2026 Sustainability Showcase celebrates individuals who have made contributions to sustainability

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2026) — Each year, the University of Kentucky’s Office of Sustainability, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment partner to host the Sustainability Showcase. The event celebrates the sustainability efforts occurring across UK’s campus and culminates in an awards ceremony that recognizes the exceptional students, mentors, faculty and staff who have made significant contributions to sustainability. This year’s award winners are listed below by the following categories: Student Posters, Champion and Legacy awards, and the 2026 Challenge Grant Projects.

The annual Sustainability Research Poster Competition, co-hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and UK Sustainability, is open to all students, regardless of major, who wish to present their sustainability-focused research. Six winners were awarded at the Showcase:

• Undergraduate Poster Competition

  • First place: Ayusma Karki, architecture junior, College of Design

  • Second place: Ella Shields, horticultural science senior, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE)

  • People's Choice: Kamili Holness, human health sciences senior, College of Health Sciences

• Graduate Poster Competition

  • First place: Rosbelly Rios, veterinary science graduate student, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Second place: Junwon Ko, mechanical engineering graduate student, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering

  • People's Choice: Rebecca Hutchinson, veterinary science graduate student, Martin-Gatton CAFE

The Sustainability Champion Award recognizes individuals in the UK community who have made impressive contributions towards a more sustainable campus.

The recipient of the 2026 Sustainability Champion Award is Yosra A. Helmy, Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary science in the Martin-Gatton CAFE. 

"Dr. Helmy's work is distinguished by its One Health systems approach to sustainability. By investigating pathogens across animals, humans, food systems and environmental reservoirs, she addresses the interconnected drivers of disease emergence and antimicrobial resistance. Her research recognizes that sustainable agriculture, safe food systems, healthy ecosystems and human and animal health are inseparable,” wrote Helmy’s nominator Khaled Shaaban, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences.

The Yanarella Levine Legacy Award, named for retired political science professor Ernie Yanarella, Ph.D., and retired professor of architecture Richard Levine — both lifelong scholars and champions of sustainability — is designed to highlight members of the UK community who have left a lasting legacy through their extraordinary contributions to sustainability. This year, for the first time since the creation of the award, there were two recipients: Mary Arthur, Ph.D., professor emerita of forest ecology and co-founder of the Urban Forest Initiative, and Lynne Rieske-Kinney, Ph.D., professor of forest entomology and also a co-founder of the Urban Forest Initiative both in the Martin-Gatton CAFE.

“While these awards are given in honor of their individual contributions throughout their careers, it feels serendipitous that we are able to recognize our award recipients, both of whom have made tremendous scholarly contributions focused on the health of forests and trees, in the midst of Kentucky’s Tree Week,” said Shane Tedder, UK director of sustainability.

Arthur was honored for her scholarship on Kentucky forests, her leadership in co-creating the Urban Forest Initiative, her contributions to the Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES) degree program, her mentorship of NRES students, and her dedication to environmental and social advocacy in retirement. 

“Without doubt, Mary Arthur has contributed a tremendous body of work supporting sustainability initiatives on UK’s campus, in Lexington and in Kentucky,” said Rebecca McCulley, Ph.D., Arthur’s nominator and chair of the Martin-Gatton CAFE Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Rieske-Kinney was celebrated for her research advancing gene-silencing technology to protect Kentucky forests from the emerald ash borer, her leadership in co-creating the Urban Forest Initiative, her training and supervision of the next generation of scientists and environmental stewards, and her personal commitment to practicing sustainability.

“Dr. Rieske-Kinney’s 30+ year-record of eco-friendly research, academic service and personal lifestyle embody environmental sustainability to her students and colleagues,” wrote Rieske-Kinney’s nominators Lynn Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Geography, and Sarah-Ashley Solie, project manager in the Department of Entomology. “Her work with UFI, as well as her cutting-edge scientific work, bridges the gap between grassroots advocacy and large-scale, environmentally friendly systemic solutions to tree loss from invasive pests.”

Since its inception in 2015, the Sustainability Challenge Grant Program has awarded $2.25 million to 75 multidisciplinary teams whose projects furthered sustainability by engaging students and advancing fields of study. This year, four teams, composed of UK staff and faculty, received Sustainability Challenge Grants that total more than $140,000.

• Building Water-Resilient Kentucky Communities through Music

  • John McMaine, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Revell Carr, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Music, College of Fine Arts

  • Jeri Katherine Howell, singer-songwriter

  • Melissa Bond, community arts extension program leader, Blueprint Kentucky

  • Carla Gover, singer-songwriter, master flatfoot dancer

  • Laura Gregory, singer-songwriter, environmental professional, Kentucky Waterways Alliance

  • Leah Hamilton, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Arts Administration, College of Fine Arts

  • Anna Johnson Kline, singer-songwriter, poet

  • Sarah Kate Morgan, singer-songwriter, director of traditional arts education, Hindman Settlement School

  • Eli Uttal-Veroff, interim director of music industry, School of Music, College of Fine Arts

• Family, Food, & Agriculture Learning Lab: Connecting Families, Local Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems

  • Kendra OoNorasak, Ph.D., project management director, College of Health Sciences

  • Sheerah Neal Keith,Ph.D., registered play therapist, assistant professor, College of Education

  • Priscilla McCutcheon, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences

  • Brandi M. White, Ph.D., associate professor, College of Health Sciences

  • Sharon Stone, owner, Two Suns Farms

  • Sandra Ballew-Barnes, volunteer market manager, Woodhill Farms

  • Christine Smith, executive director, Seedleaf

• From Field to Fork: Co-Designing the Next Sustainable Kentucky Tomato Through Participatory Breeding, Organic Production, Nutrition and Community Evaluation

  • Manoj Sapkota, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Horticulture, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Sara Maksi, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Liz Combs, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Krista Jacobsen, Ph.D., professor, Department of Horticulture, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Nicole Gauthier, Ph.D., professor, Extension plant pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Rachel Bryant, Teaching Kitchen operations and food systems coordinator, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Shawn Wright, Ph.D., Extension specialist, Center for Crop Diversitification, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Reed Graham, Extension agent, agriculture and natural resources, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Namrata Maharjan, research analyst, Department of Horticulture, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Nathan Howell, owner, Need More Acres Farm

• Re-Wilding the Ecological Research and Education Center: A Project Fostering Research, Education and Community Engagement

  • David F. Westneat, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

  • Kay Shenoy, Ph.D., senior lecturer and director of Ecological Research and Education Center, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

  • Tina Brouwer-Kraska, director, Reed Oaks Forest School

  • Emily Croteau, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

  • Jake Ferguson, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

  • Darin J. McNeil, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Clare Rittschof, Ph.D., professor, Department of Entomology, Martin-Gatton CAFE

  • Megan Buland, curator, The Arboretum

  • Caroline Kane, terrestrial zoologist, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves