ALUMNI

Now a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Notre Dame, HBCU Fellow and Sustainability Management alum Hezekiah Williams graduated from Jackson State University in 2021 with a B.A. in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. His latest aspiration? To become a defense contractor for the United States military. In our interview, Williams discusses how his academic and professional journey flourished with the help of the Columbia HBCU Fellowship program.

Sustainability Management program graduate Catarina Carvalho, Arup’s associate for Americas East Cities Planning and coleader for Design Service, has been named to ENR’s National Top 20 Under 40 Young Professionals list. Engineering News-Record (ENR) is an industry trade publication that “reports on the top design firms, both architects and engineers, and the top construction companies as well as projects in the United States and around the world.” The winners were selected from nearly 600 nominees from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Chak Cherdsatirkul, one of the first graduates of Columbia University's Sustainability Management (SUMA) program, reflects on his journey since completing the program in 2011. He shares updates on his award-winning plans to establish a bird sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as well as his other ventures, including the development of a sustainable tourism resort and an environmental book series for children. According to Chak, the SUMA program shaped his career aspirations and gave him the practical skills for realizing ambitious projects.

Marly Isler, a Columbia Sustainability Management alumna, shares her journey from managing sustainability at a law firm to leading ESG strategy at Johnson & Johnson. Reflecting on her time at Columbia, she discusses the program’s influence on her work, her commitment to environmental justice, and advice for aspiring sustainability leaders.

Aditi Desai is currently the Director of Partnerships at Voltpost, a company she helped to start with fellow SUMA alums Jeff Prosserman and Luke Mairo while still a student. Voltpost works to retrofit lamp posts into electric vehicle charging stations managed by a mobile application — a solution they hope will accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption by providing cities with scalable curbside charging for drivers.