Meet the New Sustainability Staff

Behind every initiative is a staff member who makes it all possible. The Sustainability staff do crucial work to support student programs and projects on campus. Meet some of UCSB’s newest staff members from several different departments!

New Staff in Associated Students

Katee Gustavson

Katee Gustavson (she/hers/they/them) is the Associated Students Recycling and Composting Program Coordinator. She oversees the daily operation of the recycling, composting, and e-waste programs at UCSB, while educating the campus community about proper waste management and zero waste goals. During her undergraduate years at UCSB, she worked as a Route Rider for AS Recycling, as well as a Worm Wrangler and Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Public Worms. Working here, she learned about composting, recycling, sustainable agriculture, and waste management. She also worked for a Santa Barbara/Ecuador based startup focused on bringing a South American regenerative crop to the U.S. market. After working as the limited appointment Recycling and Composting Program Coordinator for eight months last year, she officially returned to UCSB and is excited to hit the ground running.

Marla Greer

Marla Greer (she/her) is the Associated Students Garden Coordinator. In this role, she leads the Department of Public Worms. This includes managing the student farm, the compost operations that diverts pre-consumer food waste from the dining commons, stewardship of the urban orchard on campus, and supporting family student housing residents through the production of on site compost. Marla Greer studied Environmental Science and Policy at the University of South Florida. Not long after graduation, she stumbled upon an opportunity to apprentice at Fairview Gardens in Goleta. Hands-on experience has been her greatest teacher. For Marla, being a part of a community’s local food shed is the best use of her skills. Before joining UCSB, she also served in a leadership position at another amazing local non-profit, Explore Ecology, whose mission is rooted in environmental education and sustainability. As a new member of the Sustainability team, she is most excited for the synergy that exists at the university and within the sustainability team. To be in a place brimming with so many passionate, talented people is incredible. She has learned an immense amount already and loves making connections with different students, staff, and faculty.

New Staff in Geography

Daisy Basulto

Daisy Basulto (she/her/ella) is the Calfresh and Basic Needs Communications Coordinator. Her work revolves around Calfresh and Basic Needs services on campus. She works with a team of student interns to help students apply for Calfresh food benefits and inform them of where they can utilize their food benefits on campus, the community (off campus), and farmer's markets.
She was first introduced to sustainability during the summer of her sophomore year of high school through the REACH Fellowship, which left a big impact on her. Sustainability had always been more of a hobby until she got a job at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County—this is when she started to really get back into learning more about sustainability and how it relates to food. She is continuously looking into how food is produced, what types of foods are consumed by different cultures, and how much food is wasted, so she is excited to learn more about what UCSB does to promote sustainable food waste systems and all other sustainable resources on campus.

Thank you to all of our staff members for their hard work and dedication to sustainability at UCSB!