ADVISORY BOARD
The Advisory Board plays a vital role in guiding and strengthening the Engineering for One Planet Mini-Grant Program (EOP-MGP). Comprised of leaders in engineering education, curriculum innovation, and sustainability, the board brings deep expertise and strategic insight to ensure the program remains impactful, relevant, and responsive to the evolving needs of faculty and institutions.
Working in close partnership with the project team, Advisory Board members provide ongoing guidance on program design, implementation, and outcomes. Their input helps shape key decisions, supports continuous improvement, and ensures alignment with the broader goals of advancing sustainability in engineering education.
In addition to their advisory role, board members contribute to the success of the program by supporting the recruitment of diverse faculty teams and mentors, participating in the review and selection of mini-grant proposals, and engaging in program activities such as Community of Practice sessions and public dissemination events. Through these efforts, they help elevate innovative approaches, share lessons learned, and expand the program’s reach.
Through their leadership, the Advisory Board advances the mission of ASEE’s EOP-MGP by equipping engineers with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to protect the planet and sustain life, while expanding the reach and long-term impact of sustainability-focused engineering education.
Learn more about our Advisory Board members below!
Jacqueline El-Sayed Ph.D.
CEO, Intentional Design Group, LLC
Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Intentional Design Group LLC and Intentional Design Institute 501c3. She is a builder with leadership experience across industry, education, and government. She recently served as CEO for SAE International (SAE). Her previous role was CEO for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She joined ASEE as Chief Academic Officer, driving growth and alignment across all professional services & leading new business innovation. Before this, she served as Chief Academic Officer & Vice President for Academic Affairs at Marygrove College. She began her career as an engineer for General Motors Truck Group and has been nationally recognized as an ACE Fellow, NLA Fellow, ASEE Fellow & Hall of Famer, Truck Safety Commissioner, and as PI/co-PI for multiple grants totaling $60m+. She is a Professor Emerita of Mechanical Engineering and served on the faculty at Kettering University for 18 years.
Abdulmalik Ismail
Ph.D. Candidate, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama
Abdulmalik is a graduate student in the department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at The University of Alabama (UA). He has worked as a civil/structural engineer in both consulting and construction for over 3 years. He last worked as an assistant structural engineer in the African engineering headquarters of American Tower Corporation (ATC) Nigeria. In this position he provided sustainable and cost-effective telco tower model/solutions for ATC Africa. Abdulmalik is a student member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Ceramic Society (ACerS), RILEM, and American Concrete Institute (ACI). He currently serves as a network member in Engineering for One Planet (EOP) and as Senator UA National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He participated as entrepreneur/co-entrepreneur lead in National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps (NSF I-Corps) regional and national respectively. His research spreads across decarbonization of construction material, and operational carbon reduction in buildings through thermal energy storage. He has penchant for sustainable lifecycle engineering practices and a determination to make sustainability a habit for all engineers.
Aisha Lawrey
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portfolio Lead, Engineering Executive and Professional Education, Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering
Aisha Lawrey is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portfolio Lead, Engineering Executive and Professional Education at Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering.
She is a transformational executive leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing equity, inclusion, and workforce development across education, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. She has held senior leadership roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), where she designed and scaled programs that opened doors for thousands of underrepresented students and professionals in STEM.
At AWS, Aisha led global education programs and architected enterprise-wide inclusion and belonging strategies, evolving Business Resource Groups into cross-functional accelerators and launching community integration initiatives to strengthen site cultures and employee connection. She has secured multi-million-dollar funding for STEM pathways, advised senior executives on cultural strategy, and mentored countless students, early-career professionals, and emerging leaders.
A nationally recognized advocate for diversity in STEM, Aisha was selected as an AAAS IF/THEN She Can STEM Ambassador, where a life-sized 3D printed statue of her was featured in #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit, the largest collection of women statues ever assembled. She also serves as a board member, grant reviewer, and speaker, consistently championing inclusion and representation.
Aisha obtained a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Passionate about mentorship, Aisha continues to “lift as she climbs,” helping to shape future generations of STEM leaders while inspiring young women and underrepresented communities to see themselves in fields where they have been historically excluded.
Nelson A. Granda Marulanda, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Applied Engineering Technology Director, STRONG Lab, North Carolina A&T State University
Dr. Nelson Granda Marulanda is an Assistant Professor in the Applied Engineering Technology department at North Carolina A&T State University, where he also serves as the Capstone Coordinator. As the Director of the STRONG Lab (Sustainable Technology, Research and Operations for the Next Generation), he is dedicated to transforming engineering education into a vehicle for a circular economy.
His research and pedagogical expertise focus on Sustainable Development through the lens of Systems Thinking and the Triple Bottom Line. Dr. Granda is particularly focused on integrating industrial ecology and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into additive manufacturing curricula. He is a strong advocate for the belief that institutionalizing sustainability within engineering programs is the fundamental key to solving global environmental challenges.
Prior to joining academia, Dr. Granda gained extensive professional experience in the Eolic (Wind) and Aerospace sectors, providing him with a unique perspective on the industrial application of sustainable practices.
He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Having participated in the EOP-MGP as an awardee and contributor, he is now honored to serve as an advisory board member to help scale the initiative’s impact across higher education.
Michelle Marincel Payne, Ph.D
Roland E. Hutchins Endowed Chair and Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Dr. Michelle K. Marincel Payne is Roland E. Hutchins Endowed Chair and an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Michelle infuses story-driven learning into her courses and recently launched a podcast, Story@Rose, to help students develop their STEM identities. Michelle is co-leading efforts to integrate open-ended problems and teach teaming initiatives including curating psychological safety and conflict-navigation within the affective domain throughout the civil and environmental engineering curricula. Michelle leads undergraduate research to remove stormwater pollutants with engineered treatment wetlands and co-leads an Undergraduate Research Community and research on mentoring to support undergraduate researchers. In addition, with an interest in appropriate technology, Michelle developed appropriate technology course modules with strong emphasis on social sustainability. She is a current ELATES Fellow, and has been honored as a KEEN Fellow, NSF ASCEND Fellow, Indiana Academy of Science Fellow, and ASCE ExCEEd graduate. Michelle completed her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her M.S. in environmental engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and her B.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
David V.P. Sanchez, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, University of Pittsburgh
David V.P. Sanchez is an Associate Professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department and the Associate Director for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh. He was appointed a Provost Faculty Fellow in 2025. He serves on the ASEE-Engineering for One Planet Advisory Board, the Board for the Environmental Engineering Division, and as Past-Chair for the North Central section. He is currently an National STEM Teaching Fellow
At Pitt, he serves as the Program Director for the Master’s in Sustainable Engineering, the Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability, and the John C. Mascaro Faculty Fellows. He is the faculty co-lead for the University Honors College Happiness and Human Flourishing Scholar Community.
His research lab, Sustainable Design Labs, focuses on fusing analytical chemistry, sustainability design principles and data analytics to address Water and Sustainability grand challenges. Current thrusts focus on metal-organic frameworks to detect and remediation PFAS-metal mixtures.
Focused on co-creating long term partnerships that synergize community vision with Pitt’s core competencies of research and education, Sanchez has built up Constellation Energy Inventor labs for K-12 students, re-created the Mascaro Center’s Teach the Teacher sustainability program for science educators in the region, and has worked for 5 years in Appalachia in PA (Fayette County).
As a teacher he designed and created the Sustainability capstone course which has annually partnered with community stakeholders to address sustainability challenges at all scales. Past projects have included evaluating composting stations in Wilkinsburg, studying infrastructure resilience in Homewood, enabling community solar in PA, improving energy efficiency in McCandless Township, and improving water quality in our rivers. He teaches core Sustainability courses, labs in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, electives in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, the First-Year Engineering program, and International Study Abroad programs.