alumni profiles2
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Alumni Profile: Working With Labor Unions to Create a More Sustainable Future
Avalon Hoek Spaans, an alumnus of the Columbia Climate School’s Climate and Society program, is channeling their personal experience and education to build a more just and sustainable world within the U.S. workforce.
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Alumna Profile: Lauren Faber O’Connor
Lauren Faber O’Connor was recently awarded the 2023 GSAS Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement, which recognizes recipients for their profound impact on academia and on the world at large.
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Alumni Spotlight: Jonathan Rubin Takes Vertical Farming to New Heights
In 2021, Rubin launched Fresh Florida Farms, which grows non-GMO hydroponic lettuce, microgreens, sprouts, herbs, and other leafy greens in Boca Raton.
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Climate and Society Alumni Work Together to Build Coastal Resilience
Working in the same think tank but in different roles, two alumni show how the Climate and Society program prepares students for a variety of career paths.
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From Pre-med to ESG: It’s Never Too Late for a Career Change
William Hsu, who graduated from the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program in 2019, brings together different fields to advance an equitable and green future.
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Climate and Society Alumna Suzie Hicks Teaches Climate Science to Kids of All Ages
Suzie Hicks, “The Climate Chick,” talks about how she is using television and film to inspire young learners to form healthy relationships with environmental science and help improve the world around them.
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Let Them Wear Dirt: Penmai Chongtoua Turns Soil Into Textiles
An artist and alumna of the Climate and Society program, Chongtoua is exploring a variety of ways to wear earth on our bodies. Her work seeks to shape how we view our relationship with the planet.
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From Columbia to COP27 in Six Months: Cassidy Childs
Inspired into action by the Tubbs Fire in 2017, this Environmental Science and Policy alum is helping to bring justice and equity issues into environmental policy.
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Alumni Spotlight: Mahak Agrawal
An alumna of the MPA-ESP program, Mahak elaborates on her time at Columbia, discusses her career path in sustainability, and provides advice to current students.
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
