Executive Master of Natural Resources

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Blazing Trails to Local and Global Sustainability Change , article
When it comes to leadership, Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) alum T. Adil Chowdhury stands as a trailblazer in the sphere of global sustainability. His deep understanding of stakeholder engagement and cross-disciplinary teamwork has helped him achieve a number of successes in both sustainable development and policy making. In his current role as a Climate Advisor for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Adil strives to make the city of San Antonio, Texas, run fully on renewable energy.
Date: Jan 03, 2020
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XMNR Alum Karlee Siepierski tackles sustainability management at Swire Coca-Cola , article
Since graduating from the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) program at Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability in 2016, Karlee Siepierski has both shifted fields and advanced in her career to become the Corporate Sustainability Manager for Swire Coca-Cola, the producer and distributor of many beloved beverage brands in the U.S. While at first unfamiliar, the beverage industry has become a platform where Karlee demonstrates her attention to sustainable corporate…
Date: Jul 16, 2019
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CLiGS Instructor Brings EPA Experience to Private Sector in Green Infrastructure , article
Turning sustainability goals into action can be an arduous process, requiring skills in mass communication, civics, economics, and corporate management. Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability Online Master of Natural Resources instructor Dominique Lueckenhoff has made outstanding efforts to prepare students to navigate the complexities of sustainable action. In bringing together her experiences with private-sector business models, academia, government regulatory/non-regulatory programs, and collaborative problem-solving, Lueckenhoff offers her students a broad…
Date: Jul 02, 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
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India Series, Part 3: Rural Development Dilemma , article
Study tours help sustainable development professionals experience globally relevant challenges and innovations. In India, teachable moments abound, as was the case recently when I led a group of graduate students from Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS). India’s development trajectory will likely be the most significant in human history and thus the most consequential for global sustainability challenges.
Date: Jun 18, 2019
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India Series, Part 2: Water, Waste, Tea, and the Need for Good Government , article
I’ve recently visited Darjeeling, India with a group of graduate students studying sustainability at Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS). Darjeeling is an old hill station built in the Himalayan mountains by British colonizers wanting to escape India’s summer heat. The British also imported and planted Chinese tea on the steep hillsides, which remain blanketed in plantations of world-famous Darjeeling tea.
Date: Jun 11, 2019
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Bright Career Prospects for Global Sustainability Professionals , article
The employment market for global sustainability professionals (GSPs) is thriving. GSPs work in a surprisingly wide variety of jobs at all levels and in all sectors, including business, government, and civil society organizations.
Date: Apr 11, 2019
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Who am I to change the world? , article
In these early days of the Executive Masters of Natural Resources Program at Virginia Tech, my fellow classmates and I are getting to know ourselves and one another, perhaps in ways, we had not considered upon entering this program. We are learning ways to build trust, as we establish working relationships towards our common goal, which is to learn and grow as sustainability leaders.
Date: Mar 25, 2019
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Celebrating XMNR and the Class of 2019 , article
In January 2011, when the first cohort of twenty students started the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) program at Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, the learning curve for our faculty was steep. We had a core group of experienced professors, but we were an interdisciplinary lot. Many of us had not worked together before. None of us had previously developed and delivered an education program quite like this one: a cohort-based, executive-style graduate curriculum specifically for working professionals. This was a new and exciting opportunity and we were determined to succeed!
Date: Mar 14, 2019
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Green Building for a Better World , article
Ten years ago, when the term “sustainable development” was just starting to gain traction in Korea, I was beginning my career as an international “green building” specialist. The timing was perfect. I was new to the field, and as part of my role with a major construction project, I had the opportunity to complete a professional certificate in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Little did I know that it was the first step in a much longer journey that would literally take me around the world, including to the United States and India.
Date: Jan 24, 2019