Community Based Social Marketing at Oberlin College

Oberlin College utilized Community Based Social Marketing to enhance its campus-wide sustainability program. Join us to learn how social marketing was infused throughout multiple departments and programs at Oberlin.

Dr. Cindy McPherson Frantz is a social and environmental psychologist.  She received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has taught at Oberlin College for 23 years.  Dr. Frantz currently serves as the Chair of the Psychology Department. Her research focuses on the psychological impact of connection to nature, and on how to communicate effectively about climate change.  Dr. Frantz is the founder and Director of the Community-Based Social Marketing Research Project, a collaborative research program among faculty, students, and staff to develop, test, and promote behavior change programs that reduce Oberlin College’s carbon emissions.

Heather Adelman joined Oberlin College in 2022 as the Sustainability Manager. She works on initiatives across campus and the community to meet the College’s ambitious carbon neutrality goals. She plays a leadership role in setting and implementing campus sustainability policy and works with students to catalyze unique, meaningful projects and internships.

A California native who relocated to Oberlin in 2011, Heather began her career at the US Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco where she spent nearly 10 years working directly with tribal nations in Arizona, California, and Nevada on a variety of waste management and reduction initiatives.

She has been awarded several prestigious national awards from the US Environmental Protection Agency for her work with communities.

Peyton Sinnet just graduated with her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Law & Society. There, she served as the City of Oberlin's sustainability intern where she worked to implement a reusable takeout container project and was a member of Cindy's undergraduate research team that looked at the effects of hyper-local climate data on hope and efficacy. Peyton is passionate about community-level sustainability education and initiatives and Cindy's Community Based Social Marketing class played a large role in shaping that passion!