Lily Fillwalk

Lily Fillwalk recently graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, with a dual degree in Environmental Science and Studio Art. They are currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Science at the Yale School of the Environment and working with their advisor, Dr. Dorceta Taylor, in the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative Laboratory. Their thesis work is focused on soils within New York City’s green roofs. During their time at Pitzer College, Fillwalk was a fellow with the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability. In 2019, Fillwalk was a Wallace-Carver Fellow for the United States Department of Agriculture/World Food Prize Foundation, where they conducted sustainable cereal grain use research. In 2020, Fillwalk was selected for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program with Brooklyn College, funded by the National Science Foundation. The REU focused on ecology within the urban environment, and there, Fillwalk conducted soil microbiology in green infrastructure research under Dr. Theodore Muth. Fillwalk continued this research for their senior undergraduate thesis, entitled, “Maximizing Urban Green Roof Potential Through the Understanding of Microbial Composition.” Fillwalk plans on pursuing a career in science-based community agriculture in New York City.