Climate Policy Fellows Program

Office of Student Success

The Climate Policy Fellows Program is designed to support CCNY undergraduate students from the sciences, social sciences, architecture, and engineering degree programs with training, professional development, and internship opportunities that link climate-related science, engineering, and economics to public policy. Fellows participate in four to six intensive workshops led by a range of senior national and international climate policy leaders. The workshops prepare fellows to understand how science, engineering, and economics research affects public policy, and how policy-making shapes these fields of research.

Consider applying if you are interested in how cities, states, and countries are addressing the challenges associated with climate change!

The program is Led by Trevor Houser, a 2006 CCNY alum who is an international climate and policy leader, the program involves workshops, a paid summer internship, and a network of students, alumni, and professionals working on climate policy.

Program Contact

Fellowships and Student Success Program Coordinator

Christine Garmendiz

Program Contact

Director of Fellowship Programs & Office of Student Success

Debbie Cheng

Support

Fellows will receive a $1,000 stipend per semester for two semesters.

An additional $5,550 Summer Internship Stipend is available for approved summer internships.

Summer Internship

Fellows have the option to intern at think tanks and nonprofit organizations in New York City, Washington DC, or San Francisco that are working on climate change policy. In addition to providing internship stipends, the program pays for your housing if you go to DC or San Francisco.

Past fellows have interned at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rhodium Group, Environmental Defense Fund, Council on Environmental Quality, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and more!

Workshops

Four to six intensive workshops will prepare fellows to understand how science, engineering, and economics research affect public policy, and how policymaking shapes these fields of research. They will include a range of senior national and international climate policy leaders, as well as leadership and professional development. Each workshop will take place over two days, with the dates to be announced at the start of the fall semester. Each workshop will include a brief writing assignment that prepares fellows for their summer internships. These may include summaries of public events or analyses of climate legislation.

Eligibility

Applicants for the 2023-2024 fellowship:

must be full-time undergraduate students from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024
can be from any school/major
have no GPA or citizenship requirement
must demonstrate interest in a climate and sustainability policy work

Application Questions

Please upload responses to the following questions through the application form. Write your name on all application materials.

1. How do your educational and professional experiences so far shape your long-term interest in working at a senior level in the climate and sustainability fields? Upload an essay that is between 250 and 500 words.

2. How would you like to see your career develop over the next decade or two? Upload an essay that is between 250 and 500 words.

3. What are three questions you would like to see addressed as part of the program?

2022-2023 Climate Policy Fellows

Afsin Hossain is a second-year undergraduate electrical engineering student. She is from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where she spent most of her life and moved to New York just before the pandemic to pursue higher education. Her love for renewable energy and technology stems from the time her curious 8- year old self would venture to her dad’s office to experiment with various solar-powered appliances and ask questions. Her dad, who established a sustainability business back in 2008, would educate Afsin after school about the importance of a clean and green world.

Ashley Bailey is a senior majoring in Environmental Engineering. She obtained her first bachelor’s degree in Human Biology, where she is taking some of the elements she learned while studying human biology and applying them to engineering. As a result, Ashley has a well-rounded view of how engineering projects could impact humans. From learning about how pollutants are dispersed in the air and relating it to a factor that is the cause of asthma in individuals, she took her knowledge from her previous degree and applied it to her engineering degree. Focusing on sustainability and climate change will allow her to progress in her future job and educational career. In addition, she wants to speak up regarding policy-making while enforcing the need to advance the lives of individuals.

Ayesha Sarfraz is a junior majoring in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. She identifies as Pakistani-American and a practicing Muslim. At the end of her sophomore year, Ayesha decided to further her interest in the earth sciences by pursuing internships and other real-world experiences. As a result, she was accepted into the Climate Policy Fellowship. She hopes to have a career involving data analysis and lab work, but she is open to new experiences. In her spare time, Ayesha likes to watch k-dramas, play simulation video games, and spend time with her family.

Bennett Lees is a rising senior majoring in Economics. As a native New Yorker, he has been involved with local efforts for a sustainable living since he was a child. Since coming to City College as a transfer student, he has enjoyed the sense of community the school promotes and the opportunities the school has provided him, embracing his inner leadership qualities and working to empower his fellow students as a peer mentor. His internship experience involving the financing of renewable energy projects served to influence his ideas on the nature of sustainability and humanity’s efforts to combat climate change. He believes that massive capital investment into renewable energy and sustainable real estate development is necessary to fight against climate change successfully. In addition to being a Climate Policy Fellow, he is also an alumnus of the S Jay Levy Fellowship. He enjoys biking, cooking, and watching movies in his free time.

Darshna Baria is a junior double majoring in Earth Science and Economics, planning to gain a master’s in Sustainability or Environmental Studies. As an immigrant, she saw her family be mindful of their resources, never letting anything go to waste, from saving electricity to plastic bags to water. Issues like these ignited a spark in Darshna to dig deeper into her passion for making this a safer planet for everyone and everything. As random as she is, a fun fact about Darshna would be that she started to learn Korean but only finished learning Hangul (the alphabet).

Elibeth Martinez Tejada is a Grove School of Engineering student majoring in Electrical Engineering. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, she moved to the United States at 16, hoping to become an engineer. However, as her student career progressed, she developed an interest in climate change policies, mainly because the Dominican Republic faces many climate challenges. Elibeth believes that electrical engineers can have a significant impact on the improvement of climate change by converting wastes into energy to power communities. She is also interested in sustainable energy, believing that these new energy sources can take the next step to become renewable.

Evelyn Vasquez is a senior majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology. She is the daughter of Peruvian immigrants and is a first-generation student as a Dream.Us recipient at CCNY. Growing up, she has not only seen the impact of Climate Change on the environment but on vulnerable communities that are affected more than others. Her first experience of this was in high school when she learned about the disappearance of the wetlands in Queens, New York, leading to buildings sinking in the nearby neighborhoods. She is currently conducting research in the Biology Department on biodiversity and the various factors like Climate Change that impact it. Evelyn hopes to learn more about climate change policy to help other communities that are rapidly being hurt by it.

Guadalupe comes from a Mexican background and is a native New Yorker. They are a fifth-year Architecture major at The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College and minoring in Theater. They hope that through the fellowship, they can learn more about the policies surrounding climate change. They believe sustainability and accessibility play an important role in architecture and should be at the forefront of design. They like to read and write in their free time, but most of all spend time with their cat!

Iqra Jan is a senior majoring in Economics and minoring in business administration. She comes from a Pakistani background and is a first-generation American. Her interest in Climate policy derives from her love of the environment. Growing up a native New Yorker, she has developed a passion for wanting to create a more sustainable environment in New York City. She hopes to use her economics degree and further pursue an education in law to become an Environmental lawyer to work on advising and maintaining the implementation of environmental rights and laws.

Jennifer Zingone is a sophomore studying Political Science and Legal Studies. Her interest in sustainability started with volunteering at an event hosted by a nonprofit environmental service organization. After the meeting, Jennifer was shocked that she knew nothing about any topics discussed. In the weeks after the event, Jennifer researched how global warming affected her community. She realized how many recent catastrophes were caused by climate change, such as Hurricane Ida and Elsa. Once Jennifer discovered how climate change affected New York, she knew she did not want to stand on the sidelines and watch her city sink. With this, her current aspiration is to write Environmental Policy for the State of New York.

Goongoon is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Engineering and minoring in Sociology. She was born and raised in Bangladesh before she came to New York with her family in 2015. Living in Dhaka and the Bronx, she noticed a direct connection between the lack of urban sustainability in a region and the limited resources its people had access to. Therefore, Goongoon plans to approach environmental justice with urban planning intersectionally, pushing for solutions that protect both people and the planet. As an aspiring engineer, she is passionate about involving the voice of the general public in the creation of innovations. She works as a research assistant at the Environmental Lab for wastewater treatment and looks forward to exploring various sectors within her major during her undergraduate years. As a climate fellow, Goongoon is interested in learning more about the link between the work of policymakers and engineers and how that can be utilized for effective legislative action to combat the climate crisis. In her free time, she enjoys exploring museums and art galleries within the city and uses crafty hobbies like crocheting and junk journaling as a creative outlet.

Karen Kohama is a Macaulay Honors senior majoring in biology and minoring in psychology. She was born and raised on Long Island with immigrant parents from Japan. She became interested in the topics of climate change and conservation when she attended a colloquium that discussed the consequences of monocultures on the environment and is now interested in biodiversity and conservation. Since last spring, Karen has been working on a research project in the Lohman Lab. The project focuses on butterfly biodiversity patterns in the Indo-Australian archipelago. She hopes the Climate Fellows Program will allow her to connect with people who care about the environment and learn about the intersections of economy, policy, and science.

Karina Torres is a sophomore who was born in the Dominican Republic but raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is majoring in International Studies and aspires to make small changes that can lead to significant differences. Considering how climate change has affected everyone, from seemingly minor inconveniences to very alarming and life-altering tragedies, Karina hopes to enter into a career that will give her the leverage to be hands-on in seeing what is truly happening, helping those who may need assistance on the way. Outside class, she is on the CCNY fencing team and enjoys watching Disney movies.

Li Kuan Phang is a senior majoring in Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering. She wants to become an environmental specialist who can create a positive influence on our living environment. Li thinks policy-making and business strategies are crucial to determine the future of sustainability, especially affordable sustainability. She looks forward to coordinating with engineers and other professionals toward this goal. Her goal as a professional in this field is to achieve a senior role in the public or private sector to determine business growth strategies that would support sustainability. With small steps, Li believes affordable sustainability will become the norm in our communities.

Mamadou Salihou Bah is currently Chief Project Manager at Building a Brighter African Diaspora (BBAD). He has been BBAD Technology mentor before he was promoted to his current role. As the Technology mentor, he has been working with a team on developing a technology to recycle E-Waste. While pursuing a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, Mamadou is also part of professional organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and America Needs You. He believes in the power of discipline, dedication, and patience. His optimism widely defines him.

Miguel Arias is a sophomore majoring in Political Science. Miguel comes from a land full of culture and diversity, the Dominican Republic. To defend the access to a retroactive knowledge of events and things that will further advance the future in better paths, he joined CCNY and CPS. Besides the goals Miguel hopes to achieve, he loves a good conversation and an intense chess match.

Mohammed Chowdhury is a rising junior in the Anne Bernard Spitzer School of Architecture program. Born in America, he still stays close to his Bengali heritage. Focusing on learning to build sustainability, he has worked with city agencies such as the Building and Planning Department to gain diverse experiences. His passion for designing is not limited to architecture but also graphic design and UX/IX design. After winning second place in the Zahn Innovation Startup Competition, he and his team received funds to create an app to help struggling independent nail technicians find clients and be their boss. Mohammed wants to use his passion for design to impact people’s lives and build a brighter community positively. When he is not designing or building, he loves going outdoors to unwind and relax with nature.

Mosammet Chowdhury is currently an undergraduate student at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. He enjoys working on illustration, 3D visualization, and Architectural Drawings. His interests include sustainable design, biomimicry, and how adopting sustainable buildings can advance building design.

Nakya Stewart is a 5th-year Environmental Engineering major with a concentration in energy, specifically clean, renewable, efficient, and sustainable energy. From a young age, Nakya had this pull towards changing the environment for the better. She has guided and helped educate peers on the effects of climate change, recycling, renewable energy, and clean energy and how we can help reverse the damage that has been done. However, climate policy did not interest Nakya until she attended the Getting to Zero forums. At the forum, it was clear where representation was lacking, and she wants to be a part of the movement to represent the community that is not the first on the list to be rejuvenated, efficient and sustainable community. Nakya aspires to bring clean energy methods to low-income communities by building sustainable buildings or retrofitting buildings, being a part of the climate policy sector that brings clean energy to minority communities, or even inventing clean, green & sustainable devices. Outside of school, she has assisted with building retrofits to make energy usage more efficient, conservation work, and designing sustainable systems in Hawaii. During her spare time, she works on her clean energy inventions, reads, games, writes short stories, and blog about environmentally friendly things.

Rachel Ferretti is a senior majoring in International Studies and doubles minoring in Human Rights and Jewish Studies. She is a Skadden Scholar in the Honors Program for Legal Studies and recently completed the Critical Language Scholarship in Arabic. Rachel was a professional performing artist for over a decade and traveled extensively throughout her career. Through those experiences worldwide, she saw the effects of climate change firsthand and felt inspired to return to college to pivot toward a law degree. She is specifically interested in writing legislation to regulate corporate waste and pollution, as well as asylum law and its connection to displacement resulting from climate disasters. Rachel lives in Astoria with seven pet snails and loves to hike in New York City and State Parks in her free time.

Tejaswini Sudhakar is a junior majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She is passionate about bio-design and wants to make this world a better place with innovations that change treatment methods for the better. In addition, she wants to be mindful that the devices she engineers are environmentally sustainable. Tejaswini worked on a renewable energy research project at the ASRC Nanoscience Initiative and gained valuable knowledge and methods about affordable and effective clean energy. She wants to incorporate this renewable clean energy on a large-scale basis in medical device manufacturing. As a climate policy intern, she hopes this program will help her acquire skills and information regarding the climate policies affecting large groups of people. In her free time, Tejaswini loves to read books, listen to podcasts, and work out.

Dashaun Galloway is a senior transfer student-athlete majoring in Management & Administration. He is the youngest child of Jamaican immigrants, and a first-generation college student from East Orange, NJ. His interest in sustainability and climate change started at his high school, Bloomfield/Payne Tech, a vocational school. In high school, His shop class was Sustainable Energy and he dove deep into the topic for four years. Prior to attending CCNY, Dashaun attended the Concordia College of New York (also CCNY), which was forced to close its doors due to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021. Dashaun plans to enter the workforce with a career in Operations/Logistics preferably at a renewable energy firm and will climb the corporate ladder to encourage the usage of renewable energy in urban communities to promote a healthy and more affordable lifestyle for his people.

Abdullah Mohiuddin is a junior majoring in International Studies. When he first started college during the pandemic, he was filled with rage, not only because of the lack of response to the pandemic at all levels of government but how unfair everything truly is right now. That unfairness was displayed during the George Floyd protests, where Americans were brutalized by the same institution they were protesting against — the police. On top of that, thanks to the economic fallout of the Covid-19 shutdown and the combined lack of response from the government to help its citizens, Abdullah needed to get involved. Since then, he has been on a trajectory for himself and his entire generation. This is why he joined the climate policy fellowship cohort this year. Abdullah has worked at the New York Public Interest Research Group, a student-led policy-based organization, with local officials about voting in the upcoming mayoral race of 2020. This past summer, he worked at the International Rescue Committee, which taught him about the lack of privileges that people may have when immigrating to the US. Abdullah joined this fellowship to push for more, and create a system where we are closer to an egalitarian society.

Zachary Rosman is a sophomore who majors in international studies. During his time in college, he has worked hard to bring awareness to causes like environmental justice. As a junior in high school, when Zachary saw the glaciers melt in Alaska while he was traveling there, his heart sunk, and he knew he had to help the environment. His hobbies are reading, gaming, and road trips throughout the country. As a climate policy fellow, he wants to learn about the intersections between politics and the environment to help it and stop climate change.

Jiale (Jerry) Chen is a fourth-year Macaulay Honors student, majoring in Applied Mathematics and minoring in Computer Science and Economics. Aspiring to become a data scientist, he has been exploring the applications of data science in various fields, such as sustainability and finance. As a Research Intern for the Building Performance Lab, he quantified the uncertainty in estimated energy savings, providing actionable information to M&V practitioners; as a Customer Success Intern for NielsonIQ, he analyzed the latest consumer trends and helped develop data-based solutions that have lasting impacts on global clients. Passionate about data science, interested in the world of finance, and concerned about climate change, he hopes to contribute towards a more sustainable world by helping companies make the right decisions and financing sustainable business practices and solutions for the climate crisis. As a Climate Policy Fellow, he is excited to explore the interface between policy-making, social dynamics, and tech innovations and widen his perspectives.

Born in Puebla, Mexico, and raised in El Barrio, Yeric has always felt strong ties to his Latin American roots. Seeing the way Latino countries like Mexico are being exploited economically and environmentally, he hopes his pursuit of a dual degree in Economics and International Studies will help him represent communities from these nations through advocacy and policy reform. Outside of school, his favorite forms of exercise are weight training and running. He has a mini husky named Nube (cloud in Spanish) and he often runs with her. He also takes Puerto Rican style salsa classes in his neighborhood; you can probably find him practicing his salsa moves in the NAC with friends.

Yuren Rangel is a junior in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences major, born and raised in Brooklyn from a Mexican immigrant family. What brought him to CCNY was its low tuition and broad student diversity, as well as its vast connections within the CUNY network and outside to opportunities in research, internships, and fellowships. Yuren hopes to explore opportunities in research and somewhat having a role in policymaking. He enjoys biking around the city and hanging out with his friends and family.

Office of Student Success