Schedule
January 29, 2024 - Monday
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Eco Life Safari
6:00 PM
TRACS 2024 Opening Reception
January 30, 2024 - Tuesday
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Unwrapping the Challenges and Successes of Texas A&M’s Plastic Film Recycling Program
Taylor Cooleen | Texas A&M
Waste disposal as a means of addressing UN agenda for sustainable development: goals 11 and 13
Paul Comet | Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Integrating service-learning projects into environmental courses to help achieve campus sustainability goals
Amy Concilio | St. Edwards University
Why building a canoe matters – Experiential education, field-instrument prototypes and salt-marsh restoration
Steven Fletcher | St. Edwards University
Facilities Management as a Cornerstone of a Holistic Sustainability Program (CEU)
Gary Cocke and Avery McKitrick | UT Dallas
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
MORNING BREAK
9:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Inner Development Goals: The Keys to Sustainable Development on a Global Scale
Adrian Najera | UTRGV Office for Sustainability
Data Visualization and Sustainability
Exabella Khan | UTSA
Measuring Ongoing Performance (CEU)
Jonathan Kraatz | The U.S. Green Building Council Texas
Student Networking Session
Madelyn Lewis, Isabelle Chang, Alisa Model, Adriana Montoya, Nina Collard, Eli Cable TRACS Student Committee
Informal Coordination and collaboration around alignment with UT System Policy 169 [Closed Session]
Meghna Tare and Jim Walker | TRACS Executive Committee
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
LUNCH | KEYNOTE ADDRESS | A CUE IN THE MAKING
CITY OF MCALLEN | UTRGV | TPWD | MCALLEN ISD | OVERLAND | MEGAMORPHOSIS
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Life Cycle Analysis | Integrating Piezoelectric Harvesters into Roadways
Heba Gaber | UTRGV
Roadrunner Footprint | A Grant Funded Transportation Program
Rebecca Ornelas | UTSA
The Sustainable Swap Shop Series
Kellen Moore, Jordan Jeffcoat, Mary Gruver, Blake Baehner, Grant Foster, and Emma Lee UTSA
Inter-connected: The Internet and Intercampus Mail as Tools to Keep Surplus Office Supplies Out of the Landfill
Amber Orr| Austin Community College
San Marcos Explorers: Applying Place-Based Pedagogy to Sustainability Education
Adriana Montoya | Texas State University
Sustainable development through student engagement
Maria Leonard | UTRGV VCOBE
Sustainable Storm Drainage & Site Improvement Project (CEU)
Juan Ortiz | UTRGV Facilities Planning & Operations
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
AFTERNOON BREAK
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
UTSA Placemaking: Enhancing the student experience through a commitment to active transportation
Lani May | UTSA CEU
Getting a grip on the data: Utilizing student workers to help maintain data streams and learn about the many players involved in sustainable facilities management.
Joseph Costa | Austin Community College
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley FY22 Sustainability Benchmarking Analysis
Maysam Pournik | UTRGV
Transforming Environmental Ethics Education: Study away on the Lower Colorado River in Texas
Anne Egelston, Karl Aho | Tarleton State University
Busting Barriers to make students globally competitive
Noeli Biggs, Dr. Maria V. Boccalandro and Dr. Brenda Floyd | Dallas College
Pursuing Water Sustainability at Rice University (CEU)
Richard Johnson, Ian Housman, Faten Tayeh & Rucker Simon | Rice University
3:45 PM - 5:45 PM
TRADE SHOW
January 31, 2024 - Wednesday
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Implementing a Successful Reuse Program in Campus Dining
Deb Nelson | Tarleton State University
Bobcats Give Back: Sustainable Move Out Program
Emma Parsley | Texas State University
Zero Waste Hero: Developing a Self-Paced Certification Program for Students
Morgan Laner | The University of Texas at Austin
Adopt a Startup Program: Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry
Sylvia Robles; Students | UTRGV ; Adopt A Start Up
Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization at UTRGV
David Salinas and colleagues | Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization at UTRGV
Waste Not, Want Not: Strategies for Campus Food Waste Diversion (CEU)
Ashley Fitzpatrick, Chris Wood | Moonshot Compost
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
MORNING BREAK
9:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Transforming Education and Communities | The Power of Student-Led Agency
Eloy Garza | UTRGV RCVCOBE Marketing Department
Predicting PTSD symptoms of at-risk adolescents attending an innovative alternative education program
Amanda Palomin and Alfonso Mercado, PhD | UTRGV Psychology Clinic
Combating Environmental “Slacktivism” Through Utilization of Human-Centered Design
Kera Daughtery | Texas State University
20 Years of Campus Environmental Center at UT Austin
Jessica Drummond and Caroline Gamble | UT AUSTIN Campus Environmental Center
How to Re-wild Your Campus: Fostering climate resilience and biodiversity through landscape management
Mackenzie Feldman | UTRGV
Establishing the Pollinator Cantina
Dr. Lucia Carreon | UTRGV
Diverse Landscapes for Healthier Plants’
Dr. Robin Choudhury | UTRGV
Grocery Give & Grab: Addressing Food Insecurity Sustainably
Kenya Reeves | Texas A&M College Station
Sustainability is a Home Run
Kelly Wellman, Ben Kalscheur, Lauren Lichterman | Texas A&M College Station
Texas A&M Aggie Green Fund
Taylor Leeder, Dalynne Quintana, Avery McCreight, Brooke Ubieta Texas A&M College Station
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
TRADE SHOW & LUNCH
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Organizational Network Centrality as a Necessary Condition for Chief Sustainability Officers' Effectiveness
Taiwo Abraham | UTRGV - VCOBE
Growing Together: Sustainability as the Catalyst for Transdisciplinary Skill Building in College Education
Sylvia Robles, Noe Vargas & Joanne Rampersad-Ammons | UTRGV
UTRGV Math and Science Academy Ambassadors for Sustainability
Yumiko Balotro | UTRGV Office for Sustainability
IGNITE-ing the Future of Campus Sustainability
Trevor Liddle | Texas A&M International University