Student Associates
Students are at the heart of what we do.
Real world experience is essential for a student to begin a sustainability-focused career, yet these experiences are not part of a typical university curriculum. IBE engages at least one CSU student on every project, and engages graduate fellows in developing professional resources, such as whitepapers. Our staff mentor students through their work, giving them a jump start on advancing the industry even before they graduate.
Alea Schmidt
Interior Design
Hannah Curcio
Applied Social & Health Psychology
Monica O'Reilly
Public Policy & Administration
Katie Redman
Interior Architecture & Design
Cahill Shpall
Public Health & Social Work
Susan Hsin
Interior Architecture & Design
Christina Covell
Interior Architecture & Design
Katie Bond
Construction Management
Adam Snitker
Sociology
Our student program is truly interdisciplinary.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration creates the most innovative solutions to sustainability challenges. IBE students represent nearly every college at CSU. Our students learn from their staff mentors, their projects, and each other. They graduate ready to impact their communities.
“IBE was instrumental in my college and professional career. I got to contribute to projects that made a positive impact on the future of companies and communities. I’m beyond grateful for the experience and connections IBE provided.”
“IBE provided a solid foundation for my career in sustainability. At IBE I learned to speak about various components of sustainability to different stakeholders. My IBE internship was a great launching pad to my current role as a sustainability consultant.”
Apply for an Internship
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from CSU graduate students and upper-level undergraduate students who can commit at least 12 to 16 months and at least 5 hours per week toward a paid internship. Experience is not necessary, but successful candidates demonstrate exceptional enthusiasm and initiative, good communication and writing skills, and a commitment to learning.
Alumni
Our student associates have gone on to create meaningful impact at leading organizations. Here is where just a few of them are now.
Lindsey Garchar
Social Work and Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Lindsey is an undergraduate student pursuing a dual degree in Social Work and in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures with a concentration in Spanish. She is interested in how environmental and human vitality are dependent on one another and how climate change disproportionately impacts people and communities based on identities such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and socioeconomic status. Stemming from these interests, Lindsey is particularly passionate about including environmental justice concepts in interdisciplinary approaches to environmental issues. She would like to contribute to the wellbeing and livelihood of people by engaging historically underserved populations and peoples in climate action, sustainable development, and policy changes.
Shadi Azadegan
Spanish Literature, Linguistics, & Translation
Shadi has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Communications with a focus on print journalism and public relations. After working for four years in international agricultural research for development, she completed a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology and International Development at CSU. She is currently pursuing a second Master of Arts with a focus on Spanish Literature, Linguistics, and Translation. Shadi is passionate about cross-cutting participatory action research in multicultural and multilingual settings.
Susan Hsin
Interior Architecture & Design
Susan is currently working towards a Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture and Design, along with two minors in General Sociology and Global Environmental Sustainability. She plans to use her time at IBE to apply her interdisciplinary studies towards finding more meaningful, sustainable, and inclusive design solutions to advance community development, especially in marginalized areas.
Carter Cape
Business, Construction Management & Real Estate Finance
Carter is an undergraduate student in CSU’s College of Business and Health and Human Sciences, and is studying Construction Management and Real Estate Finance. Carter is interested in helping project teams find economical ways to improve site sustainability, and is eager to learn how to implement strategies that help clients’ communities.
Sarah Brown
Interior Architecture & Design
Sarah is working towards her Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture and Design with a concentration in Italian Language and Literature. At IBE, Sarah will work primarily on LEED & WELL projects. She is particularly interested in biophilia and universal design, and is eager to learn sustainability considerations at every design phase, from site selection to material finishes.
Outside of her academics, Sarah worked as a pro tennis coach at the Fort Collins Country Club, where she founded the Fight for Life Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser to help local women.
Paige Lewis
Ecosystem Science & Sustainability
Paige is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ecosystem Science & Sustainability, along with a minor in Construction Management. She is particularly interested in green building and the ways sustainability can be incentivized to help mitigate environmental issues. Paige is also looking forward to earning a LEED credential.
Alea Schmidt
Interior Design
Alea is a graduate student in the Design and Merchandising program at CSU, pursuing an MA in Interior Design. Interested in both environmental and social sustainability in design along with circular economy principals, Alea’s graduate research will cover the adaptive reuse of buildings as a circular design strategy and its relationship to issues of environmental gentrification. Alea spent her undergraduate time at CSU, earning a B.S. in Interior Architecture and Design with a minor in Global Environmental Sustainability. She hopes to earn both her LEED and WELL credentials and become an NCIDQ certified designer. When she’s not working, you can most often find Alea outside skiing or backpacking, or working on an art project.
Hannah Curcio
Applied Social & Health Psychology
Hannah is a PhD candidate in the Applied Social & Health Psychology program, where she focuses specifically on Environmental Psychology. She received her B.S. in Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in Psychology and a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications in 2019. Outside of IBE, her research thus far includes projects on household energy usage, meat-eating behavior, and community-based social marketing. Wthin IBE, she is excited to be working on applied research with various organizations.
Ari Plotkin
Construction Management
Ari is an undergraduate student in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences, studying Construction Management with a concentration in Real Estate. Ari’s passion lies in finding new sustainable and efficient practices to bring into the construction development industry, as he believes that sustainability and efficiency go hand-in-hand. He is dedicated to learning how to navigate and best apply various green building certifications to a variety of projects.
Christina Covell
Interior Architecture & Design
Christina is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture and Design, as well as a Minor in Design Thinking. She is passionate about creating a positive impact on the world through her design, and has specific interests in evidence-based design, applications of sustainable design practices, and human health and wellbeing. Christina’s goals for her time at IBE are to gain a deeper understanding of the LEED and WELL certification processes so that she can carry this knowledge into her design career to create a healthier built environment for people and the planet.
Sarah Legge
Interior Design
Sarah Legge is an Interior Design graduate student at Colorado State University. She is interested in the development of one’s ecological self-identity, human emotional connection to the natural and built environments, and promoting regenerative sustainable development. Sarah earned her undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from Radford University in 2005. She worked as a professional interior designer and project manager for 13 years before returning to school to follow her passion of furthering her education. Upon completion of the master’s program, she plans to peruse a Ph.D. from Colorado State University’s Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Recourses. Sarah’s long-term goal is to teach at the collegiate level and continue to conduct research in the field of social sciences. Sarah also loves to spend time outside in nature, paint, and collect antique furniture.
Monica O’Reilly
Public Policy & Administration
Monica received her Bachelor of Science in Integrative Biology at Michigan State University in December 2019. After a brief hiatus from academia, she returned in Fall of 2021 to pursue her Master of Public Policy and Administration at CSU. Monica values approaching environmental issues from an interdisciplinary lens, and her goal is to aid in bridging the gap between research, public engagement, and policy. She is particularly interested in environmental justice, environmental conflict resolution, and climate adaptation planning. Monica looks forward to learning through her IBE experience how to simultaneously promote sustainability and equity. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, meditation, and exploring Fort Collins.
Adam Snitker
Sociology
Adam has been a PhD student within CSU’s Department of Sociology since Fall 2021. He previously studied in interdisciplinary programs at Seattle Pacific University and the University of Montana. Adam’s research centers on the intersection of food and water systems in the American West. Specifically, he is interested in understanding how different forms of knowledge are utilized in making water management decision
Katie Redman
Interior Architecture & Design
Katie Redman is working towards a Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture and Design with a minor in Construction Management at Colorado State University. Her areas of interest lie at the intersection of environmental psychology and the built environment, examining how universal design, sustainable design, and well design shape us as individuals and communities, and how we can better utilize and implement these principles through all phases of a project. Katie earned a B.A. in Interpersonal and Organizational Communications from the University of South Florida. She is a member of the student chapters of ASID, IIDA, is Vice President of SHN for the ’19-’20 term, as well as Studio Lead for CSU’s chapter of Design for America. Katie’s long-term goal is to pursue credentials as a LEED Green Associate alongside her work with LEED based projects at IBE, and intends on pursuing a graduate degree after graduation.
Cahill Shpall
Public Health & Social Work
Cahill Shpall was born and raised in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. His undergraduate degree in Biological Anthropology carried into a career of outdoor education and wilderness therapy. These experiences provided evidence of how important a balanced environment is for healing, restoration, and living a full life, which led him to pursue joint degrees in Public Health and Social Work. Cahill is very interested in researching how societies can become more aligned with their local ecology and better serve their inhabitants. When he’s not pondering these questions, you can find him fly fishing, painting, gardening, or at jiu-jitsu!
Katie Bond
Construction Management
As a Masters candidate in Construction Management, Katie is focusing on circular economics in the built environment. Her research is focused on deconstruction and re-use of buildings and materials. At IBE, Katie is excited to work with the interdisciplinary CAIRNS team (formerly SRS-RN) and to gain experience working on LEED and WELL certification projects. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Colorado with her husband and kids.