Elizabeth Main, Associate Director

Elizabeth joined UMB in September 2021 as the Associate Director for Sustainability. In this role, she helps to develop and implement a wide range of strategic Universitywide sustainability programs focused on the topics of energy, water, waste, transportation, and procurement. Elizabeth came to UMB from the University of Pennsylvania's sustainability team, where she managed sustainability outreach, engagement, and communications initiatives. While working at Penn, Elizabeth completed her Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the school’s Fels Institute of Government. Elizabeth is originally from central Virginia and holds a BS degree in Environmental Sciences and a BA in Global Studies: Environments + Sustainability from the University of Virginia. In her free time, Elizabeth is a foodie who loves trying new vegetarian-friendly restaurants and is a devoted mother to her many house plants.

Angela Ober, Senior Specialist

Angela joined the Sustainability team in August 2021 as the Senior Specialist of Sustainability. Angela has over six years of experience working in the environmental realm focusing on stormwater management, GIS, and sustainability. Her recent experience as an environmental planner at Towson University included revamping its waste minimization and energy webpages and using GIS to create different StoryMaps for education and outreach. Angela also drafted Towson’s stormwater impervious baseline assessment to assist with the university’s annual reporting efforts. Angela has experience working at the Maryland Environmental Service, where she helped streamline the joint permit application process with the Maryland Department of Environment. In 2020, Angela became one of the first 40 Certified Climate Change Professionals in the state of Maryland. When she’s not in the office, you can find her experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, hiking or running on local trails, or practicing yoga (she’s a certified yoga teacher). She lives in Catonsville with her husband and their three cats that are named after breakfast foods.

Alex Skowron, Sustainability Data Fellow

Alex Skowron is a Sustainability Data Fellow through the SEI Climate Corps program. Alex is a recent environmental science and mathematics graduate of Washington and Jefferson College (W&J) in southwestern Pennsylvania. While in undergrad at W&J, Alex sought out numerous out of classroom experiences that included; assisting with research on the emerald ash borer in the Allegheny National forest, being a member of the college's sustainability committee, conducting research on increased tourism in our national parks, and interning at two Pittsburgh based environmental firms. Alex is excited to join the UMB sustainability department team and apply his interdisciplinary skillset gained while at W&J. As a fellow Alex looks to develop various tools to assist the university in meeting its goals laid out in the 2022-2026 Sustainability Strategic Plan. Alex is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and enjoys spending his free time traveling to new places, listening to music, training for triathlons, and getting outside to explore nature.

Alex is currently working on several projects for his fellowship, including:

• Developing a sustainability progress dashboard for the university to display energy, waste, procurement, and other data
• Creating a campus tree inventory geodatabase by using historical data and open data from Baltimore City

Olivia Rosser, Waste Reduction Fellow

Olivia Rosser is an MSW student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (SSW). She is excited to join the Office of Sustainability as a waste reduction fellow, assisting with the self-service waste rollouts, the creation of community compost drop-off sites, increasing learning opportunities about sustainability at UMB, and other waste reduction goals. Olivia is interested in the connection between sustainability practices, climate change, and marginalized communities. She also wants to reduce barriers to accessing outdoor spaces for communities of color. Olivia is from Abingdon, Maryland, and enjoys the performing arts, gardening, baking, finding new trails to hike, and exploring Baltimore City. 

Lucy Zhao, Sustainability Fellow (2022-2023)

Lucy Zhao was a fellow with the Office of Sustainability from September 2022 to April 2023. Lucy was a dual degree MSW/MPH student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (SSW) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Public Health. Throughout her graduate school experience, Lucy worked on JHU's Environmental Justice Working Group, co-authored an air pollution evaluation manual for low- and middle-income countries, and founded a new student group, ECO-Social Work in Action, at the SSW. As a sustainability fellow, Lucy assisted in various projects such as food waste reduction, policy development, and the creation of an Interprofessional Student Climate Leadership Network. Visit this link for a full list of Lucy's accomplishments during her time as a fellow. Before joining the UMB community, Lucy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in northern Thailand, where she worked with the local public health department and community schools on zero-waste and OneHealth initiatives. Originally from Prior Lake, Minnesota, Lucy spends her time outside of school hiking, traveling, practicing tai chi, and making upcycled art.

Kimia Abtahi, Sustainability Fellow (2022-2023)

Kimia Abtahi was a fellow with the Office of Sustainability from July 2022 to January 2023 as a rising fourth year medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). As part of her gap year at the office, Kimia worked on multiple sustainability projects, from green labs to campus bicycling to environmental service opportunities for students. Visit this link for a list of Kimia's full accomplishments during her time as a fellow. As a third year medical student, Kimia co-founded the UMSOM chapter of Medical Students for a Sustainable Future and, with others on the executive board, wrote UMSOM's first Planetary Health Report Card, the first in the state of Maryland. The report card evaluates the school and campus’s commitment to planetary health by identifying strengths and areas for improvement in categories such as curriculum, research, and community outreach.