Shaping tomorrow’s activists, today.
Meet the faculty and partners who make President’s Society: Environment possible.
PS Environment is made possible by the generous financial support of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation whose meaningful investment in developing a new generation of environmental activists is creating impact not only today, but for generations to come.
We are also grateful for the support from local community groups and organizations and for Newtown Creek Alliance's collaboration as a cornerstone community partner.
Rockland Community College is also taking PS Environment to their community
Dr. Holly Porter-Morgan, Professor of Environmental Sciences, directs the Environmental Science Program and is the PS Environment Program Manager. She received her PhD in Biology with specializations in Ecology and Geospatial Technology from the Graduate Center, CUNY, after attending New York University for a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. Prior to joining LaGuardia, Dr. Porter-Morgan served as a NOAA-CREST fellow researching the relationship between environmental hazards and childhood asthma in the Bronx. She has partnered with the Newtown Creek Alliance on two Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund (GCEF) grants and organizes multiple student learning events such as measuring air pollution, performing ecological surveys, and servicing local street trees. Dr. Porter-Morgan’s research involves analyzing water contaminants, including bacteria, nutrients, and trace metals, in NYC waterways.
Dr. Ryan Mann-Hamilton is Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the department of Social Science at LaGuardia Community College and is currently the Director of Public Programs and Investigator with the Institute for Socio-Ecological Research based in Puerto Rico. He received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the CUNY Graduate Center and his MS from Humboldt State University. His doctoral dissertation focused on the processes, effects and community reactions to state-driven economic development and land dispossession in Samaná, Dominican Republic. He is an educator, community organizer, environmental consultant and writer and has taught courses in history, anthropology and ethnic studies and has given a variety of workshops and lectures on social and environmental justice, community based activism, the social constructions of race and AfroLatin@ History and Culture in the Americas.
Dr. Joby Jacob is Assistant Professor in the Natural Sciences department and a respected transportation advocate. Originally from Queens, he received his PhD from St John’s University and has focused his research work at LaGuardia in microbiology and environmental science. Both recent and current research includes the study of bacterial diversity impacts as a result of combined sewer overflow in a local polluted waterway, an analysis of the microbiota in Newtown Creek compared with other NYC water bodies, and isolating hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria from the Creek. As a transportation advocate, he has worked with New York State Assemblyman David Weprin to draft legislation that would study extending a trail from Queens to Nassau County, has helped pass legislation important to the long term reduction of carbon emissions, and has worked with the NYC Department of Transportation to build several miles of bike lanes in NYC.
To discuss sponsorship and partnership opportunities, or for general information about the President’s Society: Environment program, contact Karen Dubinsky at kdubinsky@lagcc.cuny.edu
Student program application
Student presentations and program outcomes
Program faculty and partners