My four years at Smith have been focused on understanding the landscape of environmental and climate policy issues, at the campus, local, state and federal levels.

In 2019, I participated in the Jean Picker Semester-in-Washington Program where I interned in building sustainability policy at the U.S. Green Building Council and in climate solutions advocacy and political research at Environment America. I did my final research paper on predictors of support for the Green New Deal in Congress, since it had just been introduced, and I was able to apply a lot of what I was learning about Congress-facing advocacy to my understanding of how to garner support for major bills like the Green New Deal.

“My research has inspired my commitment to elevating project-based learning and formalizing city-college partnerships as a way to bring theory into practice for scholars across campus.”

When I came back to Smith, I worked as a research fellow for the Kahn Institute’s 2020–21 project Imagining Climate Change. The fellowship has given me an opportunity to explore local issues like gentrification, climate adaptation and home rule in my hometown of Washington D.C. I have also learned a lot from my fellow researchers, as we shared and collectively discussed our own personal narratives around issues of climate change. The collaborative research and thinking has provided an essential lens for me to re-envision the relationship between climate activism, policy programs and social change.