CREST hosted its Extended Board of Directors (BoD) Annual Retreat at the City University of New York (CCNY) Center for Workers Education (CWE) on September 15, 2023. 

The retreat helped deliberate, brainstorm, and develop the CUNY CREST’s short-term (2023-2026) and long-term (2023-2028) Strategic and Operational Plan. During the retreat, CREST Institute Board of Directors, Associate Directors, and affiliated Center Directors engaged in productive discussions around defining the core identity/niche of the CREST Institute. The retreat also included status updates on CREST’s six pillars and Centers, and deliberated on CREST Institute’s future growth and strategies for expansion. 

The retreat began with a meet and greet breakfast followed by presentations from the CUNY CREST leadership and staff. Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi, Executive Director of the CUNY CREST provided participants an overview on the recent CREST accomplishments such as UNU, C3, ESE Personnel as well as future plans. Dr. Shakila Merchant, Director of the CUNY CREST HIRES talked about the CREST’s Summer Outreach including successful completion of four (4) summer programs; 2023 CUNY CREST HIRES & Summer Bridge and CUNY City College of Technology National Science Foundation (NSF) Undergraduate Research Program (REU), NSF IUSE, and Bridge to College (B2C). Srishti Tyagi, Communication and Outreach Manager discussed the new communication and branding efforts of the institute including website updates, rebranded bi-monthly bulletin and other initiatives.

Further, Pillar Directors and Institute’s affiliated Centers/Initiative Directors gave presentations on their research activities, updates, and future goals. This included presentations from: 

  • Research and Applications – Maria Tzortziou and Jennifer Cherrier
  • Education and Training – Tarendra Lakhankar and Dugwon Seo 
  • Business Development and Entrepreneurship – Harry Cikanek 
  • International Collaboration and Global Network – Juan Mercado, Neal Phillip, and Paramita Sen 
  • Community Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement – Joyce Freeling 
  • Environmental Justice and Social Science – Kaveh Madani and Marzi Azarderakhsh 
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institution (EPP/MSI) Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CESSRST) II–  Fred Moshary
  • Bronx Community College Geospatial Center of the CUNY CREST Institute (BGCCCI)–  Sunil Bhaskaran, Director 
  • Center for Remote Sensing and Earth System Sciences (RESSES) at CityTech–  Reginald Blake and Hamidreza Nourozi
  • India Initiative for Research and Educational Collaborations of the CUNY CREST Institute (IICCCI)/Initiative – Paramita Sen


Discussion post the Research and Applications Pillar Presentation by Maria Tzortziou and Jennifer Cherrier

During the breakout sessions, participants discussed on the following topics in smaller groups and reconvened as a large group and share their inputs  with all: 

  • Who we are: Discuss how to strategically brand the CUNY CREST institute for better visibility. 
  • How do we work: Articulate the institute’s standard operating procedures, guidelines, and best practices. 
  • How do we grow: Develop CREST’s business, recruitment and expansion plan, and business development process.

Several productive ideas and action items emerged from the retreat that the institute plans to work on and develop during the upcoming fall and spring semester. 

Commenting on the success of the retreat, Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi said, “This was an important meeting, as we are looking to develop our short term and long term strategic and operational plan, it was crucial to receive inputs from the leadership team of the Institute.”