Our Mission
Columbia University EcoReps is a group of students working in collaboration with Columbia’s offices of Housing, Dining, and Environmental Stewardship to promote sustainable behavior and implement green initiatives on Columbia’s campus.
EcoReps was founded in 2005 by a team of students and administrators from the Offices of Housing, Dining and Student Services. The brainchild of various offices under the leadership of Scott Wright, Vice-President of Campus Services, and a group of students led by Six Silberman and Coogan Brennan to create sustainable activism, policy, and infrastructure on Columbia’s campus. They were paid employees of Housing and Dining, serving as residence hall representatives seeking to increase the amount of sustainable living education to students through outreach and initiatives like reducing each building’s energy consumption and increasing the recycling rate in particular floors. Each EcoRep would be assigned a particular dormitory and the group would meet to outline specific projects. In 2009-2010 EcoReps coordinators re-imagined the organization as a functional student group without monetary compensation or residence hall assignment due to the strain it put on the members.
Split up into various committees, beginning with Food and Water, Energy, Waste and Recycling, and ECO’s (the revamped version of the earlier residence hall format), the EcoReps increased their programming, recruitment, and impact on campus. Today, the EcoReps are comprised of about 50 active student members organized into Dining, Recycling, and Living Green committees.
Katherine Uriarte
Co-President
Katherine Uriarte is a member of the class of 2019 from Los Angeles, California majoring in Environmental Biology on the pre-med track. She is currently the favorite co-president of Ecoreps. She was previously the Social Media Coordinator for EcoReps, a coordinator for the GGG/GNSOP programs, and chair of the Ecoreps Composting Committee. Outside of Ecoreps, Katherine is involved with Chicanx Caucus and Columbia Photography Association. When off campus, she can be found going for a run, taking photos, and conducting lyme disease research in Staten Island.
Francisco Hernandez
Co-President
Francisco Hernandez is a member of the class of 2019 from San Diego, California majoring in Archaeology and History. He is the Co-President of Eco Reps and overall great guy. Outside of Eco Reps, he has worked with CCSC Campus Life and leads an archaeology field school in the summer. He is also a former member of the beloved composting committee.
Christine Desbois
Outreach Coordinator
Christine is a senior studying Anthropology and Psychology at Columbia College. Her hometown is Scarsdale, New York and aside from EcoReps, she is a lead instructor for Sprout Up and also involved with RHLO and Schapiro Hall Council.
Paulina Fein
Emailing Person
Paulina Fein is a junior in Columbia College studying History and Sustainable Development. In addition to her position as Communications Chair for EcoReps, Paulina is the Vice Chair of Communications for The Food Bank at Columbia, the Stressbusters Coordinator, and a Marketing and Communications intern at The Center for Jewish History. She’s also a member of the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee and is very involved in community service on and around campus, doing work such as volunteering in elementary school classrooms through Project Tutors and Peace by Peace.
Ji Yeon Kwon
Social Media Chair
Ji Yeon Kwon is a student at Columbia College Class of 2021 studying Data Science and Economics. She was born in Seoul, lived in Boston as a child, and considers New York her new home. Ji Yeon is the current Co-Chair of the Dining Committee and served as the Social Media Chair in 2017-8. She is also an interviewer and journalist as a part of Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, a student ambassador at Global Ambassadors Program, and a mentor at Columbia Mentorship Initiative. In order to put her love for mother nature into action, she started out as vegetarian aiming to go vegan when she first wrote this bio last year. One year later, she has completely gone vegan and could not be happier about that decision. You are most likely to catch her getting up at 7 in the morning, meditating, and writing her daily journal while enjoying breakfast.
Amar Bhardwaj
Website Manager
Amar is a junior in SEAS studying Chemical Engineering. He hopes to follow a career in renewable energy research, but definitely doesn't mind helping the environment with some EcoReps advocacy as well while he's here! Amar also enjoys playing French horn in the Columbia University Orchestra, performing Latin dance with Sabor, Columbia's Latin dance troupe, and leading a team of writers for Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development.
Kate Wegleitner
Events Coorinator
Kate is from sunny Los Angeles, California in the SEAS class of 2020 studying Earth and Environmental Engineering. On campus she is also involved in Consilience, the journal of sustainable development. She's a co-chair of the Composting Committee for EcoReps and is currently one of the Events Coordinators.
Midori Sangiolo
Events Coordinator
Midori is a member of the class of 2021 from Newton, Massachusetts majoring in Electrical Engineering. She is one of the Events Coordinators for EcoReps. Outside of EcoReps, she is head of PR for CU Road Runners, social media chair for Mixed Heritage Society, and a teacher for Girls Who Code. She can often be found wandering around campus drinking boba with a reusable glass straw.
Dining
Johanna Klein
Dining
Johanna is a sophomore in SEAS studying chemical engineering. She loves to procrastinate on other school work by working on EcoReps initiatives and day-dreaming about new ways to help Columbia students be more sustainable on campus.
Ji Yeon Kwon
Dining
Ji Yeon Kwon is a student at Columbia College Class of 2021 studying Data Science and Economics. She was born in Seoul, lived in Boston as a child, and considers New York her new home. Ji Yeon is the current Co-Chair of the Dining Committee and served as the Social Media Chair in 2017-8. She is also an interviewer and journalist as a part of Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, a student ambassador at Global Ambassadors Program, and a mentor at Columbia Mentorship Initiative. In order to put her love for mother nature into action, she started out as vegetarian aiming to go vegan when she first wrote this bio last year. One year later, she has completely gone vegan and could not be happier about that decision. You are most likely to catch her getting up at 7 in the morning, meditating, and writing her daily journal while enjoying breakfast.
Patrick Varuzza
Recycling
Patrick is a third-year student in SEAS majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering. His goal is to end up in a career where he can stimulate society's transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Outside of working on green initiatives with EcoReps, he enjoys leading a water distribution system project in Ghana with Engineers Without Boarders, conducting lab work to improve energy storage technology, and teaching a mixology course with the Columbia Bartending Agency. Spot him on campus bothering his friends to recycle more, always accompanied by his reusable coffee mug and Hydroflask!
Amar Bhardwaj
Recycling
Amar is a junior in SEAS studying Chemical Engineering. He hopes to follow a career in renewable energy research, but definitely doesn't mind helping the environment with some EcoReps advocacy as well while he's here! Amar also enjoys playing French horn in the Columbia University Orchestra, performing Latin dance with Sabor, Columbia's Latin dance troupe, and leading a team of writers for Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development.
Recycling
Silas Swanson
Living Green
Silas is originally from Saranac Lake, NY, and is a sophomore in SEAS studying Earth and Environmental Engineering. In his freshman year he organized the Columbia Youth Climate Summit through Eco Reps and enjoyed helping plan the Living Green Committee’s many initiatives. On campus he is also involved in the Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA), the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, Engineers Without Borders, 180 Degrees Consulting, and Columbia’s United Nations Association Campus Chapter. Off campus Silas serves on the Advisory Board to the Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program and is a member of the New York City Climate and Resiliency Literacy Task Force.
Maria Chart
Living Green
Maria is a sophomore in SEAS studying mechanical engineering. She grew up in England, and is a firm believer in the notion that tea is the answer no matter the question. When not attempting to save the world, Maria can often be found in Dodge, where she practices as part of the Columbia Fencing Team. She is also a member of Engineers without Borders, where she leads a team that is installing solar panel systems to electrify a village in rural Uganda.