A large portion of my doctoral research focused on studying the effects of air pollution on human health. Next, I want my work to target the source of air pollution, as well as so many of the other ailments afflicting our health and our planet’s health: human activities that cause climate change. Air pollution is released from coal combustion and car exhaust, as well as forest fires worsened by extreme heat and drought like the ones that ravaged Australia and much of the Western United States in 2020. Whether it’s individual health issues like asthma, heat stroke, and novel infectious disease or problems on a global scale like sea level rise, ocean acidification, and loss of biodiversity, climate change plays a role in them all.

Credit: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, https://www.aafa.org/climate-and-health/

I am currently a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. As part of the Federal Energy Management Program, I collaborate with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to provide tools, technical guidance, and training to agencies across the federal government as we push to decarbonize the government’s facilities and fleet this decade.

Previously, I was a Project Manager at Urban Ocean Lab (UOL), a think tank whose mission is to develop climate and ocean policy for coastal cities. At UOL, my research focused on offshore wind energy in the United States, as well as nature-based coastal resiliency solutions to protect cities from sea-level rise and storm water flooding.

In graduate school, I was involved with climate-focused groups and initiatives like the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE), the Harvard Forward campaign, the Graduate Environmental Action Team, and the Harvard Science Policy Group. I have also attended workshops and events like those listed below to further my education on climate, energy, and sustainability issues.

Select workshops and symposia