alumni profiles6
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Recent MS Graduate Brings Sustainability to L’Oreal
Master of Science in Sustainability Management graduate Tara Helms (’15) has a background in supply chain management in the energy sector and was drawn to the program as a way to shift her focus towards sustainability. Throughout her time in the program, Tara took advantage of various networking and certification courses and served as a…
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Educated Girls Uncover Unmet Design Needs
Flip through any fashionable design annual, and you’ll read of something called “Human Centered Design.” The practice of HCD places emphasis on user testing, interviews, field research and high-touch iterations to solve problems. As contemporary design, and especially sustainable design, increasingly comes to rely on HCD-inspired techniques, greater attention is being paid to social features.
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Capstone Project Prepares Alum for Energy Efficiency Career
Sustainability Management alumna Marisa Hanson (’14) has gone from working on a capstone workshop project to design a national building retrofit program for Montenegro to a role as program specialist for a residential energy efficiency program in Santa Barbara, CA. Marisa has focused her sustainability career on making a significant difference on a local level.
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ESP Alum Works to Bring Better Environmental Standards to Oil and Gas Industry
Josh Garrett, a 2012 graduate of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, serves as the Director of Communications for Equitable Origin, a firm based in New York. Through his work with Equitable Origin (or EO), Josh works to educate people about how to transform the oil industry for a safer, cleaner future.
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Entrepreneurial MS Alum Finds Sustainable Solutions alongside Former Classmates
Alumnus John Haugen (‘13) began his career in a Chicago management consulting firm with a focus on marketing and data analytics. After living and working in Chicago for six years, John decided that he wanted to continue his career as a consultant in New York, but with an added focus on sustainability. Upon graduating from…
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Sustainability Management Alum Directs Energy towards Renewables
Jason Prince (’14) now works at Karbone, an integrated renewable energy and environmental markets company, as the Director of Research. Before joining the program, he worked as a wilderness guide in his native Canada, taking young people on backcountry canoe trips, which emphasized leave-no-trace practices. Jason has also worked for a non-profit organization that focused…
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MPA Alum Focuses on Solar Energy
In her role as a New York State Solar Ombudsman for the City University of New York at Sustainable CUNY , Erica Helson (MPA-ESP ’14) is applying skills she learned in the program to further her career in advancing solar energy in the city of New York. Prior to joining the MPA in Environmental Science…
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Alum Focuses on Future of Sustainability Technology & Climate Resilience
Gregory Falco, an alumnus of the first graduating class of Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MSSM) program, recently published a paper, entitled Climate Resilience Goes Digital, illustrating cutting-edge concepts on the future of digital climate resilience, which he hopes will transform the sustainability industry. Prior to attending the MSSM program, Greg was a Sustainability…

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

