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SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education Welcomes New Staff Members

Cay Leytham-Powell — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:21:57 +0000

SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education Welcomes New Staff Members Cay Leytham-Powell Wed, 01/21/2026 - 09:21

The SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education—led by Faculty Executive Director Max Boykoff—recently brought on several new staff hires and faculty associate directors. These positions and roles set the center up for work that aligns closely with �� Boulder’s sustainability education goals, which include the Climate Action Plan (CAP), emphasizing connectivity, communication and coordination across campus. Programming will be flexible and nimble to support a wide range of student, staff and faculty interests and ambitions.

The addition of these new staff members and faculty associate directors at the SPIKE Center will help �� Boulder to excel as a national and global leader in sustainability education, effectively demonstrating to current as well as prospective students across the world that if they want to earn a top-quality sustainability-related degree they should study here at �� Boulder.

The SPIKE Center was made possible by a transformational gift from donor Spike Buckley, whose vision emphasizes agility, innovation and student-centered programming. Funds enable the center to launch initiatives that build student capacity, confidence and competence in sustainability. In addition to hiring staff for the new initiative, the SPIKE Center will start to develop student-centered programming, including project-based and experiential learning.

The new staff members are:

Laura Burfield, director of operations

Laura Burfield has over 14 years of experience at �� Boulder, where she’s worked with the University Libraries, the Oﬃce of Contracts and Grants, and most recently with CIRES. Her work has spanned research administration, financial operations and academic outreach, always with a focus on collaboration, streamlining processes and service excellence.

Toby Murdock, director of partnerships and engagement

Toby Murdock comes to the SPIKE Center from Venture Partners at �� Boulder. Prior to that role Toby served as the founder and CEO of multiple technology start-ups, including Kapost, a content marketing software business based in Boulder. At Kapost he led the fundraising of $19 million in capital and drove the growth of the business to over 100 employees and the acquisition of prominent customers such as Salesforce, IBM, Adobe, HP, Dell, GE, FedEx and Microsoft. Ultimately, Murdock steered Kapost to a successful sale to Upland Software.

Felicia Naranjo Martinez, executive aide

Prior to joining the SPIKE Center, Felicia Naranjo Martinez served as executive director of the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence, worked with Advancement and the Industry and Foundations Relations team, environmental studies as the director of special projects and as finance and business operations manager for the Program in Jewish Studies. Naranjo Martinez has managed a portfolio of diverse foreign grant awards that funded multiple programs, projects, and events in the U.S., Europe and Scandinavia.

The new faculty associate directors are:

Phaedra Pezzullo, faculty associate director for faculty engagement

Phaedra Pezzullo serves as the faculty associate director for faculty engagement in the SPIKE Center of Sustainability Education. Pezzullo is a professor and the Kleiman faculty scholar in the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information at �� Boulder. She directs the Sustainability and Storytelling Lab and co-directs Inside the Greenhouse. Her latest award-winning book, Beyond Strawmen: Plastic Pollution, Impure Politics, and Networked Cultures of Care, draws in part from her podcast, Communicating Care. She has authored, coauthored or coedited nine other books and published widely. Pezzullo is founding co-editor of the University of California Press book series, Environmental Communication, Power, and Culture, editor of the international journal, Environmental Communication, and serves as the director of the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Justice.

Warren Sconiers, faculty associate director for curriculum

Warren Sconiers serves as the faculty associate director for curriculum in the SPIKE Center of Sustainability Education. In collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning and faculty in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Sconiers studies how to enhance student engagement and learning in large classrooms through peer collaboration, course community building, and evidence-based pedagogy. Sconiers is an insect ecologist whose research has explored the effects of drought stress, plant physiology and insect species composition. He earned his PhD in entomology at Texas A&M and has held teaching and research positions at North Carolina State University and the University of the Ozarks. At �� Boulder, he teaches and conducts research on arthropod diversity and climate-driven changes in plant physiology at the Mountain Research Station.

Beth Osnes-Stoedefalke, associate director for student engagement

Beth Osnes-Stoedefalke serves as the faculty associate director for student engagement in the SPIKE Center of Sustainability Education. Osnes-Stoedefalke is a professor of theatre and environmental studies. She is a theatre and performance studies artist/scholar who is active in applied performance and creative climate communication. She engages in performance to co-author an equitable, survivable and thrive-able future for all life and the ecosystems upon which life depends. Her recent collaborations include, Side by Side, The Butterfly Affect, Eco-Imagination, various manifestations of climate comedy, and the book Performance for Resilience.

The SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education recently brought on several new staff hires and faculty associate directors.

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Ombuds Office announces second new associate ombuds

Cay Leytham-Powell — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:06:17 +0000

Ombuds Office announces second new associate ombuds Cay Leytham-Powell Fri, 01/16/2026 - 09:06

The University of Colorado Boulder’s Ombuds Office is pleased to announce the appointment of Detric Robinson as the second new associate ombuds.

Robinson brings more than a decade of experience in higher education leadership, residence life, student conduct and conflict resolution, and student- and staff-centered advocacy. Most recently, he served as the director of residential education at the University of Denver, where he led large-scale community development initiatives, supervised graduate and professional staff, and guided the department through complex organizational transitions. He also served as staff senate president, collaborating with institutional leadership to advance the interests of DU’s staff community.

Robinson welcomes thoughtful, grounded approaches to problem-solving and is committed to creating supportive environments where individuals feel heard, respected, and empowered. Throughout his career, he has championed equitable processes, transparent communication, and collaborative solutions—values that align strongly with the mission of the Ombuds Office.

With experience spanning community building, crisis response, staff development, and systems-level policy work, Robinson offers a holistic understanding of university culture and the nuanced challenges faced by students, staff and faculty. He is particularly passionate about helping individuals navigate difficult conversations, explore options, and gain clarity during moments of uncertainty or conflict.

He holds a PhD in educational studies with a concentration in higher education and has built a professional life rooted in compassion, integrity and service. Outside of work, he enjoys video games, concerts, meaningful personal connections and spending time with his pup, Carter-Knowles—affectionately referred to as his “pebble” in the rippling pond of life.

“I’m looking forward to building connections with �� Boulder students, staff and faculty, and I’m grateful to join and serve such a dynamic community,” Robinson says, adding that he’s excited to contribute to the Ombuds Office’s commitment to independence, impartiality and confidentiality.

Detric Robinson brings more than a decade of experience in higher education leadership, residence life, student conduct and conflict resolution, and student- and staff-centered advocacy to �� Boulder.

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Faculty Fellows project working to implement faculty salary working group recommendations

Cay Leytham-Powell — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:59:50 +0000

Faculty Fellows project working to implement faculty salary working group recommendations Cay Leytham-Powell Mon, 11/17/2025 - 13:59

Last May, then-�� Provost Russell Moore commissioned Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, interim vice chancellor for academic resource management (and a member of the Chancellor’s Faculty Salary Task Force), to oversee a working group to focus on advancing some of the recommendations from the Faculty Salary Procedures Working Group (FSPWG).

The fellows are currently focusing their work on developing best practices and documenting unit-level merit procedures across �� Boulder, drawing on the FSPWG report. Specifically, the fellows will be supporting unit level procedures around faculty annual merit evaluations, and aligning those merit evaluations with recommendations for salary increases. In addition, the fellows will provide support and resources, including training sessions for academic leaders on implementing unit-level procedures. Overall, the work of the fellows seeks to promote transparency and best practices in our merit processes.

The fellows are Derek Briggs (education), Steven Vanderheiden (political science), and Jerry Jacka (anthropology)—a group Rosario-Ortiz says “combines experience in unit-level financial and compensation strategy with the operational judgment that arises from long standing as faculty members and unit leaders.”

The Provost’s Post submitted several questions to Rosario-Ortiz to update the campus on the work of the Faculty Fellows.

Question: How does the Faculty Fellows’ work in the larger context around the work that the campus is doing around faculty compensation?

Answer: Currently, campus has different efforts targeting this topic. This past summer, the chancellor and BFA announced the creation of the Chancellor’s Task Force on Faculty Salary. This group has met and will release its report to the campus community in short order. Parallel to the work of this Task Force, the Office of the Provost is leading other efforts as well. For example, the Faculty Fellows are leading the work around supporting some of the recommendations from the FSPWG. We are starting by asking all units to submit to us any written procedures or guidelines around how they conduct their annual merit evaluations. The plan is to evaluate these submissions and work with units on improving, or implementing procedures as needed, as all units are required to have written procedures for this process. As a faculty member, I know I would appreciate clarity around how my annual evaluation is conducted, and the fellows and I are here to support units in this work. This effort will take some time as we work with all units. Afterwards, the fellows will work on other aspects of faculty compensation including how annual merit evaluations are translated into annual salary increases.

Q: How are people submitting feedback to the fellows?

A: For the first phase of the work of the fellows, units can submit general feedback to vcaa@colorado.edu. Grace Maniscalco, manager of provost operations, is also supporting this project and is helping the fellows and I collect and assess the annual merit evaluation information provided. We want this process to be in part a conversation with units as well, as we progress we will be reaching out to meet.

Q: What is the timing for the fellows to complete their work?

A: The overall scope of the work of the fellows will take some time, but we plan to complete this initial part, reviewing and helping units implement annual merit procedures, within the next 6 to 8 months. There will be other recommendations from the FSPWG that we will also look to implement, and we will continue to support units through the different efforts.

Q: What other efforts in addition to the fellows is the provost’s office working on?

A: In the larger context of supporting improvements in processes around faculty compensation, the provost’s office is working on updates to faculty salary equity and grievance procedures. Initial drafts of updated policies and procedures will be released to the campus for shared governance feedback in early spring. The Faculty Fellows will also support units in implementing these updated procedures. Ultimately, the work of the Faculty Fellows will help our collective efforts at improving different aspects related to faculty compensation.

Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Resource Management Fernando Rosario-Ortiz gives an update on the project and where we go from here.

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