Emma Clopton's Site

I believe I was put on this earth to…

There is no one thing that can define why I feel I was put on this earth. I feel as though I was put on this earth to experience life abundantly & presently and make an impact on those around me and hopefully do so on larger scales. My unique talents, interests, and passions have carried me and will continue to serve as a compass for me throughout my life. 

My purpose is to…

Bring music into the lives of others around me

Help others heal (I have been told that I embody a maternal figure and have always been the person to offer a helping hand and advice). 

Heal the earth, even if it is on a smaller scale. 

I believe (my core values)…

Inspired by my 5th grade teacher:

• “How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything”: our approach, attitude, and habits in one aspect of life often mirror how we handle everything else. Even the smallest tasks can impact our larger goals
• “If Not Me, Then Who?” – Travis Manion: be the bigger person in situations. Be a leader whenever you can.

The one thing I must do before I die is…

• Continue to travel as much as possible while meeting incredible people along the way

My advocates and supporters all believe that I…

• …am capable, diligent, passionate, and strong-minded when it comes to my interests. 
• …am an empath and maternal-like figure 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is…

• hatred. There is so much hate and tension in this present world. I strive to be a beacon of light and positivity to help release these tensions. 

I want to work in order to…

• …be a spokesperson and healer of the disconnect between humanity and the earth. I want to bring recognition and encourage companies and consumers to take sustainable steps towards a greener future.
• … to learn as much as I can and educate others to improve their well-being. 
• … to build a strong foundation for my family and never have my children worry about finding a way to afford their interests. 

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

I always…

• try to wake up with a grateful mindset
• try to say yes as much as possible to unique opportunities 

I never…

forget to say I love you, even after an argument. 

My work style is…

Staying structured and organized with my work by breaking up tasks and creating schedules to maintain strong time management. 

Also, just giving everything my best effort.

I try to treat people…

with kindness, patience, and understanding 

I approach problems by…

• trying to understand all of the facts
• Keeping an open line of communication 
• problem solving & considering the gray area. 

Victories are time to…

celebrate with my supportive network

savor the moment and leverage the feeling to create more victories. 

If someone attacks my point of view, I…

am open to engage in conversation and questions.

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will…

try to respectfully hold conversation if deemed necessary. If conversation could be harmful and raise tensions, I will silently process the situation myself. 

 

Your Credibility – Your Whats 

You have spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Impact Fellowships, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How. You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

What Have I Done	List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned
Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships	Environmental Studies (B.A.) Minors: Entrepreneurship and Health, Medicine, and Society
Research Experiences	Summer Environmental Fellow: May – August 2023 Southside Permaculture Park
Inventions and Innovations	homemade lip scrub business (12 years old) Pose: posture support for sedentary workers — Entrepreneurship class
(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures	Southside Permaculture Park
Publications (Formal and Informal)	Urban Patch To Oasis Fresh Produce Fridge Opens For Campus Community
Formal Presentations (at Lehigh and Beyond)	CAS Expo  Mountaintop Summer Research Expo Intro To Public Health Case Study Presentation CINQ presentations
Awards and  External Recognition	Teufel Family Vocal Arts Scholar  Bear Sebastian Vocal Scholar  Environmental Fellowship Grant President of High School Choir  President of French Honors Society  Music Honor Society English Honor Society  National Honor Society

Articulating and learning from IF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

Teamwork Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Consistent communication: being a part of a student-led team, it is vital to constantly communicate with your peers to ensure “operation” of the project is running smoothly. For the SSPP, a lot of the work we needed to do both on and off-site required persistent communication. It helped us to all better learn about the project, as well as naturally structured our individual roles.
Conflict Resolution Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Our biggest conflict was the misunderstanding between ourselves and our faculty advisors this Fall. They felt as though we were not making much headway in the project, looking for mostly visual changes on-site. With that, we sent over a thorough document of all of the work we had done both on and off-site as well as work that was in progress. This was rather frustrating for us at first because so much of the work we focused on was restructuring the nature of our project and increasing our community relations. We did, however, satisfy the visual demands with lots of on-site work and maintenance throughout the year.
Leadership Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Throughout the duration of the project, I felt as though I quickly fell into the leadership role of handling and establishing on-site park projects. Throughout the year, I spent a lot of time studying permaculture through different literary resources and learning from trial & error on-site. My strong-suit was knowing how to properly take care of the plants and the physical landscape. I would tell others what to do and what projects we could take on to improve the overall health of our park. With that, I was also responsible for the finances of the project, managing our budget and figuring out appropriate amounts we could delegate to different projects across the park. With all of this, I learned communication (especially when facing challenges/misunderstandings), how to direct & teach others, patience, time management, and financial responsibility.
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)	Our project is the definition of chaos and uncertainty. Working with an urban environment, there are CONSTANTLY new things to deal with/ maintain. The park presented us with barriers, whether it be the soil health, broken/lost tools, smokey air, seeds not growing, our greenhouse failing, ever-changing weather patterns, or a random plant deciding to aggressively take over a certain spot. We constantly had to adjust our approach to maintaining the space. This really pushed our team to communicate a lot about our plans and be ready to always have a back up plan/ come up with ways to keep ourselves busy when something stands in our way (especially true when it was smokey out).
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)	A personally challenging experience has been overcoming my fear of failing. I hate making mistakes and the SSPP project, especially in the beginning, had invited me to truly challenge that part of me. I made lots of mistakes, not knowing how to properly care for an entire landscape and dozens of different plant species. Through my mistakes, I have improved my attention to detail and organization skills. I have also learned that it is truly okay to make mistakes because eventually you will find your flow and make it right.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)	The SSPP project is rooted in honoring and immersing yourself in other cultures. Permaculture in itself utilizes Indigenous knowledge to create sustainable systems. Working within Southside Bethlehem has encouraged us to learn about the diverse community, considering the large latino population. From this, we planted different crops that are used in latin cuisine (ex: spicy peppers) for Southside residents to use, as well as have different plaques and posts translated both on-site and virtually.
An experience that helped you connect your IF work to your discipline / major.	My IF work is highly relevant to my major. As an Environmental Studies major, being able to work on a project that focused on taking care of the local environment, while also considering local policy, urban planning, etc. truly touched upon every aspect of my studies and what I’ve learned thus far.
A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you could speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.	After working on the project over the summer at Mountaintop, my confidence in being able to speak about the project and our impact transformed from when I first presented the project in the spring. Over the summer, I felt as though I truly got my hands dirty and got to dedicate my full self to bettering the local community. I was able to present on my own with confidence at the CAS expo, as well as speak with local community members casually and informatively with much more confidence and passion. Seeing others interested in the progression of this space has been a huge boost for me and my motivation throughout this program.
A moment where you felt like you were making the future – like you were creating something that had never before existed and would (or could) influence your future and that of others.	A recent moment where I felt as if I were making the future was when I took over the production of the park’s archway. Although we have not yet completed the construction and do not have a set date for installation, the handling of picking the design, managing finances, scheduling meeting times, and constructing the physical archway has made me beyond excited for the future aesthetic of the SSPP. This is a hefty process, but I can truly imagine the soon-to-be beautiful entryway at the park.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized, interdependent world.	The fuel to my fire is when I receive positive feedback from the people I am directly trying to impact. Going to community meetings/ hearing from students that they are so excited for the state of the park and project as a whole made me feel like I was truly doing something beneficial. Also, when we brought plentiful harvests to the Bethlehem Farmers’ Market, Rock & Grow Ice House event, and HWC fridge, we received direct positive feedback and sincere gratitude for our efforts. This has made me so incredibly happy and proud of our project and our growth over the year.

Draw Your Life

What’s Your True North?

Create the story of your life. How do you want to contribute to the world through your talents, passions, and unique strengths? Think about your values, the roles you play, what gives you a sense of purpose, and ultimately, what you have to offer by being your best, authentic self. Draw a picture of your life as you envision it. Be remarkable. Be yourself.

Draw Your Life Photo

Students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, and Julie Wright

Below is a link to the Southside Permaculture Park’s conceptual framework presentation with an updated visual on slide deck #4.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12PpiSbNSkrDF3GAymxGw653CdBuVi8NAJ3Nzlg-jQp8/edit?usp=sharing

 

Students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, and Julie Wright 

Fall Midterm Presentation Reflection — Our Takeaways

• Overall, we feel as though the presentation went fairly well. We were much more confident in our work and had a lot to offer content wise.
• Our questions were much more in-depth than prior presentations. In past presentations, a lot of the questions were asking for clarification of what the permaculture philosophy truly is and about growing food, but this time we had a lot more in depth questions asking how we will be able to truly immerse ourselves into the community and make an impact. 
• Given that our overarching philosophy may now be better understood, we can spend more time to quickly lay down our concrete accomplishments and vision for how this project is scalable and can carry into the future. Breaking our project down into actionable tasks we have accomplished helps better communicate our progress.
• We did receive repetitive questions asking how we can expand our project land space wise, which we always remind people that we are dealing with the current challenges of even gaining permission to have non-Lehigh members use the space. Overall, it feels like the referees and students seem to have a better grasp of the project as we have made significant strides in solidifying our project goals. 
• Now that we have a much stronger understanding of community engagement and a stronger presence in the community, if we allow for community member access we can explore more specific ways that we can tailor this project to community needs beyond open-access greenspace. Looking further into different demographics rather than just the very large-scale environmental health benefits is a good next step for this project. 
• For the next presentation, we definitely need to reduce the amount of content we have, since we unfortunately blew through time and were unable to cover several important points.

Students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, & Julie Wright 

What is the larger dream / goal behind your venture?

The goal of the South Side Permaculture Park is to bring a regenerative food-yielding and educational greenspace to the Bethlehem community. Unlike so many cherished greenspaces found in the Southside, which are located predominantly along the Greenway Beltline, we are nestled within the neighborhood, establishing a beautiful natural environment amongst urban infrastructure. The larger dream is to find a way to successfully carry out urban permaculture in a way that truly emphasizes all aspects of permaculture, especially focusing on its philosophy for community engagement, as opposed to limiting its applications to how we grow in our space. Our project can eventually serve as a model for using gardening and the growth of plants to also grow communities.

With the help of a visual, describe a coalition you will build to address the larger problem you are trying to address.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BVJxLWc1-Bd2nhfaIjwM1ykev_zZv8hq8lC_wTvyTNs/edit?usp=sharing 

What (kinds of) organizations will you bring together? How might the coalition be transformative for the issue? How you might provide leadership and coordination for the coalition.

The Southside Permaculture Park could bring together several kinds of organizations including:

• Academia 
• Non-profit organizations
• Foundations 
• K-12 Schools 
• Social Ventures 
• Government 

The Permaculture Park’s coalition would be transformative for the southside Bethlehem community. The coalition encompasses many local organizations, ventures and academic institutions that can all work together to bring more greenspaces to the urban ecosystem. Through academia, we can inform and educate the community about permaculture and the importance of greenspace for community and environmental health. Working with other institutions such as Lafayette, who has an impressive agriculture program, would help us strengthen our work at the park. The permaculture park team can also interact with K-12 students from the Bethlehem Area School District through educational workshops, teaching youth about caring for the planet and the importance of adopting sustainable habits. 

By including non-profit organizations, we can work with the local community and share resources, knowledge, and partnerships. For example, partnering with non-profits such as the Rodale Institute, which is a research institute for regenerative organic agriculture and how soil health directly affects human health. Working alongside Rodale would allow us to scale up our work at the SSPP, giving us stronger insights on how to grow food, restore soil health within an urban environment, and help us to better prove the intersection of environmental and community health. Also, working alongside organizations such as the Permaculture Research Institute would allow us to truly understand how we can best utilize the permaculture philosophy in a way that would be truly impactful on the southside community. Additionally, it is also important to include social ventures from within the valley to support their initiatives and create impact on a local level. Social ventures such as the Bethlehem Farmers’ Market allows us to become a known project within the community and give us an outlet to share permaculture philosophy, as well as our harvests. 

Working with foundations such as the Kellyn Foundation would be a transformative opportunity for the permaculture park and for the community at large. Kellyn has a healthy neighborhood immersion strategy which encompasses their four main initiatives: Kellyn Schools, Kellyn Kitchens, Kellyn Food Access, and Kellyn Lifestyle Medicine. This program gives community members access to nourishing produce, education, and encouragement for healthy habits. Their values strongly align with our mission of bringing a greenspace to the southside that emphasizes the importance of community health. 

Lastly, working with government organizations, whether it is with the City of Bethlehem or on a larger scale such as the PA Dept. of Agriculture would involve the government department supporting and promoting permaculture principles through education, research, policy development, and the demonstration of sustainable agricultural practices at the permaculture park.

 Creating a transformative permaculture park and leading a coalition for this initiative involves a holistic approach that integrates environmental, social, and economic aspects. To make the coalition transformative, our team can provide leadership and coordination by defining a clear mission, building relationships, setting clear goals/objectives, developing a shared plan, and creating steady streams of communication.

Students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, and Julie Wright

Describe at least 5 partnerships with individuals and/or organizations that have been formed, or could be formed, to advance your venture

Community Action Development Bethlehem:

1. What constituted the partnership?

Another professor connected us with CADB and we started attending their Public + Green Space Committee meetings as well as a series of community town halls they held in the Spring. 

2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?

Our partnership with CADB helped connect us with community members who could provide insight on community needs, and we were able to demonstrate Lehigh’s willingness to participate in community projects and be a listening ear to the community. 

3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

 

This is a symbiotic relationship but we could offer more to CADB as they have provided us with several resources and opportunities. However, we do know that they value our presence on behalf of the Lehigh community. 

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

What would make this partnership more equitable is being able to offer more concrete action items to CADB. While one of our fellows interns for them, the permaculture park itself mostly provides community support rather than specific events or initiatives. 

Natural Builders’ Guild

1. What constituted the partnership?

 

The 2022 team connected with Mark Southard from Artisanal Structures to assist with their toolshed project. Mark also is involved in the Natural Builders’ Guild, which is a volunteer group that helps to build structures for the local community out of natural materials. 

 

2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?

 

The NBG helped us to build our toolshed and is currently helping us with our archway and signage. In exchange, we provide promo for the NBG and genuine projects for them to take part in.  

 

3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

 

This is a symbiotic relationship, however, we could provide more for the NBG promotion wise. They do sincerely appreciate the work we provide for them, our project mission, and to be able to take part in a project that benefits a larger community. 

 

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

 

What would help to make this partnership more equitable is be able to help the NBG more often potentially on other projects that are for the community. Ever since COVID, they have had a rough time keeping the organization together and finding projects to do. Also, we could direct them to contacts we are aware of that are in need of assistance from an organization like the NBG.

Lehigh Health and Wellness Center

1. What constituted the partnership?

Two students from Sophomore pLUnge developed a project that helps students gain free access to locally grown produce. This is meant to combat the issue of limited healthy foods on campus. They reached out asking if we would be willing to provide food for the new fridge in the HWC

2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?

The partnership helps us by giving us an outlet to give away our produce to the Lehigh community. We help them by providing the resources they need for students on a bi-weekly basis

3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because they assist us in getting our produce out, and help us achieve our goal of providing nourishing food for the local community.

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

For them to provide assistance to our project by giving us more promo to get more students to know about our work.  They could also support our project by providing resources to get seeds/plants to grow more food for the fridge. On our end, we could provide more produce for the HWC fridge, however we are fairly limited at this time. 

 

Community Growers

1. What constituted the partnership?

Community Growers is also a student organization at Lehigh invested in environmental initiatives at Lehigh, who we work with to table at the Bethlehem Farmers’ Market and to coordinate student events.

2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?

• Community Growers helps us because they have large numbers and pull from Lehigh Students. Hosting events in conjunction with CG allows us to have productive work days with lots of students that helps us to get work done that otherwise would have taken much longer. 
• We help CG because we provide a space for students interested in growing/planting food that they otherwise would not have.

 

3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

This is a symbiotic relationship because we are able to help provide Community Growers with activities and learning opportunities, and connect them to other community-based organizations, and they are able to offer us physical support and student interest, helping to build our credibility. 

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

We could make this partnership more equitable by offering opportunities for feedback so that we can better understand the needs of Community Growers and how their members feel about the events we do with them, rather than just planning them with the executive board of their club. 

Bethlehem Farmers’ Market

1. What constituted the partnership?

Previous teams of the permaculture park began the partnership with Bethlehem Farmers’ Market and regularly tabled at the market with the goal of educating about permaculture ethics and principles and community building.  Our team has continued to do so this past summer and into the fall.  

2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?

This partner helped us by providing us with a space to promote our project and talk with Bethlehem residents. 

3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

This is less of a symbiotic relationship as they are providing us with the physical space to promote our project and we are just using it, but we could potentially draw more people to the Farmers’ Market as we do promote it beforehand when we have a presence. 

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

What would help to strengthen this partnership is to potentially ask the staff or Farmers’ Market attendees about what they think of our presence so that we can further tailor it to the interests of the market and its attendees, so that we are contributing more to the overall scheme of the market and not just taking up space. 

 

Kind Of Organizations Presentation — Southside Permaculture Park Response

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wyvd3-e_3hEapVh1JNxURmf45bpEJICI988hLarwRxo/edit?usp=sharing

Emma Clopton 

Oct 1st, 2023 

Part 1: 

Fast forward to August 2021. Ugochi has found herself in a difficult situation, for it has come to light that three of the contractors that manufacture Spikey’s shoes in Cambodia employ children under the age of 12 at their facilities. One contractor restricts employment to 20 hours a week and, through their “studyto-work program,” mandates that children attend an on-campus school before they are allowed to work and support their families. The other two contractors expect the children to work upwards of 60 hours a week and provide no educational benefits. Spikey executives insist that the contractors are in compliance with Cambodian law and their PR staff are working aggressively to contain the fallout from the story. They have assured Ugochi that they remain steadfast supporters of SYE-T and might even increase the level of sponsorship with some strings attached. Ugochi is concerned not just about the labor practices employed by Spikey and their contractors but also how SYE-T is striving to address a major challenge in the U.S. while being complicit in perpetuating a similar problem abroad. She is wondering whether she should continue accepting sponsorship from Spikey or not. If you were Ugochi, what would you do?

Step 1: Determine the facts of the situation: 

• Spikey’s manufacturing hub in Cambodia hires children under the age of 12 years old 
• Ugochi launched SYE-T as a response to the challenges of poor education and systemic racism. 
• SYE-T was designed to address the vulnerability of young people who are caught in a cycle of poverty and the school-to-prison pipeline. 
• SYE-T’s mission of supporting youth does not align with Spikey’s labor practices

• Since Spikey has funded the project, it has grown very fast 
• Spikey also sees this sponsorship as an opportunity for major financial gain
• Of the manufacturing companies: one of the practices what appears to be ethical labor practices, while the other two practice much more harsh, and questionable labor practices

Ethical Issue: SYE-T’s leading cause (keep kids out of poverty, crime, illegal situations,etc.) that established the enterprise is being sponsored by a company (Spikey) who is potentially violating the cause. 

Step 2 & 3: Define the Stakeholders & Assess Their Motivations

Spikey 

• Profitability
• Positive PR
• Potential recruitment sponsorship 

Ugochi

• Is passionate about her enterprise and does not want to come off as being hypocritical.

SYE-T

• Improving the crime rate and reducing the school-prison-pipeline
• Connecting at risk youth with valuable community relationships 

Youth in SYE-T

• Connect with a community of people in similar positions. 
• Not falling into the school-to-prison pipeline 

Local non-profits, local education system, local criminal enforcement agencies, etc. 

•  Improved outcomes of local community members
• Better educated and informed youth
• Gaining awareness of the need for support of struggling communities and the impact it has on the youth

Youth of Cambodia

• Money 
• School 
• Relationship with Manufacturer
• Demand for their labor 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions

1. End partnership with Spikey
   1. Ethical principle: Duty-based thinking
      1. Pros: Ending the partnership with Spikey publicly would save face for Ugochi and SYE-T as a whole. This also might reel in interest from other businesses who are more aligned with SYE-T’s mission.
      2. Cons: Lose a lot of support and money. Companies might not reach out to support SYE-T, causing the enterprise to lose traction and might not be able to scale up. 
2. Negotiate a deal with Spikey in which they ensure ethical practices are being performed at all manufacturing sites, otherwise, the sponsorship will end. 
   1.  Ethical Principle: Utilitarian 
      1. Pros: There will be a degree in exploiting children at least for this arrangement, Spikey would change their manufacturing
      2. Cons: The Spikey partnership will most likely be damaged and there is a large chance they say no to the negotiations. There is a good chance your ability to leverage an operational change in a company of this size is unlikely.
3. Search for new partners in lieu of failed negotiation with Spikey; or determine a way to improve the pool of capital that SYE-T has access to without a formal sponsorship (i.e., angel investors, wealthy athletes)
   1. Ethical Principle – Duty based
      1. Pros:
         1. Helps to maintain the program’s ethical and moral background and inherent mission to improve the youth, not provide a giant soccer event
         2. Could open doors to improved sources of funding/sponsorship access
      2. Cons:
         1. If you find a new partner, you risk losing the power and scalability of spikey
         2. Other sponsors may not be able to provide the level of exposure and awareness Spikey does

Step 5: Seek additional assistance

1. In the grassroots diplomacy case, we faced a similar situation in which we had a trade-off of kids benefiting/losing. 
2. Fact Check Spikey’s claims on the legality of their sweat-shop practices.
3. Research other potential partners of this project – See if there is anyone else willing to engage in ethical business practices. 
4. Example: Nike sweatshops 
   1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/17/your-favorite-nikes-might-be-made-forced-labor-heres-why/ 

Step 6: Select the best course of action 

Negotiate a deal with Spikey in which they ensure ethical practices are being performed at all manufacturing sites, otherwise, the sponsorship will end. 

1. Leverage the partnership with Spikey not to end child labor but to reenact the values that the partnership was built on. Defocus competition and refocus skill building and support for the youth

Step 7: What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

By negotiating a deal with Spikey in which they must follow ethical practices at all manufacturing locations can bring up several issues. For one, Spikey could simply refuse any negotiations and exterminate their sponsorship for SYE-T. This is a major issue since a majority of SYE-T’s funding is derived from Spikey’s support. Second, being such a small organization, it is probably going to be exceedingly difficult, if not near impossible to make change within the supply chain practices of Spikey. This could only amplify tensions between stakeholders and leave devastating implications for SYE-T’s program. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Part 2: Ugochi has a meeting with the head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Spikey. Mr. Mikey evades all questions about the Cambodia situation and insists that there is nothing to worry about. Based on his conversations with senior management, he proposes that the focus of the competition should not be on vulnerable youth. After all, last year there were a few confirmed incidents of youth smoking marijuana before playing soccer, which creates bad optics for Spikey. Also, Spikey wants the competition to only include men over the age of 18 to make it more competitive. Mr. Mikey makes an off-hand comment that there isn’t much interest in women playing soccer anyway. When Ugochi objects to the idea of excluding women, he suggests that women could be involved as cheerleaders. There is a heated argument that ends in Mr. Mikey threatening to stop sponsoring the event. Ugochi realizes that she stands to lose 80% of her funding if Spikey backs out of their sponsorship deal. With only 20% of her previous funding, she will have to scale down operations significantly and greatly restrict the number of participants, which would be devastating to thousands of youth, their families, and their volunteer coaches. Mr. Mikey asks Ugochi to think about it and come back in a week for a meeting at a venue of her choice. If you were Ugochi, what would you do?

 

Step 1: Determine the facts of the situation 

• The CSR officer wants to change the focus of the event away from at risk youth to adult males (allegedly because there were children caught smoking marijuana
• CSR officer discounts the cambodian dilemmas
• The CSR officer discounts the participation of women and makes a snarky comment that they can cheerlead
• Ugochi engages in a heated argument with the CSR officer
• The CSR officer threatens pulling spikey’s sponsorship; 80% of the programs funding
• This decrease would result in a major downscale of the program

Ethical issue: Mr. Mikey is willing to back out of the sponsorship unless Ugochi makes the competition to feature men ages 18+, completely removing women from the picture.  

Step 2 & 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

• Ugochi 
  • Personal: morals, including all people
  • Professional: combatting school-to-prison pipeline & systemic racism, have a successful and impactful venture, defining the true mission of the project. 
• Mr. Mikey 
  • Personal: Profit, job stability 
  • Professional: corporate power, transition SYT-E tournament to be more competitive. 
• Spikey 
  • Personal: NA
  • Professional: Good PR, Saving Face, recruitment connections 
• 18+ individuals (males) Spikey was looking to move towards.
  • Personal: Good place to spend time, good for skill development, spiky swag, meeting connections 
  • Professional: Good for potential career moves into professional leagues

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

1. End partnership with Spikey and expose company and Mr. Mikey
   1. Accountability 
      1. Pros: The values and mission of the ventures will be upheld and the venture will return to its original smaller-size soccer league. Save face for SYT-E, could draw in PR and interest from other companies to fund program. 
      2. Cons: Losing $6 million in funding and the negative PR of losing a spikey contract.
2. Work alongside Mr. Mikey to keep funding for SYT-E
   1. Compromise and collaboration
      1. Pros: The partnership will continue and funding will be kept
      2. Cons: There will most likely by a tradeoff or negative clause in the re-negotiated agreement, potentially would remove women from program
3. Come up with a new solution that will keep the program centered around youth but makes the competition more entertaining (keep women in the program). 
   1. Pros: This will increase PR for both Spikey & the non-profit 
   2. Cons: Mr. Mikey would most likely not budge/ not be willing to negotiate outside of his demands

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/business-culture/women-s-soccer-outpacing-every-other-sport-america-here-s-n1306856 

You can prove to Mr. Mikey that women’s soccer is becoming exceedingly more popular than male soccer across the globe. This would encourage him to potentially stray away from his idea of having a male-centric focus. 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

We found the best course of action to be option 2. The goal of this project is to reduce crime rates by involving youth in confidence-building and team-growing activities, Spikey is helping them achieve the goal with its copious amounts of funding and ultimately that is not the kind of funding you can get from an already financially struggling community. While there is not much that can be done to sever ties with Spikey due to their funding, however, the recent bad optics can be used to leverage the relationship and encourage Mr. Mikey to be much more inclusive of all youth. Additionally, if Ugochi is able to confidently back herself with data supporting the increasing interest in women’s soccer, Mr. Mikey may be swayed to negotiate a deal and keep women involved and supported. 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution

1. Meet with Mr. Mikey 
2. Present Mr. Mikey with the upcoming data of women’s soccer being in much higher demand than ever before, exceeding men’s soccer. 
3. See if there are major female stakeholders for Spikey, if there are any on the board, and ask for their support to keep women equally involved with the program. 
4. Gain media attention. Post on social media, have youth in the program post on social media, gain a following, reach out to news companies for a highlight reel talking about the mission of SYE-T. 
5. Hold your ground: come up with must-haves for when negotiating with Mr. Mikey, such as having women involved is a must if they want to maintain this partnership. 
6. Look into other funding opportunities: having pretty much all of your eggs in one basket is really difficult for the success and survival of the company. Find other organizations that would sponsor SYE-T to diversify the funding and provide more support in case future moral disagreements arise.

Current students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, and Julie Wright

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation 

1. We have identified three different means of buying shirts 
2. We are the Executive Director of Sustainable Lehigh 2030, which is a program aimed at transforming Lehigh U’s low-carbon circular economy. 
3. Triple bottom line sustainability is a core value 
4. Under our umbrella, we have ten different student groups focused on effecting sustainable behavior change amongst all campus stakeholders. 
5. We have a $5,000 grant from a diehard alumnus to purchase t-shirts to support the various programs
6. A follow-up gift is an option if the pilot phase is successful 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders 

1. Diehard alumnus 
2. Lehigh U 
3. Lehigh alumni network 
4. Students involved in Sustainable Lehigh 2030
5. Stakeholders of respective projects 
6. Campus community 
7. T-shirt company

Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders

1. Diehard alumnus
   1. To support the sustainable Lehigh 2030 program and student projects to better the campus community 
2. Lehigh U 
   1. Supporting a sustainability program that will improve the campus’s health and appearance. 
3. Lehigh alumni network
   1. Alums always look to support big initiatives to better the university and student life. 
4. Students involved in Sustainable Lehigh 2030
   1. Students who are actively involved in the program want it to be successful and have the proper funding to have this achieve it’s long-term goals. 
5. Campus community 
   1. Students, faculty, and staff are always interested in investments that will better the community, academics, and life at Lehigh. 
6. T-Shirt Company
   1. The t-shirt company is a secondary stakeholder. They want to provide good service and a good quality product to promote themselves and the projects they support.

Step 4: Formulate three alternative solutions 

1. Seek alternative funds for t-shirts in order to ensure enough sustainable shirts can be secured for the program
2. Try to exchange a good or service in return for the t-shirt or try to negotiate a better price 
3. Look into another product such as water bottles or stickers 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance as appropriate 

1. Talk to the Lehigh Valley company about their values and if there is a way we could form a lasting relationship and get a better price 
2. Seek out information on the fast fashion industry and if it aligns with the values of Sustainable Lehigh 2030 

Step 6: Select the best course of action 

Seek alternative funds for t-shirts in order to ensure enough sustainable shirts can be secured for the program. By finding more funding, this will help the sustainable program to invest in the local Lehigh Valley economy, reducing carbon footprint compared to if they were purchased elsewhere. Also, by investing in organic t-shirts, this means that the material sourced for the shirt was decided much more environmentally consciously.  

Step 7: What are the implications of your solution on the venture

1. May be hard to find adequate funding for the organic, local t-shirts
2. Could be too much or too little stock 
3. May disappoint the alumnus if the amount of products is not sufficient 
4. Asking for a lot of money for just t-shirts, may be more intriguing to have other types of merch that may be more memorable
5. Shirts will eventually end up in a landfill some day
6.  Shirts are easily forgotten about

Students: Cate Adams, Emma Clopton, Isabelle Spirk, and Julie Wright

PROMPT #1:

• Identify the three specific stakeholder groups most impacted by your project. For each one, go through the five elements of framework #2 and identify different answers for each group. In other words, if you’re telling your story to stakeholder group #1 (let’s say, middle school students), what is the context that would be most meaningful to that group? What is the catalyst most meaningful to that group? And so on.

Stakeholders: 

• Southside Bethlehem Community 
  • Environmental health has been a concern voiced by residents in Southside Bethlehem, and the Southside Permaculture Park is ready to serve the community by providing a greenspace and place to learn about ecosystem health, play, and relax. Our team understands that the relationship between Lehigh U and Southside Bethlehem is strained, though we envision that through extending our hands to the community and meeting community needs with our space, we can repair some of this relationship. However, similarly to many other greenspaces in Bethlehem, our land comes with its many challenges. For one, our park is on a slope, therefore we experience a lot of issues with urban runoff. Every day brings something new, whether it’s a piece of trash or shards of glass and broken pipe that is buried several inches into the ground. This has gravely impacted the health of our soil, causing us to really focus on composting and doing as much general maintenance as possible to keep this space clean and flourishing. Using permaculture as a design experimentally, we are figuring out how we can properly serve the community and serve as a model for other gardens. We have lots of work to do, but we are excited to see what will become of the space when it is finished. 
• Lehigh U students
  • With Lehigh U being planted in a crowded urban pocket, there is a need for greenspaces riddled throughout the South Bethlehem area. Cities face a phenomenon called “urban heat islanding” that leads to poor air quality and a myriad of long-term complications for community and environmental health.  Additionally, students often do not have an outlet to give back to the local community and local environment. The City of Bethlehem has been transitioning to become a much greener city, investing in community gardens, the Greenway Beltline, etc. So, how do we fit in? The Southside Permaculture Park is dedicated to strengthening ecosystem health and cultivating relationships to empower the Southside Bethlehem community and Lehigh students. Currently, we are working to build up the aesthetics of our space so that we truly have a community resource. This also means involving Lehigh students as part of building relationships with the community, so we are currently hosting work days with students and spreading the philosophy of permaculture and sustainability. We are working with organizations such as Community Growers and the Eco Reps program to build sustainable habits and conscientious mindsets within the student body, and use our park as a means for engaging students to live sustainably and connect with their environment. Our project will open students to a world of sustainability, environmental and community health, and understanding of the importance of giving back to your community. 
• Lehigh U administration 
  • Lehigh and Southside Bethlehem have had a strained relationship, though Lehigh University aims to be more ingrained into the community. This is mostly due to the gentrification and expansion of Lehigh’s campus, pushing the Bethlehem community away. Those who still are amongst the Bethlehem community now have a lot of mistrust in the university, as it has made them feel alienated and entirely unwelcome. However, through initiatives like the Strategic Plan, the CSO, and classes in community-based participatory research, Lehigh is making some effort to extend its hand to South Bethlehem. These plans are still not fully active yet, therefore the Southside Permaculture Park is facing barriers with allowing community members to use the space at its full capacity. By using the space we have and by extending our hands to other environmental and community projects, we are gauging the needs of the community and how the park plays a role in bridging the gap between the community and Southside Bethlehem. 

 

PROMPT #2:

• From the two story frameworks, CHOOSE ONE of them. Doesn’t matter which – choose the one that speaks you to more, or choose randomly. Once you’ve chosen one framework, ignore the other one for this prompt.
• As a team, write the story of your project (as it exists today), using the five story elements in the order in which they are given, #1 through #5. Each element’s section should consist of at least 2-3 carefully constructed sentences. 
• The result should be a coherent, beginning-middle-end story about your project which someone of reasonable intelligence who is unfamiliar with your project can follow and understand, and more importantly, be inspired by. The blog entry should be written as a text-based story, not a bulleted list. You should write it as a first-person plural story – in other words, the character is “we,” the project team.
• Talk it through as a team. Does it make sense? Does it say everything you want and need it to say? If this were the essential structure of your Fall presentations (stretched out to 7 minutes), would it be successful and would the referees know what you were talking about and why? 

Framework #2: 

1.Context – bring us into the world. Defines what is happening and what needs to happen.

2.Catalyst – what changes? What is changing?

3.Complication – what is the obstacle to change?

4.Change – what is the transformation that occurs?

5.Consequence – what is the resolution and where are we now?

 

There is an increasing call to action for investing in urban greenspaces. Urban areas are major polluters, hurting both people and the planet. Cities face a phenomenon called “urban heat islanding” that leads to poor air quality and a myriad of long-term complications for community and environmental health. The City of Bethlehem has been transitioning to become a much greener city, investing in community gardens, the Greenway Beltline, etc. This has been and will continue to be transformative for the Bethlehem community. So, how do we fit in? 

 

The Southside Permaculture Park is a ¼ acre plot of land that is a food-yielding greenspace and serves to cultivate relationships within the South Bethlehem community. We are nestled within the residential regions of the Southside, and serve as a sustainable oasis within an urban pocket. At the park, we implement the novel “permaculture philosophy” which is a holistic design philosophy that mimics natural relationships within the environment and leverages Indigenous knowledge to create self-regulating systems. The park is a space for the community to learn, grow, play, and indulge from. 

 

We are playing a part in the role of improving the health of the Southside. Our project emphasizes the importance of greenspace for community health. You are not able to obtain a healthy community if you do not have a healthy surrounding environment. At the park, our work focuses on replenishing the soil health of our small land, planting native perennials that will feed humans and the pollinators, and creating a beautiful space that also contributes to bettering the health of Bethlehem’s air.

 

None of this work comes without barriers. Being in an urban hub comes with its many challenges. For one, our park is on a slope, therefore we experience a lot of issues with urban runoff. Every day brings something new, whether it’s a piece of trash or shards of glass and broken pipe that is buried several inches into the ground. This has gravely impacted the health of our soil, causing us to really focus on composting and doing as much general maintenance as possible to keep this space clean and flourishing. Additionally, being a Lehigh U operated project, we are unable to maximize our full potential to help the Bethlehem community. This is majorly due to the idea that any non-affiliated person that steps on to Lehigh property is considered a liability. The team has been working on figuring out the best way to navigate this issue and truly utilize our space and project to its full potential. 

 

The 2023 team has made major strides in advancing and reshaping the project and park space. We have shifted the project’s focus from being a food security project to a community health based project, reeling in the importance of environmental health and investing in regenerative practices to create healthy communities. Green space is vital for communities to be resilient, safer, and more beautiful. We have removed the years of neglected waste abandoned on our land and are working on aesthetics to truly make this a safe, accessible, and enchanting environment for everyone to enjoy. 

 

Looking forward, we envision that the Southside Permaculture Park will be a flourishing green space that provides for both the Southside and Lehigh communities. Teams will continue to practice permaculture, but also recognize the barriers and consequences that come with the philosophy. We will be a sustainable project that encourages people, cities, communities, institutions, etc. to invest in their local environments and transform the health of these areas to better the health of both people and the Earth. These little sustainable oases will assist in reversing the effects of climate change and make places much more beautiful and resilient. The Southside Permaculture Park will be an influencer and change agent for years to come within and out of the Lehigh Valley.