Who We Are

RCE Greater Phoenix is a Regional Center of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) acknowledged by the United Nations University.

Our Vision

a livable, sustainable and just future

Our goal is to contribute to a livable, sustainable and just future in the region. To this end, our mission is to co-create new formal and non-formal sustainability education programs – as well as to mobilize existing ones – with all community members, through meaningful, equitable and participatory learning experiences.

Our work focuses on five SDGs primarily:

SDG 4: Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequality within and among our communities
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make our cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
SDG 13: Climate Action
take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Our Mission

To promote sustainability education in support of the SDGs, we pursue 4 approaches:

Global SDGs

THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Countries have committed to prioritize progress for those who’re furthest behind.

The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context. Read more about the SDGS on the official UN website.

As we are getting closer to 2030 where the goals were supposed to be achieved, it is important to measure the current state of each goal.

Click the SDG icons on the left to learn about the progress of each goal.

The information has been compiled by the Non-Profit-Organization “Our World SDG Tracker: Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals” and draws on official statistics from the UN and other international organizations. This free, open-access information tracks allows people worldwide to hold their governments accountable for achieving the agreed goals.”

Our People

Raj

Raj
Pandya

Director

Executive Director Global Futures-Education Lab

Educated as a physicist and atmospheric scientist, Pandya brings a history of working at the intersection of science, education and community partnerships to advance understanding of the scientific and social dimensions of sustainability.

Alejandra

Alejandra Enriquez Gates

Program Manager

Alejandra has 30 years’ experience in education. Her research interests focus on the areas of international education, multiculturalism, cultural proficiency, and education technology. Enriquez served as the Director for Conexiones, a Migrant Education Student Program, and oversaw the Strategic Partnership of ASU with Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico.

Shane

Shane
Tsao-Abellera

Communications and Social Media

W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University

Shane's skills include Marketing Strategy, Social Media content creation, digital communication, and research. Interest in marketing, pop culture studies, Japanese culture/religion studies and Beatle-ology

Lexie

Alexandra Cegielski

Youth Community Liaison

School of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Lexi, a first-gen college student at ASU, blends skills from community outreach to food industry expertise. Passionate about sustainability, her ambitions span law, government, water conservation, and more, aiming to impact diverse sectors for environmental betterment

Ari

Ari
Gajraj

Multimedia and Web-development

Listen Without Borders

Ari is new to, yet enthusiastic about, Sustainability Education but has years of experience in video, audio, photography, web and graphic design

Iveta

Iveta Silova

Professor and Associate Dean of Global Engagement

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University

Professor Silova has diverse experience in international aid and development, spanning from receiving aid in post-socialist settings to overseeing global project implementation and researching development politics and policies.

Gustavo

Gustavo Fischman

Professor & MLFTC Scholarly Publications Directorr

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University

Dr. Fischman focuses his work on understanding and improving the processes of knowledge-production and exchange between scholars, educators, activists, practitioners, administrators, media workers, policymakers, and the broader public.

Daniel

Daniel Fischer

Professor

School of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Dr. Fischer studies how sustainable consumption can be promoted through communication and learning. One focus is the role consumption plays in satisfying human needs, the social and ecological effects it has, and how human beings can be encouraged and enabled to take up more sustainable lifestyles

Molly

Molly Cashion

Senior Program Manager

College of Global Futures, Arizona State University

Molly has taken the Regional Sustainability Teachers’ Academy beyond traditional adult continuing education by focusing on sustainability project implementation. Molly has developed more than 30 workshops, worked with more than 50 sustainability stakeholders around the country, and trained over 1200 teachers.

Jordan

Jordan King

Doctoral Candidate

School of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Driven by a passion for sustainability education, Jordan has engaged in environmental literacy, sustainable food systems in Peru, and youth outdoor experiences. He holds a BA in History from UW-Oshkosh and an MS in Environmental Education from UW-Stevens Point.

Educational Organizations

Gabriel

Gabriel Guerrero

Director of Community Relations with the Alhambra Elementary School District. Gabriel oversees communication, marketing and strategic partnerships among other things for the vibrant educational community.

Pushpa

Pushpa Ramakrishna

Dr. Ramakrishna, Director at Maricopa Community College, pioneers STEAM education, merging arts with STEM. With a focus on equity and student-centered learning, she drives 21st-century workforce readiness and spearheads systemic change in undergraduate STEM education. Dr. Ramakrishna served as a program director at NSF from Sept 2017 to Oct in the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Education Directorate. She is passionate about bringing in systemic change in undergraduate STEM education.

Kalman

Kalman Mannis

Senior Director For Rural Engagement with the Arizona Science Center. Kal works with rural and remote communities in the AZ and North America to support place-based STEM learning and identity.

Civil Society Groups

Janice

Janice Miller

Janice Miller is an Executive Coach who helps top leaders of business and nonprofit organizations achieve their goals. She is a 40-year member of the Greater Phoenix business community, and is eager to advance sustainability initiatives for the sake of her grandchildren and everyone else's.

Usama

Usama Shami

Usama is a Muslim Chaplain Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and President of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. Usama is an active member of the community focusing on bringing Muslims and non-Muslims together through open dialogue, free exchange of ideas. Usama is a practicing Professional Engineer and works in the Utility Industry. Usama also has over 25 years of college teaching experience and has several published engineering technical papers.

Mauricio

Mauricio
Juarez Leon

Mauricio is a youth activist and advocate for sustainability. He is a founding member of Fridays for Future - Phoenix, and sustainability groups including the Honor Society for Sustainability, The Sustainability Alliance at ASU, Campus Student Sustainability Initiatives, etc. Mauricio is a third-year student studying Sustainability and working towards two certificates in Energy & Sustainability and International Business.

Government Entities

Evelyn

Evelyn Brumfield

Evelyn is the Youth Climate Action Coordinator within Tempe’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience. Before coming to Tempe, Evelyn was a sustainability educator in the nonprofit sector. In her current work, she supports and uplifts youth voices: she most often works with students in Tempe high schools and the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission. Additionally, she is also working to increase capacity within school gardens.

Darice

Darice J. Ellis

For the city of Phoenix, City Manager’s Office of Sustainability, Darice focuses on the development and advancement of the city’s sustainability goals as well as growing student sustainability leaders, providing them civic engagement opportunities in policy and decision making, and embedding sustainability efforts on school campuses.

For Profit Organizations

Nick

Nick Shivka

Nick is Senior Manager of Sustainability Initiatives at Local First Arizona has the privilege of working alongside and helping to future-proof Arizona's small businesses and cities.

Huda

Huda Khalife

Huda's passion is in the field of sustainable international development, especially with regards to using natural disasters and conflicts as opportunities for growth. She hopes to work in the field of sustainable international development, using natural disasters and conflicts as opportunities for growth, especially with regards to community building and the development of educational facilities and opportunities.

Reetika

Reetika
Dhawan

Born and educated in India, Reeta arrived in Arizona for a brief teaching exchange, staying due to demand as a math-physics educator. From high school to Arizona Western College, now Dean of Career and Technical Education, Reeta advocates for rural education investment, particularly in manufacturing and healthcare.

RCE Global Network

Our Founding Partners

Our founding partners are organizations in the community and at Arizona State University, who supported the initial application to be recognized as a designated Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development by the United Nations University, which manages the Global Network of RCEs on behalf of UNESCO.