Our Staff

Cindy Klein-Banai, Associate Chancellor for Sustainability

Cynthia (better known as Cindy) has been serving as the Associate Chancellor for Sustainability at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) since January 2008. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to found the Office of Sustainability at UIC. Prior to her current position, Cynthia was Assistant Director for Chemical Safety in the Environmental Health and Safety Office at UIC for over seven years. There she oversaw environmental compliance, hazardous waste management, the laboratory safety program, and chemical safety training. For four years prior to coming to UIC, she worked as a contractor performing environmental site assessments. Her university career started at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Division of Environmental Health and Safety where she spent two of her six years there working on a study on pollution prevention in laboratories.

Cynthia has a B.A. in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis and a M.S. in Environmental Science from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Concurrent to full-time employment, Cynthia is a Doctoral Candidate in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at UIC. She is conducting her research on developing the basis for a point system for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) that is being developed by the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). She is also proud to be a National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Fellow.

Kate Yoshida, Program Coordinator

Kate's job as program coordinator includes identifying funding opportunities, proposal preparation, and working with subcommittees. She completed her Master's in Urban Planning and Policy at UIC in 2008, with concentrations in environmental planning and economic development. She has BSGS in economics from Northwestern University. Kate worked as a commercial real estate underwriter and documentation analyst at a large commercial bank before staying at home with her two sons. Her volunteer work includes community gardening and playing double bass in the Evanston Symphony Orchestra.

Dan Fredman, Program Coordinator

Dan completed his Masters of Urban Planning & Policy at UIC's College of Urban Planning & Public Administration (CUPPA), with self-designed concentrations in Sustainable Development & Data Visualization. He grew up in the northern suburbs of New York City, but came to Chicago after 8 years in Burlington, Vermont. After graduating from the University of Vermont (UVM) with a BA in Psychology and Geography, Dan worked as Assistant Director of UVM Admissions, visiting high schools and communities in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

Dan currently serves as the Office of Sustainability's webmaster and develops outreach and marketing materials related to UIC's sustainability initiatives.

Angela Larsen, Graduate Assistant

Angela graduated with an emphasis in Environmental and Land Use Law from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2007. She is currently a first year graduate student pursuing a Masters in Urban Planning & Policy in CUPPA, with a self-designed concentration in Urban Environmental Planning. After moving to Chicago, Angela committed to serving on the Citizens' Advisory Committee for CMAP and is current President of the Urban Planning & Policy Student Association (UPPSA). In her free time, Angela enjoys working in her backyard garden and biking around Chicago. Angela grew up outside of Kansas City and loves to be with friends and family - especially when they go canoing on the Buffalo River.

Angela's current responsibilities for the Office of Sustainability include supporting the Chancellors Committee on Sustainability & Energy and collecting/reporting data for STARS.

Dan Stefiuk, Transportation Options Intern

Dan is a graduate student in the Masters of Urban Planning and Policy program at UIC. During his undergraduate career in Anthropology and Geography at UIC, Dan took an ethnographic approach to study Chicago’s cycling culture by exploring cycling events and mapping cycling related crashes throughout the city. As an avid cyclist and commuter Dan is interested in advocating for alternative transportation methods, but also has an interest in the sustainable environmental approach to planning. Working in the cycling industry for 6+ years Dan hopes to bring his technical knowledge and experience to further integrate cycling into the UIC campus creating a larger cycling community and a campus that is more inclined to utilize transportation alternatives.

Andy Waggoner, Recycling Assistant

Andy Waggoner is currently a Masters Candidate in the Urban Planning and Policy Program at UIC. His coursework focuses on integrating sustainable principles into physical planning. Before moving to Chicago, Andy was employed as an environmental planner in Oakland, California. His free time in California was mostly filled by rabble rousing at public meetings, sailing on the Bay, and surfing. He is now part of the growing Lake Michigan surf community, and is an advocate for keeping our waterways clean. Andy’s responsibilities with the Office of Sustainability involve recycling outreach coordination and supporting the Campus Recycling and Waste Management Subcommittee.

Holly Gillis, Recycling Intern

Holly is a senior Economics major/Geography minor at UIC. She has been a Recycling Intern since 2008, an officer in Ecocampus since 2007, and an advocate for environmentally legit living since she’s been considered a legal adult. Her academic curiosity includes true cost pricing, resource and land-use policy, and the less examined but vastly important human nuances of the “dull” science. Her professional intentions include community organizing and/or a cupcakery. Holly’s personal adventures include working on an organic farm, cooking, rock climbing, and an upcoming trip to the Brazilian Amazon to study resource management. As for UIC, she would like to see a composting system and a vegan buffet sometime in the near future.

Lubia Nunez, Recyling Intern

Lubia Nunez is a Recycling Assistant with the UIC Recycling Program and the Office of Sustainability. She is in her third year at UIC, majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences. She is interested in environmental policy and sustainable practices for lower income communities. Besides spending quality time with her family, Lubia enjoys literature on sustainability, outdoor music festivals, and intends to start her own garden at home.