Student Spotlights

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XMNR students and alumni put the concept of climate resilience into practice , article
“‘Resilience’ has become a recurring theme, not only in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in the way that we tackle climate change and sustainable development,” points out recent XMNR alum Garrett Davidson in his post about Resilient Virginia, a non-profit working on accelerating resiliency planning in communities across the state.
Date: Jan 05, 2021
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We the peoples… Why we need nations united, more than ever. , article
As 2020 keeps reminding us, unity and alignment are key to solving pervasive problems, like the coronavirus pandemic. “One could argue that the best defense against a microscopic problem lies in a global solidarity solution,” writes Elizabeth Feliciano, the Director of Global Events for the United Nations Foundation and a student in our Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) program, as part of her reflections on the 2020 United Nations General Assembly.
Date: Dec 08, 2020
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Can the pandemic force us to build better food systems? , article
“Exploring the space where landscape architecture and urban planning overlap, I seek to understand causes and explore solutions to social injustice from a different perspective. Food policy, food systems resilience, and urban agriculture are the areas of deep interest to me,” says Lynda S. Ramirez-Blust, a student in our Urban Ecology course.
Date: Nov 12, 2020
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XMNR student applies classroom lessons to her work at the United Nations Foundation to help fight COVID-19 , article
The emergence of COVID-19 has deeply affected how we address sustainability issues. The pandemic has also upended the way we work. The Director of Global Events for the United Nations Foundation and Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) student Beth Feliciano has witnessed both first hand. Her portfolio now includes raising funds for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization, as a unique way for individuals and companies to contribute directly to the global fight against the pandemic. Learn more about Beth's work and ways you can participate in the fund's efforts.
Date: Jun 08, 2020
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Sustainable Cities Series, Part 3: Localizing Global Urban Agenda in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , article
Conaway B. Haskins III, a PhD student in the Planning, Governance and Globalization program in the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs, examines sustainable urban development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Date: Nov 18, 2019
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Sustainable Cities Series, Omaha, Nebraska, Part 2: Climate Change , article
Cities take up less than three percent of land surface, but they are responsible for producing between sixty to eighty percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Online MNR student Ned Bagniewski examines the effects of climate change on the city of Omaha, Nebraska.
Date: Nov 11, 2019
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Our Students Share Grad School Tips with Environmental Leadership Community , article
Current and former students in the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) program—Valerie Winrow, Sara El Choufi, and Danielle Simms—shared reflections and tips for choosing a graduate school with an online community of women interested in careers in global sustainability, in a webinar facilitated by the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program Alumni Network, a program of the Environmental Leadership Program.
Date: Oct 15, 2019
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Global Study Series, India, Part 2: Sustaining, developing, or just surviving? , article
During my final semester in Virginia Tech’s Online MNR program, I joined a group of students and faculty from the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability on the Spring 2019 Global Study. Our transformative, eye-opening journey to the eastern Indian state of West Bengal began in Kolkata.The effects of planetary environmental crises are already being felt in India. Heat waves, such as the one currently impacting India, have only been increasing in frequency and intensity, leading to summer high temperatures that are growing unbearable.
Date: Sep 11, 2019
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Global Study Series, India, Part 1: Preserving East Kolkata Wetlands , article
As a student in the Online Master of Natural Resources program at the Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, Kasey Fioramonti has had a chance to witness the enormous environmental challenges affecting one of the most populous countries in the world—India. Kasey’s International Field Experience (IFE) to India in February 2019 offered her a rare opportunity to see how to recognize a community’s sustainability issues early on and address them at the grassroots level; how individuals and families are affected by pollution; and how difficult combating these issues through policy can be.
Date: Aug 13, 2019
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Applying XMNR Lessons in the Field , article
When considering grad school, people often wonder whether the investment of time, effort, and resources will pay off. And if so, when? Tyler Walston is currently about half-way through the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) graduate program at the Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, and what he's learning in class, and through team and individual assignments, he has applied directly to his current job responsibilities.
Date: Jun 25, 2019