Office of Sustainability Staff
Richard Johnson
Senior Executive Director for Sustainability & Professor in the Practice of Environmental Studies in Sociology
Email: rrj@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-5003
Richard Johnson is the Senior Executive Director for Sustainability and he manages Rice’s Office of Sustainability and its employees, setting university priorities and directing initiatives to ensure the successful achievement of sustainability goals throughout all campus settings. The team focuses on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; energy and water conservation, procurement, and analytics; utility planning and visioning; green building and LEED certification support; facility design and specification review; zero waste initiatives; climate action planning; campus engagement; and so much more. Richard also holds appointments as a Professor in the Practice of Environmental Studies in Sociology and serves as the Co-Director of the Environmental Studies Program. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Rice University and a Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. In addition to his work at Rice, Richard also serves as the co-chair of the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) and the chair of the Futures Council for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona.
Eric Valentine
Energy Manager
Email: energy@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-5432
Eric has a background of 40 plus years in energy management and building control system engineering. As part of the Office of Sustainability, Eric supports data collection and the associated telemetry systems, construction services and building commissioning. He is an active member of the team performing energy cost reduction services such as electrical demand reduction, competitive procurement ERCOT emergency load curtailments.
Keaton Kinstley
Energy and Water Conservation Analyst
Email: krk7@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-3952
Keaton has been with Rice University for 5 years and currently serves as the Energy & Water Analyst for the Office of Sustainability. His duties include guidance/review of energy and water conservation projects with a focus on return on investment (ROI) and overall impact to campus. He also oversees campus utility procurement and analysis of electricity and natural gas, helps manage Rice's water meter and leak detection program, analyzes campus utility data, and does utility cost projections and budget review. His hobbies including watching historical and science documentaries, technical research and projects, furniture refinishing, barbequing/cooking, and gardening.
Ian Housman
Energy and Water Conservation Specialist
Email: ih9@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-6372
Ian Housman serves as the Energy and Water Conservation Specialist for the Office of Sustainability at Rice. This role enjoys working on utility conservation projects that have measurable results. Ian has received a B.S. in Physics from Stephen F. Austin State University, has a background in Data Science and Visualization, and one day hopes to earn his Certified Energy Manager license.
Florence Tang
Senior Project Manager and CDOD Lecturer
Email: florence.k.tang@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-2981
Florene Tang is a Senior Project Manager for Facilities and Capital Planning and serves as the liaison for the Office of Sustainability and Housing & Dining. She has orchestrated and is a core leader of ground-up architecture, exhibit, design-build construction and renovation projects that have garnered local and international press. She received her B.A. in Communication from Trinity University in San Antonio, Master of Architecture from Rice University and has studied at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, MA and also at IES-IULM in Milan, Italy. She serves on the Trinity University Alumni Association Board, is a co-leader of the Rice F&CP IDEA team, is a lecturer for the undergraduate seminar course Critical Dialogues on Diversity, and serves as an OEDK engineering design mentor for students developing innovative solutions for community and client-based projects. She is also FEMA ICS certified. She has served on various boards, speaks at national and local conferences and has authored and been published in numerous articles about biodiversity, design excellence, urban planning, policies, built environment, critical issues and infrastructure in various media.
Kristianna Bowles
Sustainability Program Coordinator
Email: kb102@rice.edu
Office: 713-348-3141
Kristianna serves as the Sustainability Program Coordinator for Rice and works to engage campus in a wide variety of sustainability programs and initiatives. These include hosting campus-wide events such as Campus Sustainability Day and Earth Day, overseeing the office's social media accounts, and coordinating initiatives like the "Give a Hoot, Donate Your Loot" move-out campaign. Her position also oversees the university's EcoRep peer educators program and the Office of Sustainability interns. She obtained a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Ecology & Environmental Biology from James Madison University and a M.S. in Recreation, Park, & Tourism Sciences with an emphasis in Youth Development from Texas A&M University. Kristianna is currently finishing her PhD in Higher Education Administration, also from Texas A&M, where her research focuses on the psychosocial drivers of engagement in pro-environmental behaviors among college students.
Office of Sustainability Affiliates
Ali Aijaz, Manager Facilities IT Systems Administrator
Jason Hochstein, P.E., Assistant Director of Plant Operations
Joan Stutheit, P.E., Engineer and Senior Project Manager
Hugh Ton-That, P.E., Executive Director of Plant Operations and University Engineer
Elmer Whitehead, P.E., Assistant Vice President of Facilities, Engineering, and Operations
Office of Sustainability Student Interns
Summer 2024
Audrey Arroyave
Destinie Sharp