The Social and Economic Needs working group is committed to advancing a sustainability research and policy agenda organized around socio-economic dimensions of sustainability. Its current focus is on finding ways to make Kentucky's state and federal prisons more sustainable (energy, water, food and agriculture especially) and to develop green collar training opportunities for imprisoned offenders in their transit from incarceration to their reintegration into the community.
| Name | Department/Affiliation | |
| Ernie Yanarella | Poltical Science | ejyana@uky.edu |
| Richard Levine | Architecture | rlevine@uky.edu |
| Arne Bathke | Statistics | arne@uky.edu |
| Mary Arthur | Forestry | marthur@uky.edu |
| Keiko Tanaka | Community and Leadership Development | keiko.tanaka@uky.edu |
| Evelyn Knight | Health Behavior | evelyn.knight@uky.edu |
Outside of UK
| Name | Affiliation | |
| Paul Kaplan | Finance Cabinet | paul.kaplan@ky.gov |
| Sylvia Lovely | Independent Consultant | sylvia@sylvialovely.com |
| Jason Delambre | Interdependent Energies, LLC | jason.delambre@gmail.com |
