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Jim Stephens
Vice President, Infrastructure and Sustainability
Jim Stephens joined I&S in June 2022 from Florida State University (FSU) where he served as the executive director of Utilities, Maintenance, & Engineering. With more than ten years in higher education, he has a proven track record for building strong teams by focusing on shared goals and workforce development. As an advocate for innovative and collaborative strategies, his accomplishments include an improved fault diagnostic and detection system for campus buildings and the incorporation of a solar farm at FSU that provides more than 20% of the main campus electricity needs. Originally from Columbia, Tennessee, Stephens began his career at Coats & Clark as a plant engineer in Thomasville, Georgia. He is a 1988 graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering.
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Daniel Nester
Senior Executive Assistant to the Vice President/Program Manager L4
Daniel Nester serves as the Senior Executive Assistant to the vice president and the program manager for the Integrated Operations and Administrative Services department, supporting the Office of the Vice President and leading strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiency across Infrastructure & Sustainability. With a strong background in process improvement and organizational effectiveness, Daniel is dedicated to streamlining internal processes and fostering cross-functional collaboration. He brings over a decade of experience in higher education operations and leadership. Prior to this role, Daniel served as administrative manager II and senior executive assistant to the Vice President, where he optimized executive operations, led high-performing teams, and played a key role in aligning strategic priorities. A passionate advocate for professional development and workplace culture, Daniel chairs Empowered Strategic Purposeful (ESP)—a professional development group for senior leadership executive assistants—and serves as a liaison for the LGBTQIA Resource Center. His career spans leadership positions in higher education, including Georgia Tech Athletics, Bowling Green State University, and Virginia Tech. Daniel holds a degree from Virginia Tech and is currently pursuing his MBA.
Melinda Alonzo
Senior Director, Parking and Transportation Services
With an impressive 29-year career in the parking and mobility sector, Melinda Alonzo has joined I&S as the Senior Director of Parking and Transportation. Her recent role at Arizona State University saw her managing a program catering to over 90,000 students and 26,000 parking spaces across multiple locations. Melinda has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Arizona and began her career at Ace Parking Management. She was a co-founder and former president of the Southwest Parking and Transportation Association. As a Certified Administrator of Public Parking (CAPP) through the International Parking Mobility Institute (IPMI), she served on IPMI's initial CAPP Certification Board and continues to remain an active member. She's contributed to several professional boards, including the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS West) and currently is a participant in IPMI’s Allyship Advisory Group.
Jennifer Chirico
Associate Vice President for Sustainability
Originally from Atlanta, Jennifer is a lifelong Yellow Jacket bringing 20 years of sustainability experience to Georgia Tech. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a major in Environmental Policy from Georgia Tech, a Master of Science in Public Health with a major in Environmental Health, and a Bachelor of Science in Management and Finance from Georgia Tech. Her previous work includes ten years as the founder and CEO of Sustainable Pacific, a sustainability consulting firm, where she directed large-scale sustainability projects across diverse industries and sectors. In addition, she served as the Executive Director of the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui at the University of Hawai’i where she directed programs in sustainability and served as a bridge for sustainability within the community and to other island nations, as a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, and as an investment consultant for Hewitt Associates. She served as an international trainer for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and completed trainings and certifications in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), LEED, Home Energy Survey Professional, Zero Waste, and WaterSense. She taught university sustainability courses for over ten years in the Global Leadership and Sustainability Development master’s program at Hawaii Pacific University and the University of Hawai'i. She is a published book author and has written numerous chapters on sustainability related to systems thinking, adaptive management, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Leadership for the Collective Wellbeing.
David Goldfarb
Senior Director, Finance
Mr. Goldfarb has been the Director of Financial Administration for Infrastructure and Sustainability at Georgia Tech for the past 18 years, overseeing vital processes such as work order requests, annual budgeting and contract completion. Under his charge the number of contracts administered by the Finance unit has nearly doubled and the unit has implemented major technology system enhancements to improve efficiency. Mr. Goldfarb is a key member of the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) and Working Group for Capital Budgeting for the Institute's Budget Reform strategic initiative. Prior to working at Georgia Tech, Goldfarb worked at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Power Company. He holds a Bachelor's of Business Administration from The University of Georgia and a Doctorate in Economics from The University of Iowa.
Jerel Harris
Associate Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety
Jerel Harris has more than 20 years of leading robust health and safety programs. Currently Mr. Harris oversees the following departments: Biological Safety, Environmental Programs, Fire Safety, General Safety, Lab and Chemical Safety, Hazardous Materials, and Radiation Safety. He previously served as the Institute's general safety manager and has been with Georgia Tech for 10 years. Prior to Georgia Tech, he was the director of EH&S for Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. He also previously served as the watershed safety manager for the City of Atlanta. Jerel holds a Doctorate of Public Health from Georgia Southern University, a Master’s in Environmental, Safety & Health Management and an MBA from the University of Findlay in Ohio and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Safety from the University of Central Oklahoma. He also holds an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas.
Tommy Little
Associate Vice President for Services
Tommy Little has served in I&S leadership roles for more than 28 years. As associate vice president of services, he oversees the following individual departments: Building Services, Fleet Management, Material Management, Move Management, Zero Waste, and Staging. He held a similar role at Auburn University prior to joining Georgia Tech. He spearheads the team of IT and Support Services professionals implementing Smart Restrooms technology - an enhanced customer service program currently expanding across campus. He is a founding member and inaugural chair of the Staff Council Benefits & Compensation Committee, a founding member of the Healthy Schools Campaign, a member of the Green Clean Schools Leadership Council, and is International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) Certified. Mr. Little is a 1987 graduate of the Broadwell College of Business & Economics at Fayetteville State University, a 2024 Graduate, MIT-Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professional Education Program, Circular Economy, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Amanda Mewborn
Associate Vice President for Planning, Design, and Construction
Amanda is an Atlanta native and enjoys working in her hometown and at her alma mater. The first 25 years of Amanda's career focused on healthcare, with a variety of roles including facility planning, design and construction, operations, support services, nursing, revenue cycle, and finance. She also has diverse experience in consulting, architecture, and information technology start-ups. Amanda is a "Double Jacket", with two degrees from Georgia Tech – a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Master of Science in Health Systems. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Georgia State University. Amanda is a registered nurse, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and earned her Quality and Process Improvement Black Belt from Mercer University. She is a past president and Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a Diplomate and past president in the Society for Health Systems.