Sustainable Spelman Interns

Joy Rutledge, C’2025, a computer science major and food studies minor from Atlanta, Georgia, is committed to bringing about social change through sustainability. With a computer science background, she aims to leverage technology to promote sustainability as it relates to having on-demand access to fresh produce within urban communities and developing sustainable solutions pertaining to the energy, agriculture and water security nexus. As a Sustainable Spelman intern, her goal is to bring awareness and innovation to Spelman’s campus through education and outreach.

Olivia Robinson, C’2025, an environmental studies major and economics minor from Louisville, Kentucky, is passionate about the environment and is interested in solving environmental problems from an economic perspective. She is interested in renewable energy, sustainable fashion, public transportation, and corporate social responsibility. Through her research and volunteer work she has learned solutions as well as an awareness of problems she plans to help solve while serving as an intern. She hopes to make a difference on campus and in the Spelman community.

Zanyah Williams, C’2025, an environmental science and sociology double major from Burlington, NC, is a devoted advocate for environmental justice and is passionate about serving marginalized communities affected by environmental issues. Through the Spelman College RISE Program, she conducted research on disproportionate heat exposure in Atlanta, Georgia and will continue to enlarge her study to better address surrounding environmental injustices. As a Sustainable Spelman Intern, she will develop the skills required to protect our environment and serve the Spelman College community.

Lamia Lopez, C'2025, a junior environmental science major from Haddonfield, New Jersey, is committed to sustainability locally, nationally and globally. A Baldwin Richardson Foods Scholar, member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and an Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program member, she is also a LINCS Scholar, and a co-chair on the City of Atlanta’s Clean Energy Advisory Board, where she will serve until 2025.

Lopez spent her last two summers serving as an intern at national parks through the Greening Youth Foundation founded by Spelman alumna, international environmental and equity consultant Angelou Ezeilo. During her time in Jacksonville, Florida at the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Lopez developed a new sustainable community outreach program for the park called "plarn." Plarn repurposes plastic grocery bags and turns them into plastic bag yarn that can create a multitude of projects, like creating lightweight, waterproof sleeping mats for unhoused individuals. She continued her plarn research at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola, Florida, where she also patrolled sea turtles, led mindfulness and art hikes, and composed social media posts on behalf of the park.  She is zealous about continuing her sustainability efforts within the Atlanta University Center as a Sustainable Spelman Intern and through volunteer opportunities like Trees Atlanta.

Scientific illustration, which includes rendering images and submitting them to textbook companies, is a career path that has piqued Lopez' interest. She is also interested in sustainability consulting, which would afford her an opportunity to work with different companies and become a part of a close-knit team to ultimately lessen the company’s carbon footprint and create more sustainable production.