Community Collaborators
Improving health and well-being requires more than research alone. It requires collaboration.
Since its founding, the Envirome Institute has worked alongside Louisville residents and leaders in government, nonprofits, schools, businesses and philanthropic organizations to co-create solutions to complex health challenges.
These are some of our community collaborators.
Paul Cappiello – Executive Director, Yew Dell Gardens
Paul is the Executive Director of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Horticulture at the University of Kentucky and an internationally recognized authority on ornamental plants and urban landscapes. Paul previously served as the Horticulture Director of Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest and an Associate Professor of Horticulture at the University of Maine. He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental planning and design from Rutgers University and a master's and PhD in horticulture from the University of Illinois.
As a consulting advisor to the Envirome Institute's Greenprint initiative, Paul provides expertise in tree and plant selection, helping ensure that projects are scientifically grounded, ecologically resilient and designed for long-term health benefits.
Katy Delahanty – Executive Director, Portland Museum
Katy is an alumna of Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a credentialed mediator and a member of IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art. She is currently serving as Executive Director of the Portland Museum Campus, which is expanding to include AHOY, an immersive visual arts and health children's museum. She also collaborates with international partners in Wrexham, Wales to create policy around play and health.
Katy serves as the Principal of Arts and Health Integration and the Interdisciplinary Arts and Curatorial Steward for the Envirome Institute's A New Vision of Health Campus.
Arnita Gadsen – Executive Director, West Jefferson County Community Task Force
Arnita is a steward for those with environmental concerns. Formerly serving as the Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Commission in Louisville, she has helped address air pollution in Louisville by securing funding that established a state-of-the-art laboratory at the University of Louisville to measure air toxins. Her achievement prevented human suffering and contributed to the Louisville economy by protecting the health of each citizen. Arnita is currently the Executive Director of the West Jefferson Community Task Force.
As a Scholar-In-Residence at the Envirome Institute, Arnita helps guide the Institute's air pollution research agenda and connects our researchers and students to interested groups who live and work in West Jefferson County and other parts of the Commonwealth.
Michael McGurk, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired) – CEO, Kobe International Consulting
Colonel McGurk is a 1997 graduate of the University of Louisville's Speed School of Engineering and is currently the CEO of Kobe International Consulting. His career spans more than 30 years at the intersection of military operations, human performance research and research oversight. Following 32 years of Army service, including a combat tour in Iraq, he served as Director of Research for the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training, leading large-scale studies on soldier performance, training effectiveness and readiness. His team helped develop the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system. He received the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He now advises organizations such as the Envirome Institute on military research, IRB processes and government engagement.
Tod Sedgwick – U.S. Ambassador (retired)
Ambassador Sedgwick served as U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic from 2010 to 2015. He is a Fellow at the Transatlantic Center at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Study, a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and serves on the Board of Directors for the Slovak American Foundation, positions he has held since 2015. He is a member of the Ambassadorial Advisory Committee of the Atlantic Council and is on the board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
As a Scholar-In-Residence at the Envirome Institute, Tod curates the Institute's Theodore Sedgwick Distinguished Lecture Series which features current and retired public sector leaders and noteworthy guests.
