After a national search, Cal Poly Humboldt is pleased to announce the appointment of Katie Koscielak as Director of Sustainability.

Katie brings more than a decade of experience in sustainability leadership, including nearly 10 years at Cal Poly Humboldt. Since 2016, she has served as Sustainability Analyst, leading institution-wide sustainability assessment and reporting, advising campus leaders on sustainability strategy and policy, and advancing initiatives related to climate, energy, transportation, procurement, environmental justice, investing, and campus culture.

As Director, Katie will lead campus-wide sustainability programs and strategic efforts, advance climate action and resilience, strengthen sustainability planning and reporting, and deepen collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and community partners. She will also serve as Cal Poly Humboldt’s official Sustainability Officer within the CSU.

Katie’s accomplishments at Humboldt include launching the University’s first faculty sustainability research grant program; supervising more than 100 student assistants; creating the SEEDS and EcoReps programs; helping increase ESG-aligned investments from 4.7% to 73%; improving Humboldt’s STARS rating by 21.56 percentage points; helping design and launch the Decolonizing Sustainability Speaker Series and faculty book circles in partnership with Native American Studies faculty; and stewarding SHIFT toward greater transparency and broader distribution of awards.

Katie has also taught interdisciplinary courses across Environmental Studies, Geography, and Environmental Science & Management, with topics spanning service learning, human geography, climate justice, regenerative agriculture, and applied sustainability. Her teaching at the intersection of human and environmental systems informs her approach to sustainability leadership and reinforces her commitment to advancing meaningful social and environmental change across the campus community.

She holds a Master of Arts in Social Science with an emphasis in Environment & Community from Cal Poly Humboldt and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from UC Berkeley.

Please join me in congratulating Katie on her appointment and welcoming her to this important leadership role.