Growing up in rural New England gave me an appreciation for the beauty and importance of the natural world.  This initial interest in the environment was strengthened during college when I learned the depth of human impact on the planet.  I was fortunate to work with passionate people who instilled in me a belief that through my career choices I can make a difference in addressing environmental issues.

As an undergrad I gained a broad foundation in the natural sciences and I had the opportunity to conduct research that allowed me to apply that basic knowledge in addressing Middlebury's impact on climate change.  I finished my undergraduate work in 2003 and in the intervening time my knowledge has become dated.  It is frustrating for me to know that I am no longer up-to-speed with the latest developments in scientific understanding of environmental issues.  Therefore, my academic goal is to build on my basic scientific knowledge in order to make my understanding of natural science more relevant to the current state of climate change.  Specifically, I want to gain a systems-based, multidisciplinary approach to understanding the complex entanglement of humans and the environment. I hope this understanding will allow me to develop strategies to mitigate the negative effects that climate change has on large-scale ecosystems.

A foundation in science will allow me to pursue a career where I can most effectively address climate change.  In the long term, my dream job is leading the world’s largest energy companies away from geologic fuel and towards renewable energy.  In the immediate future, I see two critical areas where I can make a positive contribution to the problem of climate change. In focusing on these two areas I will be able to gain the experience necessary to position myself to get my dream job in the future.

The first career area is working in a corporate setting, albeit on a smaller scale.  Many companies have started to address their impact on the climate because they realize the financial advantage of taking action.  Understanding this economic motivation is critical for extending mitigation efforts to larger businesses. Being a part of that work in the short term will not only be meaningful for addressing climate change but it will give me insight into how the corporate world operates and how to successfully navigate within that world. 

The second career area is at a government agency doing policy and regulatory work.  One of the key elements to successfully transitioning the world’s largest energy companies to renewable energy is creating a regulatory environment that ensures no company is put at a competitive disadvantage by leaving geologic fuel.  If national and international regulations are in place so that each company retrains and retools on the same timetable then no single company will necessarily lose market share.

In both roles I will need to understand the complex natural and social science interactions of any proposed solutions.  Yale FES is a leader in Industrial Ecology and the opportunity to learn from the gifted scientists at FES will give me the tools necessary to ensure that the mitigation strategies I promote, in both the public and private sectors, have a greater likelihood of success. The complex nature of climate change means effective solutions must be interdisciplinary. In addition to the skill set that the MEM degree will give me, Yale offers an opportunity to interact and collaborate with researchers and scholars specializing in economics, psychology, and policy working at other schools within the university.  I am committed to using the MEM degree as a leader in the effort to address climate change.

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