Growing up in Connecticut, Lenny Kolstad (MES ’13) spent hours outside every day, playing sports and exploring the natural world around him. He always valued the environment. But it wasn’t until he graduated from college – with a mechanical engineering degree from Yale.
After several years as a consultant in Washington, D.C. helping companies implement the EPA’s Energy Star incentive program, Amanda Byrne (MES ’13) had experience on the industry side of making sustainability a regular part of doing business.
In April 2013, the private Philadelphia consulting firm Niche Recycling invited Penn MES candidate Nathan Sell to help implement a zero waste plan for McGillin’s Olde Ale House. The bar had a problem: too many dumpsters, too close to their main entrance on an alleyway.