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SEAS Teams

Learn about the SEAS Teams working with us over the years.

SEAS (School for Environment and Sustainability)

Each year we submit project opportunities to the SEAS program, matches are made and students are assigned to teams. Student Teams research resources, analyze data, extend outreach and enrich our programming. Learn more about SEAS.

Thank you teams and advisors. Please meet them below.

2024
Restaurants and Bars Team

Learn about the Restaurant and Bar Group

Annie Smuts

Annie Smuts is a first-year masters candidate at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability in the Sustainability and Development and Sustainable Systems specializations. She grew up in Troy, MI and graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Economics and International Studies in April 2023. She has a passion for sustainable agriculture and empowering the local food system. She has worked in food service since she was 15 years old, and during the summer of 2021, she worked at Blue Spring Farm through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program and was particularly inspired by the process of growing and harvesting organic food. She is very excited to work with the Ann Arbor 2030 District and make an impact on the bars and restaurants she has loved to visit over the years!

Maithilee Kanthi

Maithilee Kanthi is a first-year Masters of Science graduate student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, specializing in Sustainable Systems and Behavior, Education, and Communication. She grew up in Cupertino, CA and got her B.A in Political Science and Global Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2020. Before coming to Ann Arbor, Maithilee lived in Madison, WI for a few years where she worked as the Climate Justice Organizer for Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy nonprofit. With over 5 years of experience in community organizing, stakeholder engagement, and science communication, Maithilee is thrilled to use her skills to help the restaurants and bars she’s come to love in Ann Arbor become more sustainable.

Yaorong (Leon) Liu

Yaorong (Leon) Liu is a first–year Master of Science graduate student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, specializing in Sustainable Systems. He grew up in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, and is blessed with the opportunity to come to the United States to complete his B.A. in Environmental Studies at Boston College. With a passion for history and the environment, he completed his independent undergraduate thesis on the ecological history of the Three Gorges Dam––the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. He also served as one of the Boston College delegates to the UNFCCC COP27 at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. He is fortunate to have become a graduate student at the University of Michigan and is excited to help Ann Arbor’s local restaurants and bars reduce carbon emissions.

Miriam Megdal

Miriam is a first year masters student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability with a specialization in Sustainability and Development. She was born and raised in Athens, Georgia, and graduated from Furman University with a B.S. in Sustainability Science in 2022. She is deeply passionate about community-based sustainability, corporate responsibility, and climate adaptation. Before pursuing her masters, Miriam interned with Harper General Contractors, a construction and GC firm based in Greenville, SC, and assisted with benchmarking ESG practices and setting sustainability goals for the firm. Her New Year's Resolution is to try every restaurant in a square block radius in her neighborhood in Ann Arbor, so she’s particularly excited to be a part of the Ann Arbor 2030 District team.

Zenghongli (Aslan) Zhou

Zenghongli (Aslan) Zhou is a first–year Master of Science graduate student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability(SEAS) with a specialization in Sustainability and development. He grew up in Chengdu, Szechuan, China, and came to the United States in 2018 to Rutgers University in New Jersey to pursue his bachelor degree of Mathematics in undergraduate experience. To make himself an interdisciplinary student, Aslan became interested in Mathematics, Also Music history, Japanese, Economics, and minor in some of them. Additionally, by his hobbies and interests, he spent time in cooking school in China to learn cooking skills and wants to own a restaurant in the future. Also, Aslan takes a part time job in preowned car sales to help students in Ann Arbor to get more choices in car purchases. He is excited to be part of SEAS students at the University of Michigan and wants to learn more in the project working with Ann Arbor 2030 District to reduce the emission in Restaurants and Bars.

Sarah Bibb

Sarah Bibb is a first-year Master of Science graduate and fourth year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. She has a specialization in Sustainable Systems and a major in the Environment. She grew up in Connecticut and has loved her time here in Ann Arbor. Sarah is highly passionate about sustainability and sustainable business and development. She has spent time with Sustainable Westport, a non-profit organization in Connecticut that is working to help the town of Westport meet its 2050 net zero emissions goal as well as educate the larger community on sustainability efforts. She looks forward to working with the Ann Arbor 2030 District team and learning more about restaurant sustainability and emission reduction.

2023
Resilient Washtenaw Team

Learn about the Municipalitites Group

Graham Fordice

Ann Marie Nicholson

Sam Fleckenstein

Bridget Corwin

Haley Willman

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