A former Aurora resident, Melanie Stewart, has been chosen as one of the 2017 recipients of the Midlands Business Journal’s annual 40 Under 40 Awards. The award honors 40 Greater Omaha, Council Bluffs and Sarpy County entrepreneurs, executives and professional men and women under the age of 40 for their work accomplishments.
The honorees were recognized at a breakfast on Dec. 15 at the Embassy Suites – La Vista. More than 400 people attended the event.
Stewart, who is sustainability manager for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, is a 1996 graduate of Aurora High School. She is the daughter of Mike and Diane Stewart, who live on an acreage outside of Aurora. Mike is a retired middle school science teacher in Aurora, while Diane is a retired medical technologist at Memorial Community Health in Aurora.
Stewart earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Dana College in 2000 and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2013.
She joined UNMC in 2000 as a laboratory technologist and manager. In 2008, she was named research resources manager and was responsible for coordinating the daily, non-scientific operations in the two Durham Research Centers on the UNMC campus.
Stewart held this post until 2014. She took on added responsibility as chairperson for sustainability in 2010.
In 2014, Stewart was selected as the first sustainability manager for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. In this role, she has created a campus sustainability initiative called “LiveGreen” and “TravelSmart,” a transportation program aimed at getting more medical center employees to consider alternative transportation options than driving to work solo.
Since 2010, it is estimated that Stewart’s sustainability efforts have resulted in more than $25 million in cost avoidance for the medical center. In 2015, the medical center hit several milestones by reducing its energy use by 25 percent and its water use by 22 percent.
Although she said she was pleased to be recognized, Stewart stressed that the award was for achievements that the entire campus has worked on.
“It was an honor to be nominated,” she said. “It’s nice to know that people notice the work that we’re doing and the effect that it has on health and our community. Still, it is important to note that while we’ve done some impressive things, it’s definitely a campus effort. The energy we’ve saved has every bit as much to do with facilities and the energy group – and the people who turn off lights – as it does with me.
“The LiveGreen Ambassadors have done a lot of work to get the word out to campus. Lots of people help achieve these goals by recycling, carpooling, conserving water, and shutting hood sashes, just to name a few.”
Stewart said that the medical center provides a work climate that fosters the growth of young leaders.
“If you are going to lead the world, you have to have leaders on campus, and you have to have new ideas, new ways of thinking, to solve new problems. I think anybody who is looking to be a leader can do that here.”
Here is a complete list of 40 Under 40 winners this year.
We are Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Our mission is to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities through premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care.
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Flickr