UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Efraín Marimon, assistant professor of education, will be one of the honorees at the Campus and Community Sustainability Expo & Awards ceremony from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Days Inn, State College.

Marimon, who is director of the Restorative Justice Initiative and the Social Justice Fellowship in Penn State’s College of Education, is the first faculty member to be honored by the Council of Sustainable Leaders, a group of 17 student leaders across the University who are focused on integrating sustainability within their respective organizations, across campus and throughout Pennsylvania.

“We work together to educate the membership on basic sustainability principles, empower students to make changes, and make it possible for all events to be zero waste,” said Maddy Mitchell, the group’s student sustainability coordinator. “We recognize sustainability not just as environmentalism but with economic and social perspectives as well. This is what particularly stood out to us about Dr. Marimon.

“His work addresses many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including, but not limited to, Quality Education (No. 4), No Poverty (No. 1), Decent Work and Economic Growth (No. 8), Reduced Inequalities (No. 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (No. 11), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (No. 16). Not only this but he integrates empathy for others into his work and inspires students to do the same,” she said.

Marimon develops community-embedded programs related to social justice, human rights, law and education. He also founded the Street Law Program at Penn State Law and conducts training on law-related education for international groups.

The Restorative Justice Initiative is a University-wide coalition of faculty members, graduate students, staff and community groups dedicated to restoring and empowering individuals that are incarcerated, through education and meaningful engagement in civic life. The initiative seeks to create awareness of issues impacting incarcerated communities; create educational opportunities for incarcerated populations; conduct research that informs curriculum used in correctional settings; and improve community, university and state correctional institutions’ relationships through strategic partnerships that cultivate a network of resources for justice-impacted individuals.

The event is co-sponsored by the Borough of State College and includes a poster-style exposition showcasing projects from the Sustainable Communities Collaborative, a program of Penn State’s Sustainability Institute. It is free and open to the public.