Amy Quarkume
Associate Professor
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
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Dr. Amy Yeboah Quarkume is an Associate Professor of Data Science at Howard University in the Department of Earth, Environment and Equity. Her work focuses on using data science and emerging technologies to address climate, health, and equity challenges in underserved communities. She is the founder of the CORE Futures Lab and leads innovative projects that empower communities through technology, sustainability, and education.
Building Up Together: An HBCU AASHE Meet-up
This networking event will bring together HBCU faculty, staff, administrators, students, sustainability professionals, and partners to connect, exchange ideas and resources, and identify opportunities for collaboration around sustainability and campus infrastructure.
The gathering will also introduce the Carver BUILD UP Collaborative, an emerging HBCU network developed by Howard University in partnership with the HBCU Green Fund. Inspired by George Washington Carver’s How to Build Up Worn Out Soils, the collaborative draws on Carver’s philosophy of strengthening existing resources through research, innovation, and shared knowledge.
Rather than operating in isolation, Carver BUILD UP seeks to strengthen HBCU connections within the broader higher education sustainability community, including AASHE, while creating more intentional opportunities for HBCUs to learn from and support one another.
The event will prioritize networking and relationship-building, with opportunities for participants to share what is happening on their campuses, discuss common needs and challenges, identify potential institutional partners, and explore areas for collective action. Areas of interest may include campus infrastructure, sustainability planning, geospatial and data capacity, applied research, workforce development, and student engagement.
Participants interested in continued collaboration will also have an opportunity to learn more about and help shape the emerging Carver BUILD UP Collaborative.
Shoot for the Stars: Building HBCU Data Infrastructure for Sustainability Leadership
Despite HBCUs' historic commitment to community resilience and environmental stewardship, they remain virtually absent from national sustainability rankings and assessment frameworks. This absence stems from limited data infrastructure and the resourcing of faculty, students, and staff needed to systematically collect, analyze, and report on sustainability performance and to access climate funding opportunities.
This project introduces the Shoot for the STARS Initiative, a partnership between faculty and sustainability leaders at Yale and Howard University working alongside five HBCUs to build comprehensive sustainability data infrastructure through the STARS assessment process. The initiative deploys financial resources, technical expertise, and professional development to help participating institutions establish robust data systems and strengthen their climate and sustainability research, education, and funding ecosystems. Attendees will learn how this work is generating standardized, data-driven sustainability systems at participating HBCUs, producing research to improve how AASHE's STARS framework applies to HBCU contexts, and developing a scalable model of faculty, student, and staff engagement on climate and clean technology designed for national replication. The session invites the broader sustainability field to examine how partnership frameworks can better serve institutions where sustainability legacy has long preceded their participation in formal assessment systems.
Amy Quarkume
Associate Professor
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Actions
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