State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Education91

  • Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    During a seven-year career in international education—on a path that took her from Poland to Thailand to Spain and on to China before eventually returning to the United States—Bonita Treinen, a native of rural Minnesota and Wisconsin, took time off in every country where she worked to travel to rural areas and observe the challenges…

  • Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Joseph Raser GS’11 knows that dreams can take you in unpredictable directions. Before he discovered his passion for sustainable development, Raser served in the United States Army as a non-commissioned airborne forward officer stationed in Italy. In 2008, he was sent to Siuna, Nicaragua, on a medical and economic mission. This experience, which was followed…

  • Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Before starting her M.S. in Sustainability Management, Davida Heller had been advised not to chase her dream. When becoming an environmental lawyer for Greenpeace was derided as being a low paying profession with few prospects, Davida followed her family’s advice and moved from Long Island to Los Angeles to follow her other passion, the film…

  • Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Denise Lee has long had a passion for pursuing equitable and sustainable development and contributing to the creation of a global system that apportions value to social and environmental capital alongside economic capital. Denise’s values and goals have led her on a unique academic and career path that has included research and development work in…

  • Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Australian peat sediment helped Cheryl Wilson hone her career goals. A current student in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, she has possessed a passion for environmental science and current policy issues throughout her academic career. She was introduced…

  • Student Profile: Victoria Diaz Bonilla

    Student Profile: Victoria Diaz Bonilla

    This summer, Victoria Diaz-Bonilla has continued her work helping local communities in Northern Manhattan negotiate the complex realms of climate change, energy and transportation policy. A Columbia College junior, Victoria undertook an internship with the Climate Change Adaptation Initiative. The Climate Change Adaptation Initiative of the Earth Institute has helped open dialogue between city agencies,…

  • Student Profile: Debra Tillinger

    Student Profile: Debra Tillinger

    Debra Tillinger is a fifth year doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. program in earth and environmental science, which aims to train broadly educated earth scientists for careers in academia, research, government and industry. A specialization in physical oceanography has allowed her to work among experts at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in a field that focuses…

  • Student Profile: Andrew Freedman

    Student Profile: Andrew Freedman

    Andrew Freedman came to the Earth Institute in order to gain valuable skills for his current career as a climate journalist.  Freedman says, “I plan to work at the intersection of science and policy, either in a policymaking role or as a journalist covering sustainable development issues. I hope to contribute to solving some of…

  • Student Profile: Scott Mackenzie

    Student Profile: Scott Mackenzie

    As an undergraduate, Scott Mackenzie was always looking to discover the best way to advance and apply sustainability initiatives.  In his research he came across the Earth Institute’s web page and was drawn to the recorded lectures and photo essays. “The work here is very multi-disciplinary and driven by such passionate people, and that was…

  • Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    During a seven-year career in international education—on a path that took her from Poland to Thailand to Spain and on to China before eventually returning to the United States—Bonita Treinen, a native of rural Minnesota and Wisconsin, took time off in every country where she worked to travel to rural areas and observe the challenges…

  • Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Joseph Raser GS’11 knows that dreams can take you in unpredictable directions. Before he discovered his passion for sustainable development, Raser served in the United States Army as a non-commissioned airborne forward officer stationed in Italy. In 2008, he was sent to Siuna, Nicaragua, on a medical and economic mission. This experience, which was followed…

  • Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Before starting her M.S. in Sustainability Management, Davida Heller had been advised not to chase her dream. When becoming an environmental lawyer for Greenpeace was derided as being a low paying profession with few prospects, Davida followed her family’s advice and moved from Long Island to Los Angeles to follow her other passion, the film…

  • Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Denise Lee has long had a passion for pursuing equitable and sustainable development and contributing to the creation of a global system that apportions value to social and environmental capital alongside economic capital. Denise’s values and goals have led her on a unique academic and career path that has included research and development work in…

  • Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Australian peat sediment helped Cheryl Wilson hone her career goals. A current student in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, she has possessed a passion for environmental science and current policy issues throughout her academic career. She was introduced…

  • Student Profile: Victoria Diaz Bonilla

    Student Profile: Victoria Diaz Bonilla

    This summer, Victoria Diaz-Bonilla has continued her work helping local communities in Northern Manhattan negotiate the complex realms of climate change, energy and transportation policy. A Columbia College junior, Victoria undertook an internship with the Climate Change Adaptation Initiative. The Climate Change Adaptation Initiative of the Earth Institute has helped open dialogue between city agencies,…

  • Student Profile: Debra Tillinger

    Student Profile: Debra Tillinger

    Debra Tillinger is a fifth year doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. program in earth and environmental science, which aims to train broadly educated earth scientists for careers in academia, research, government and industry. A specialization in physical oceanography has allowed her to work among experts at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in a field that focuses…

  • Student Profile: Andrew Freedman

    Student Profile: Andrew Freedman

    Andrew Freedman came to the Earth Institute in order to gain valuable skills for his current career as a climate journalist.  Freedman says, “I plan to work at the intersection of science and policy, either in a policymaking role or as a journalist covering sustainable development issues. I hope to contribute to solving some of…

  • Student Profile: Scott Mackenzie

    Student Profile: Scott Mackenzie

    As an undergraduate, Scott Mackenzie was always looking to discover the best way to advance and apply sustainability initiatives.  In his research he came across the Earth Institute’s web page and was drawn to the recorded lectures and photo essays. “The work here is very multi-disciplinary and driven by such passionate people, and that was…