About

Kelsey Steele

I help organizations simplify their sustainability story, cut costs, and set and meet environmental and socially responsible goals.

As a natural collaborator, I am client-centered and excel at asking the right questions. I have interviewed key stakeholders for technology and luxury good companies, which has resulted in streamlined approaches to their data collection processes.

Simplifying complex information is my forte. It is also a key component to leading the way to a greener future. I listen to stakeholders before tailoring communication strategies to their needs and have distilled complex sustainability reports into 2-3 concise slides for executive teams.

I see patterns across multiple sustainability frameworks and work with cross-functional teams within organizations to create customized and credible sustainability strategies that fit their organization’s unique business model.

Professional Experience

Sustainability Consultant

Presidio Graduate School - PGS Consults

2020 - Present

  • Created a marketing strategy plan for serving sustainability-focused clients within the technology, construction, and luxury goods sectors.
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  • Developed an Excel template for generating SEO friendly content that serves the needs of professionals focused on corporate environmental and social impact assessments.
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  • Generated detailed client profiles from qualitative research for PGS Consults.

Sustainability Strategist

Supply Chain Revolution

2020

  • Helped supply chain professionals minimize risk, improve processes, and address social and environmental responsibility by utilizing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through the creation of educational resources.
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  • Synthesized research, wrote, edited, and created content about circular cities and how to apply the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to the supply chain.
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  • Increased audience engagement with a diverse group of professionals from around the world across the Supply Chain Revolution’s social media channels.

Sustainability Consultant

Newton Vineyard

2019

  • Established KPIs (Key Performance Indexes) for Newton Vineyard (NV) in order to reach ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications as requested by NV’s parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy.
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  • Gathered data from the sustainability team and facilitated discussions with leads of the team to further assemble appropriate data and supporting documents.
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  • Suggested revamping refrigeration systems in order to reduce energy usage by 25% in 2020.
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  • Determined that NV needed to reduce water consumption from 11 gallons of water per gallon of wine to 6.5 gallons of water per gallon of wine.
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  • Identified discrepancies between reports on water usage and thus recommended a water audit and plan for systematically improving existing self-sufficient water system.

Sustainability Consultant

Hewlett-Packard

2019

  • Conducted research and made recommendations to Hewlett Packard (HP) about their sustainable printing marketing strategy for universities.
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  • Identified 5 large universities that were interested in sustainability and whose printing procurement team lacked knowledge about sustainable printing practices.
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  • Recommended that HP conduct free consultations for universities’ printing team, showcase a fully sustainable printing operation, and establish relationships with universities by initiatives, such as sponsoring sports teams and sending kits to student reps.

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Sustainable Systems

Presidio Graduate School

2018 - 2020

Bachelor of Arts - BA, Environmental Studies Major, Biology Minor

University of Vermont

2009 - 2013

Leadership Experiences

Organizer

Circular Economy Club

2020 - Present

  • Developing and creating events and quarterly newsletters for the CEC NY chapter, which now has over 100 members.
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  • Collaborated with co-organizers to create circulareconomyclubny.com
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  • Assisted and executed virtual Circular Economy Club events for the Pacific Northwest, which were interactive workshops between 170 stakeholders from businesses, non-profits, and organizations within the Pacific Northwest Region of North America.

Plant-based Food Fellow

Net Impact

2019 - 2020

  • Organized, marketed, and coordinated a virtual event with more than 100 attendees, The Plant-Based Ecosystem: Entrepreneurship and Impact, which featured six speakers from non-profits, businesses, and organizations that promote plant-based diets.
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  • Collected qualitative data from faculty and students at Presidio Graduate School (PGS) to transition PGS’s food offerings to one that is default plant-based/veg.
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  • Co-created a cost-effective plant-based menu for PGS’ events with students, faculty, and CA-based plant-based food restaurants and caterers.