Profile: Jennifer Lamy

Jennifer Lamy serves as the associate director of sustainability at Emerson, holding a pivotal role in the pursuit of making the campus more environmentally sustainable. Her responsibilities include working behind the scenes to implement sustainability initiatives, collaborating with staff across the campus to engage different parts of the community in these efforts, and leading measures to achieve the College’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

At the core of her work is creating and executing strategies to reduce emissions from commuting travel, cooking gas, direct transportation, refrigerants and chemicals, purchased electricity, solid waste, waste water, and paper purchasing, while also implementing measures to reduce waste on campus and divert trash to compost or donation programs.

Lamy supervises one staff member and a team of five student employees, known as Sustainability Fellows. The Fellows specialize in research, communications, dining, waste diversion, and climate justice. They actively participate in events such as Campus Race to Zero Waste, major Earth Month/Week/Day celebrations, Weigh the Waste, and Sustainable Move-Out.

Lamy oversees student facilitation of a “Weigh the Waste” initiative for students in the Dining Center once per month during dinner, during which Fellows table on both floors and collect diners’ edible food waste, inedible food waste, liquids, trash, and recycling in clear compost bins. The bins are weighed throughout the event and then totals are added up at the end of the night. By comparing the weight of the waste every month, they have been able to track the decrease in waste over time and celebrate the success of the team’s work.

Additionally, Lamy and her team host a waste diversion event for faculty and staff once per semester called Clean Out Your Office day, during which Emerson community members drop off unwanted office supplies, books, electronics, and paper items. Emersonians can also “shop” for supplies that others have dropped off.

She and her team collaborate with multiple departments to ensure sustainability initiatives are being conducted across the College, including Housing and Residential Education, the Career Development Center, HIVE, and the Office of the Arts. They also work with other administrative departments, student organizations, and faculty.

Lamy assists with the integration of sustainability topics into the College’s curriculum by helping with the Teach-In on Sustainability, an interdisciplinary and interactive academic exploration of how society can advance, create, and communicate toward a sustainable tomorrow. The second annual event will take place this Spring. She also often speaks to classes about Emerson’s sustainability work when invited by faculty and supports sustainability courses through which students pursue sustainability-focused projects. For example, students have worked on expanding compost on campus, creating waste diversion marketing campaigns, and more.

Lamy represents the College on the Higher Education Working Group within the Green Ribbon Commission (GRC), whose mission is to accelerate the implementation of the City of Boston’s Climate Action Plan by convening, organizing, and enabling leaders from key sectors. Emerson participated in the GRC’s Collaborative Climate Action Planning program during the 2022–2023 academic year. Over the course of the year, stakeholders from across the College came together to identify existing strengths and weaknesses in the College’s sustainability efforts and resources, develop strategies to improve across a range of sustainability indicators, and chart a course toward a carbon-neutral and resilient campus by 2030.

What Lamy values most about her role at Emerson is the opportunity to interact with Emerson students, especially those who are focused on sustainable storytelling. Through these interactions, she emphasizes the critical importance of addressing climate change and fostering a culture of sustainability. She also appreciates the strong commitment that Emerson College has demonstrated toward sustainability.

Lamy began her journey at Emerson in January 2022. Before joining Emerson, she worked for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit organization that serves as a think tank focused on advancing the alternative protein food industry. She pursued an undergraduate degree in economics and environmental studies at Wellesley College, where her passion for sustainability first came to light. She also has a master’s degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in environmental management, with a focus on environmental economics and policy.

Lamy originally hails from Chester, New Hampshire. Presently, she resides in Arlington, Massachusetts, which offers her the perfect blend of nature and city life. Beyond her professional expertise, Lamy is an active individual who enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling. She even completed an impressive 100-mile ride last summer! She also has a passion for running and swimming, and finds relaxation and inspiration in reading, cooking, drawing, and knitting.

Bhavana Rao, MA ’25

Photo by Skye Bergerson ’25