Susan's 50-year career as an educator and researcher shaped the lives of countless students who now work across the country and around the globe. The Christopherson Center has made student engagement a centerpiece of our work as a way to continue Susan's legacy.
Since the earliest days of the Christopherson Center, student interns have played a critical role in supporting our work. Over the past year, we have been fortunate to welcome more than a dozen dedicated, hard-working students. Some are PhD and graduate students in Cornell University's (CU) City and Regional Planning Department, others are CU undergraduates majoring in sustainability, urban studies and business. All are committed to supporting communities to achieve a more sustainable, equitable future that brings economic benefit to all.
Christopherson Center interns put their skills to work by engaging in initiatives matched to their interests. Those with data analysis and visualization skills have drilled down to help us better understand New York State's vast waste stream of building materials; others have investigated municipal policies relating to waste diversion, which have informed our outreach to local and state officials; they have produced publicly available resource guides and liaised closely with communities to complete Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Climate Action Plans; some are working with the Christopherson Center staff and advisory board to develop DEIJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, justice) workshops and tools for professional planners and preservationists, while others are helping to create a multi-year regional program focused on ensuring a more sustainable built environment in New York State. All are participating and making a difference in work that is meaningful and impactful.
Your support enables the Christopherson Center to pay students a living wage, expand the student intern program and support related operations. Currently, we have far more students interested to join us than we are able to hire. Additional funding allows us to employ students year round, providing consistency and continuity to the Christopherson Center and our community partners and programs.
Although our roots are in the City and Regional Planning Department at Cornell University, we are an independent entity that relies on funding from individual donors, foundations and agencies. We are always deeply appreciative of your support.
The Susan Christopherson Center for Community Planning is a project of the Center for Transformative Action, a registered 501(c)3 organization.
All rights reserved.