Colleen Murphy-Dunning

Colleen Murphy-Dunning serves as Executive Director of both the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability and the Urban Resources Initiative (URI) at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE). At the Hixon Center, she cultivates an interdisciplinary hub where scholars, practitioners, and students collaborate to tackle urban sustainability challenges. Colleen also leads the URI team supporting community-driven urban forestry and environmental stewardship projects that help revitalize New Haven’s neighborhoods and strengthen the connection between people and their environment. Her work bridges the university and the community, nurturing partnerships that bring research and practice together to create more sustainable and equitable cities. Colleen also co-leads a field-based urban training module for all incoming YSE graduate students, an immersive introduction to New Haven’s social and ecological systems and to the power of community-centered environmental action.