IL, majoring in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Urban Sustainability. Growing up, she enjoyed rock climbing and spending time outdoors. At 12, she started working on a small produce farm where she developed a great appreciation for sustainability and the natural environment. At Seattle University, her time with the Grounds Department and Outdoor Recreation Program amplified her desire to work with nature preservation. She hopes to combine her outdoor and agriculture experience with environmental education to enhance urban sustainability in the Pacific Northwest region.

I am a junior studying Finance in the Albers School of Business and Economics. I transferred to Seattle University in the beginning of my sophomore year after moving to Washington from India.  Growing up in urban Bangalore, greenery of any kind was a long drive away, making it all the more precious. The rarity of it made me appreciate it all the more and made me realize the importance of trying to preserve it. I want to learn more about ways to increase sustainability and adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle while finding ways to help other to do the same. I especially want to focus on looking for ways to be more environmentally conscious in developing countries. 

Allison is in her first year at the Albers School of Business and Economics. She is pursuing a Master's in Business Administration. Her connection to mother nature stems from her grandfather and father serving on the Soil Conservation Board in South Dakota and witnessing their stewardship of the land. Their eco-centric intentions inspired Allison to adopt a lifestyle that lightens her footprint on the planet. Allison plans to pursue a career that allows her to share her passion for sustainability with the greater community.

I am a Physics Major with minors in Mathematics and LGBTQ+ Studies. I grew up just outside of Seattle and have spent my whole life admiring the nature around me. Being connected to nature and learning about the native plants and animals that live around me has impacted me the most and has encouraged me to want to work to protect the environment. Studying physics has given me a deeper understanding of the physical world, the impact we all have on each other and the natural world, as well as the parts that all sciences play in sustainability. I want to continue to study how we can use physics to conserve and preserve our natural world. I hope to continue learning new ways to positively impact the environment and learning how people and nature can work together.

Daniel is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Studies, with a specialization in Politics, Policy, and Justice, and Communications from Boston, MA. His experiences hiking, rock climbing, skiing, and exploring all over New England gave him an appreciation for nature and desire to conserve it for future generations. His time at Seattle University and in the Pacific Northwest has only intensified this appreciation. He also has a passion for videography, working in television broadcasting for local politics back in Massachusetts. He hopes to one day combine these interests and make documentaries advocating for climate policy and action.