Executive Leadership for the EcoCenter
Carrie Chen, Director of Education and Conservation
Carrie Chen, Aquarium of the Bay’s Director of Education & Conservation, has 18+ years of experience with marine science education organizations around the country. Chen provides leadership for Aquarium of the Bay’s visitor/interpretive programs, K-12 school and teacher programs, fee-based youth programs, and sustainability initiatives – along with supporting fundraising efforts, staff training, professional development, evaluation, and other related projects. She is also very active within the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), as a member of the Conservation Education Committee from 2009-2015 and leading the Association’s professional development course for Conservation Education Effective Program Design since 2011. Prior to joining Aquarium of the Bay, Chen spent many years “island hopping” and developing her skills and passion in marine science education at organizations in the Florida Keys, Catalina Island and Hawaii. Since arriving to the Bay Area in 1999 and prior to joining the Aquarium team in 2004, she has held leadership positions at the Marine Science Institute and Lawrence Hall of Science, both of which involved developing and leading public education programs on marine science and San Francisco Bay.
City College of San Francisco Executive Leadership for the EcoCenter
Hitesh Soneji, Engineering and Technology Department
Mr. Soneji is currently Department Chair of Engineering and Technology and has been teaching at CCSF since 2005. His goal as chair is to better meet student’s academic needs while also instilling sustainability into Engineering curriculum. He is currently engaged in teaching a broad array of courses ranging from engineering, to renewable energy to sustainability. Mr. Soneji’s background consists of two tracks: he received a BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in 1997. From 2007 through 2009, Mr. Soneji pursued an International Masters in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science at Lund University in Sweden. The interdisciplinary program integrated all three pillars of sustainability: social, economic, and environment with a focus on equity between generations and within society. While at Lund University, Mr. Soneji analyzed the rare and hazardous minerals content of ICT equipment (Information and Communication Technologies) and collaborated with several researchers in Sweden on a proof-of-concept tool to support a participatory approach to water management that integrated GIS visualization, agent-based modeling, and a hydrological model. Mr. Soneji is also active in San Francisco’s sustainable transportation movement, working to improve SF’s transit system and promote bicycling as a safe and legitimate means of transportation.
Peggy Lopipero-Langmo, Biology and Engineering and Technology Departments
Ms. Lopipero-Langmo has degrees from U.C. Berkeley including a BA in Physiology and a Masters of Public Health (MPH) with an emphasis in Environmental Toxicology and Epidemiology. She spent more than 15 years studying the health effects of numerous hazardous substances and has more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications in the field. Since Spring 2007, she has been an instructor at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in both the Biology and Engineering and Technology Departments. Ms. Lopipero-Langmo joined CCSF specifically to focus her career on environmental education and has helped create and manage an Environmental Studies and Science A.A., a Sustainability Certificate Program, the CCSF Sustainability Plan, and environmental and sustainability science related courses. Since January 2012, Ms. Lopipero-Langmo has supervised and instructed student interns in the operations and maintenance, monitoring, educational programming, and research of the sustainable systems at the EcoCenter as part of the CCSF Applied Research in Sustainability work experience class. She also worked with Architect Heidi Leibes and CCSF student interns to complete the LEED application process – the EcoCenter was certified LEED platinum in July 2013. Ms. Lopipero-Langmo became the EcoCenter’s Manager/Lead Educator for Literacy for Environmental Justice in October 2012 and continued in that role under the new leadership of bay.org through December 2014.
A. Philip Randolph Institute of San Francisco (APRI) Executive Leadership for the EcoCenter
Jacklyn Flin, Executive Director
Ms. Flin began her career in union labor with the Service International Employees Union, Local 790 (now Local 1021), in 2000 as an administrative assistant supporting union activities within the local. In 2009, Ms. Flin received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Cellular Biology from the University of California, Davis. She has been serving as the Executive Director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco since 2011, furthering the mission of the organization and executing the directives of the Executive Board. Ms. Flin has developed and executed successful educational, workforce development, and recreational programs that prepare jobseekers with employment skills for sustainable careers in the San Francisco Bay Area region. Ms. Flin’s role at the EcoCenter is to collaborate with TBIAF and CCSF on community outreach efforts and execution of the after-school program for youth at the EcoCenter. She will Co-chair the EcoCenter Advisory Committee with Ms. Chen and will work with TBIAF to implement committee recommendations.
Meet the EcoCenter Team
Susie Wasserstrom, EcoCenter Manager
Susie has 15+ years of experience working with at-risk teens and young adults in educational nonprofits and public schools. Susie joined the EcoCenter team in January 2015, and in her role as Manager she is responsible for providing leadership for the staff, public programs, K-12 programs, partnerships and community engagement efforts at the EcoCenter. Early in her career, Susie helped to establish Nameless Sound, a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to connecting international artists with underserved young people in public schools, community centers, and homeless shelters. After years in the arts education field, Susie’s passion shifted towards helping to secure high quality science education for all learners regardless of socioeconomic background. This pursuit has led Susie to positions at City College of San Francisco, June Jordan School for Equity, and Mission High School. Through this work, she has found that a key piece of making science curriculum relevant to almost any community of learners is connecting the dots between environmental justice, ecological stewardship, and people’s own daily lives. Seeing the EcoCenter as the perfect embodiment of this connection, Susie is excited to apply her skills to the EcoCenter’s unique sustainability programs while helping to increase access to environmental science education for the Bayview Hunters Point community and beyond.