SVP Sustainable Futures Fellow Profiles

Drew Rogers ('27), from Mountain View, CA, is majoring in Environmental Studies and Political Science with a minor in Sustainability. His project aims to explore the best heat resilience strategies for the City of Santa Clara, and how they can be equitably implemented in planning and development standards. This fellowship allows him to further expand his knowledge in a subject of great interest, while increasing his experience in policy analysis and ground level research.

Victoria Romic ('27), from Winnetka, IL, is majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry. Her project aims to assess how climate change will impact Santa Clara’s water sources over the next 50 years, who will be impacted the most, and identify actions that can be taken to increase water security. This fellowship will give her the opportunity to develop critical data analysis and research skills that will aid her in future research projects during her post-graduate career. 

Hope Saena ('27), from Samoa and Sunnyvale, CA, is majoring in Communication with a minor in Environmental Studies. Her project aims to explore how to meaningfully engage those most vulnerable to climate change impacts, and collaborate with these groups to co-create a structure that centers their voices, experiences, and priorities for climate adaptation. This fellowship will allow her to connect her background in community-centered storytelling with a deeper understanding of how local governments develop and implement policies that affect frontline communities.

Gabrielle "Ayla" Flanagan ('23), from Dallas, TX, majored in Environmental Studies with minors in Public Health and Sustainability. In fall 2025, she began pursuing a Master of Science degree in Community Health and Prevention Research at Stanford University.

Ayla's project, Nourishing the Future: Research on Building Sustainable Food Systems, focused on the root cause of challenges in sustainable food systems and reliance on food pantries. Through her research and interviews with food pantry managers, food recovery directors, urban gardeners, and policy and advocacy directors, Ayla brought forward recommendations for the City of Santa Clara.

Connor Grady ('23), from Seattle, WA, majored in General Engineering (with a Sustainable Engineering Concentration), with minors in Sustainability and Design Thinking. He currently works as R&D Test Engineer at Antora Energy in the Bay Area.

Connor's project, Designing an Equitable Shared Solar Program for Income-Qualified Multifamily Housing, focused on designing a shared rooftop solar program for multifamily housing in socially vulnerable communities. His research was conducted to inform the strategic creation of a program designed to incentivize rooftop solar energy installations.

Declan Bernal ('23), from San Jose, CA, majored in Environmental Studies & Political Science. In Fall 2024, he began pursuing a Master of City Planning degree with a concentration in Transportation Policy and Planning at the University of California, Berkeley.

Declan's project, Assessing Equity Gaps in the Sustainable Transportation Network, focused on assessing areas in the City of Santa Clara with limited access to sustainable transportation. In identifying these areas, he found three locations of interest where the lack of sustainable transportation infrastructure coincides with socioeconomically vulnerable populations, according to demographic and other data.

Chrislyn "Chrissy" Brandon ('25), from Long Beach, CA, majored in Political Science and Psychology.

Chrissy's project, Cultivating a Sustainable Tomorrow: Community Gardens and Food Security in the City of Santa Clara, focused on how the city can provide more support to improve food security, including leveraging food waste as a resource to enhance food recovery. (Faculty mentor: Dr. Christopher Bacon)

Emil Chaia ('25), from Mexico City, MX, majored in Finance with minors in International Business and Innovation & Design Thinking. 

Emil's project, Bridging the Decarbonization Gap in Minority-Owned Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the City of Santa Clara, focused on analyzing existing financial securities, such as green bonds and credits, to support Northern California's decarbonization initiatives. (Faculty mentor: Tony Nguyen)

Sarah "Sally" Walsh ('24), from Chicago, IL, majored in Psychology, with minors in Sustainability and Environmental Studies. She is currently working abroad in Norway as a sea kayak guide and farm hand, and plans on volunteering as a Workaway in Portugal and Italy to help others with their passion projects before heading back to the States in the New Year. 

Sally's project, Enhancing Cycling in Santa Clara: Uncovering Residents’ Motivations and Reducing Inequities, focused on Santa Clara's active transportation access, specifically with cycling, to identify residents' motivations and reduce inequities. (Faculty mentor: Dr. C.J. Gabbe)

Andréa Georgenes ('25), from Wellesley, MA, majored in Environmental Studies and Dance.

Andréa's project, Assessing Solar Photovoltaic Accessibility and Social Vulnerability in Santa Clara, focused on solar photovoltaic accessibility, specifically using solar permit requests to determine if trends align with socioeconomic vulnerabilities and whether existing policies equitably support solar adoption across different demographics. (Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Kevane)

Bianca "Bea" Ricafort ('26), from South San Francisco, CA, majored in Environmental Studies, with minors in Economics and Spanish Studies. 

Bea's project, Mapping Resilience and Community Through Transformed Green Spaces in Santa Clara, focused on analyzing Santa Clara’s social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities to identify high-vulnerability sites that should be prioritized for future green space development. (Faculty mentor: Jake Dialesandro)

Yasmin Urzua-Gutierrez ('25), from Bellevue, NE, majored in Political Science. 

Yasmin's project, Redirecting Power into the Hands of Communities through Neighborhood Resilience Hubs, focused on researching existing Neighborhood Resilience Hub Programs to determine the feasibility of implementing a hub in Santa Clara by weighing economic costs against expected social benefits. (Faculty mentor: Dr. William Sundstrom)

Gigi Jones ('26), from Greenwich, CT, majored in Environmental Studies with a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Gigi's project, Cooktop Electrification in Santa Clara, aimed to assess trends in adoption of electric cooktops, identify barriers, and recommend targeted policy interventions in order to accelerate electrification in Santa Clara. (Faculty mentor: Nicolas Hernandez)

Isabella Gomez ('27), from San Lorenzo, CA, is majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Environmental Studies.

Her project, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecosystem Resilience: Implementing a Native Plant's Landscaping Policy in Santa Clara, aimed to provide implementable suggestions and guidelines for the City of Santa Clara that will incentivize local cities, residents, businesses, and parks to embrace planting more native plants. (Faculty mentor: Dean Daniel Press)

Ximena Garcia-Isabelli ('26), from Spokane, WA, majored in Environmental Science with minors in Biology and Geospatial Analysis.

Her project, Investigating Heat Adaptation Solutions in the City of Santa Clara, aimed to investigate the benefits and feasibility of heat adaptation solutions that will improve the urban environment and public health of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Santa Clara (Faculty mentor: Jake Dialesandro)