Weslynne Ashton is Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability at the Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart School of Business. Dr. Ashton’s research focuses on industrial ecology, optimizing water, energy and material resource flows in socio-ecological systems, and developing entrepreneurial solutions to social and environmental challenges in low income and developing regions. She also examines the adoption of socially and environmentally responsible strategies in small businesses. In 2012-2015, she led a US Department of State grant “Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas”, which integrated research, education and implementation of sustainability practices in small and medium enterprises across eight countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Ashton previously led Yale University’s “Industrial Ecology in Developing Countries” program and held visiting faculty appointments at TERI University in India and the National University of Singapore. She has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and master’s and doctoral degrees in Environmental Science from Yale University.

USAID Profile

Bureau for Europe and Eurasia
Energy and Infrastructure Division 

Dr. Ashton is the Jefferson Science Fellow with the USAID Bureau for Europe and Eurasia’s Energy and Infrastructure Division. The division works with partner countries in Southeast Europe and the Black Sea region to modernize their energy systems through the diversification of energy sources, energy efficiency improvements and the creation of larger, transparent regional markets. Dr. Ashton brings her expertise in industrial energy and environmental management, and circular economy to the division’s programs. She will assist the office with current programs in energy efficiency and electricity net metering, as well as help them to design new strategies and programs for the region.