Tishman Center Promotions and New Hires!


We are pleased to announce a number of staff promotions and new hires at the Tishman Center that will allow us to better serve the campus community, TNS sustainability goals, and President McBride’s Four Pillars of Fearless Progress. The Tishman Center recently received a catalytic grant from an anonymous, new climate funder that will support our strategic growth strategy over the next three years enabling us to hire a number of new employees engaged in campus programming serving faculty, staff and students and in growing our action-based research with frontline, grassroots partners in the tri-state region and around the country. Our expansion has been made possible through the great work and commitment of our staff, faculty and leadership. This illustrates the timeliness and urgency of the climate emergency and environmental justice work the Tishman Center undertakes. 

 

Co-Directors

 
 

Dr Ana Baptista joined Joel Towers as the Co-Director of the Tishman Center, where they will share responsibilities for setting the agenda for the Center’s activities. Previously Dr. Baptista was an Associate Director for the Center. 



Managing Director

 
 

Adrienne Perovich, former Associate Director, was promoted to Managing Director, where she will provide strategic leadership around the Center’s mission, strategies and operational functions for our rapidly growing center. We are glad to see her leadership of the center recognized and she will be instrumental in steering the growth of the Center by providing oversight for staff development, internal operations and processes, financial management, and funder organizing. Adrienne will collaborate closely with university departments including Finance, Development, HR, and the Office of Research Support as the Tishman Center more deeply integrates into university functions in ways that support our campus community and our grassroots, community-based partners. 



Director of Sustainability Engagement

 
 

Mike Harrington, former Assistant Director, was promoted to Director of Sustainability Engagement. He will work across the university to create and promote sustainability policies, practices and programming along with supporting and engaging with EJ communities and organizations both domestically and internationally. Mike will continue to work closely with students across campus and within our Center’s activities to support their scholarship and professional development through experiential learning and event activities related to sustainability and environmental justice, helping to prepare the next generation for leadership around our most pressing global issues. 



Research Analyst

 
 

Anna Yulsman, former Program Coordinator, was promoted to Research Analyst, where she will contribute to all aspects of the Center’s community based participatory research under the direction of our new Research Director/Senior Scientist and EJ leaders and scholars from around the country. Anna will provide data collection and analysis, data visualization, report drafting, and relationship building with frontline, grassroots partners. She will contribute to the design of the methodology for research projects as well as provide technical guidance to project partners to execute data collection, visualization and mapping for the dissemination and use of research results. 




Impact and Systems Manager

 
 

Marouh Hussein, former Program Manager, was promoted to Impact and Systems Manager, where she will lead the organizational and programmatic monitoring, innovation, evaluation, and learning activities for the Fellowship. 





The Tishman Center is thrilled new announce the following new hires to our team:


Operations Manager, Tishman Environment Design Center

 
 

Kamrin Harbin, former Program Administrator at Parsons SDS, is our new Operations Manager. Kamrin comes to us with 3 years of experience working at The New School and a strong commitment to racial and environmental justice. Kamrin  will provide administrative, operational and logistical support for our campus activities and action-based research endeavors, helping to plan and coordinate events, support community partners and other stakeholders through vendor relationships, invoicing and contracting.  






Operations & Events Manager, Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship (EJMF)

 
 

Taylor Griggs, formerly the Administrative Coordinator for the participatory grantmaking initiative, Mosaic, was brought on as the Operations & Events Manager for the EJMF. In this role, she will provide administrative, logistical and operational support to the Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship, Ripe for Creative Disruption. The Fellowship currently has a cohort of 21 Fellows from around the country working on community-driven solutions to the climate crisis. Taylor will manage systems and lead processes to support Fellows and their organizations.




Lead Curriculum Developer & Facilitator, Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship 

 
 

Teri Brezner, recently joined the team as the Lead Curriculum Developer and Facilitator for the EJMF. In her role, Teri leads the overall pedagogical design process and the collaboration of the program team and external stakeholders to design a curricular framework and fellowship experience, including arc of learning and desired outcomes for the first two-year pilot.







Special Projects Manager

 
 

Drake Reed,  a graduate of Parsons, Design and Urban Ecologies (class of 2022), will serve as our Special Projects Manager overseeing the administration of the recently awarded Town & Gown Grant for Vulnerability, Impact and Adaptation analysis, which will help inform the work of the New York City Panel on Climate Change. Drake will also contribute to the action-based research at the Tishman Center through his geospatial, data visualizations, and design skills.  








Again, we are pleased to welcome our new staff and excited about our current growth trajectory.