The Louisville native was even more ecstatic six months later when the humanitarian organization won the for its work in combating hunger and creating better conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas around the globe.

“The Nobel Peace Prize was definitely just phenomenal,” Grantz said.

Although the award was announced when people were working remotely because of COVID-19, one plus was that Grantz and all the other WFP employees who shared in the honor were able to “attend” the virtual ceremony in Oslo, Norway, via Microsoft Teams and hear the acceptance speech of their World Food Programme executive director.

“It makes you in your core want to work even harder and do more,” Grantz said. “It brought goose bumps to your skin…This is why I joined this organization.”

As a liaison between the partners and the offices in the affected countries, Grantz said she works to ensure everyone’s on the same page in seeking and providing critical aid.

When a disaster or conflict happens somewhere, that country’s office sends in information and writes a proposal about what’s needed to help the area deal and recover. Grantz or another officer reviews the proposal to see it meets all requirements of donors, usually government agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Grantz negotiates with donors to ensure the need is met with as much money as possible. And then she might work with the country’s office again to make sure the aid goes to meet the true needs resulting from the emergency. Each situation requires special logistics for WFP to get the food where it’s needed – and that process might be complicated by the emergency at hand.

Her UofL graduate education provided a helpful launching pad for the challenging, rewarding mission.

Interested “to understand the science behind all of it,” Grantz was attracted to the then-new interdisciplinary master’s degree with the sustainability concentration to build on her undergraduate interests in international relations, sustainability and global health.

Several courses then relate to her work now, she said. In an urban farming class, she learned about the importance of good soil and food equity, particularly the importance of access to nutrient-dense food. In an agriculture class, students talked to farmers and got their hands dirty in planting. An environmental law class helped her learn to unravel and understand the essence of thick legal documents. In an anthropology class centered on ecology and politics, she learned how to interview people, evaluate a situation’s pros and cons and apply what she gleaned from case studies.

While at UofL, she even had a hand back then in food distribution, volunteering on the Health Sciences Center’s “green team” that worked with Starbucks to collect food left over at the day’s end and to give to Louisville nonprofits to share with people in need.

Also while a graduate student, Grantz co-organized the Louisville Solar Tour, a bus tour of homes, businesses and other facilities to demonstrate the advantages of the alternative source. “That helped me with my grants management and partnerships,” she said.

“I’m lucky that UofL was a part of my journey because without it I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Grantz said, also describing sustainability studies as “so versatile, you can go into so many different pathways from there.”

She is spending the summer in the Netherlands, working at the Office of the Prosecutor at the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

This judicial body was established in 2010 to wrap up residual issues related to the Bosnian War and the Rwandan Civil War, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In the 1990s, Rastoder’s father fled Bosnia during the fall of Yugoslavia. He made his way to an Italian refugee camp and eventually to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his parents and sister later joined him. He met his wife in Bowling Green, where Rastoder was later born.

The office where she’ll be working focuses on post-litigation of Yugoslavian war criminals. Proficiency in the Bosnian language was a requirement for the position, and Rastoder had grown up with the language.

“This is the opportunity to do what I’m really interested in and also have a personal tie to it,” she said.

Rastoder has long felt a pull to international and humanitarian issues. She double majored in Arabic and international studies as an undergrad and is now a Human Rights Advocacy Fellow at the Brandeis School of Law. The Human Rights Advocacy Program works to advance the rights of immigrants, non-citizens and refugees. Rastoder had considered pursuing careers in diplomacy or international affairs, but ultimately decided to focus on international law.

“I wanted somewhere to apply my interests in languages, other cultures, humanitarianism – international law is where it all tied-in,” she said. “It hasn’t been an easy path, but I’ve never doubted that I’m on the right path.”

She is grateful to Brandeis Law professor and international law expert Sara Ochs for her encouragement and professional advice.

Ochs says the opportunity is incredible.

“She’ll be doing very unique international law work that I don’t know that she’d have the opportunity to do in the United States,” Ochs said. “Plus, she’ll have the chance to be at the Hague and among the international law elite.”

International criminal law is not often a big focus in the United States, Ochs says, but she is excited to teach a course on the topic in the 2022-23 academic year.

“Many people, especially Americans, don’t realize how vital international law is until it’s violated,” she said, pointing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example.

For Rastoder and her family, the importance of international law is not abstract. Her parents are “super excited” for her job, she says.

“They know this has been a dream of mine.”

UofL has joined 684 universities and research centers throughout the world to advise the United Nations on sustainable development. The announcement was made today at the Louisville Sustainability Summit, which UofL is hosting for the first time. 

“Inclusion in this international effort recognizes our efforts over the decades to impact our world in a meaningful way when it comes to sustainability,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “From the Conn Center looking for renewable energy sources and our university-wide efforts to reduce our carbon footprint to our recent creation of the Envirome Institute that focuses on health sustainability, we have a long history of trying to leave a better planet.”

Additionally, UofL will be a founding member of the U.S. Solutions Network later this year.

 “The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network is honored to welcome the University of Louisville to the global network,” said Columbia University Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, advisor to the Secretary General of the UN and director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. “The SDSN looks forward to working closely with the Envirome Institute and city and community leaders to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Our efforts together will help to advance well being in Louisville and around the world.”

The national and regional networks support the localization of the 17 goals set out by the UN and agreed to by 193 nations in 2015. Local networks will promote long-term pathways for sustainable development, promote high-quality education and research collaboration for sustainable development, and support governments in understanding and addressing the challenges of sustainable development.

Through these efforts, the networks are working to create a future in which poverty has been eradicated, the planet is protected and people are ensured the ability to enjoy peace and prosperity.

“We feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to be a founding member of this nation’s grassroots effort,” Bendapudi said. “All of us at the university in collaboration with our community partners look forward to spearheading efforts to better understand how our environment, in the broadest sense of the word, impacts us as individuals.”

Led by Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., the Smith and Lucille Gibson Chair in Medicine, the UofL Envirome Institute takes a holistic approach to researching how the human-environment interrelationship impacts peoples’ lives. In addition to building on Bhatnagar’s pioneering work establishing the field of environmental cardiology, UofL will incorporate community engagement and citizen science to introduce a singular, new approach to the study of health.

“Our researchers, staff and students will explore new concepts associated with examining the elements of a single person’s overall environment and determine how that affects their lives. The impact this will have will be felt well beyond Louisville,” Bendapudi said.

The Peace, Justice and Conflict Transformation Program organizes the free, public celebration of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace. The full schedule of activities includes:

September 21

• 1 p.m. discussion of “positive peace,” a concept described as the presence of peace and justice rather than the mere absence of violence, Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library. Honors Student Council is co-sponsor.
• 4 p.m. “Taking Action” social justice forum for students and others, Room 205, Bingham Humanities Building.
• 6 p.m. talk by Louisville author Mark Wilkerson on “Tomas Young’s War,” Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, with reception afterward. Wilkerson’s 2016 book by the same title examines the efforts of a U.S. military veteran to adjust to his Iraq War injuries and to advocate for peace. Young, who died in 2014, also inspired the documentary “Body of War,” and the song “No More,” by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vetter.

September 22

• 5 p.m. performance of “The Syrian Monologues,” Thrust Theater, 2314 S. Floyd St. The presentation features several stories from Syrians seeking safety in a Jordan refugee camp. Variations of “The Syrian Monologues” will be presented around the world this year, culminating in a performance at the United Nations office in Geneva, to foster understanding about refugees. UofL sponsors include the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research and the theatre arts department. The event is free but seating is limited; registration is recommended and .����