Carlos O. Ibarra (Co-Chair)
Carlos is a second-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Fulbright Scholar from Mexico. Before Yale, he worked in the areas of corporate finance and energy at a global cement manufacturer where he provided investment advice for energy projects in different countries. His academic interests are based on green infrastructure financing with a focus on renewable energy. He hopes to bridge the gap of green financing in places where most people are affected due to the lack of resources, both in developing and developed countries.
Christina Ospina (Co-Chair)
Christina Ospina is a Master of Environmental Management candidate pursuing a Business and Environment specialization with a focus on global land-use change issues and food systems. Prior to Yale, she worked in the energy sector in DC, providing resources on operational and safety best practices for publicly-owned electric utilities. She acquired her undergraduate degree in Human Biology with a concentration in Human-Environment Interactions from Stanford University.
Andrea Cruz Quiroz (Co-Chair)
Andrea is a first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Before attending Yale, she worked in solar energy for three years and backpacked around the world for a year and a half. She is passionate about advancing the adoption of solar energy around the world and is planning to dedicate her career to that goal. She graduated Cum Laude from Middlebury College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. Currently, she works at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and at the Center for Industrial Ecology. Her hobbies include dancing, photography, and brewing coffee.
Pallavi Sherikar (Co-Chair)
Pallavi Sherikar is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Her academic interests include modeling interdependent climate risks, studying the role of social cohesion in climate protection, and applying a climate justice lens to adaptation financing. Before attending Yale, Pallavi worked as a Climate Resilience Fellow for the County of Alameda in California where she researched climate impacts on local operations and populations. While working for the county, she co-authored a guidebook for local government staff to catalyze adaptation implementation through a workshop model. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics & Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Anna Raffeld
Anna is a first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, specializing in Ecosystems and Land Conservation and Management. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Environmental Science in 2018 and was a horticulture intern at the Smithsonian Gardens in Washington D.C. before coming to Yale. At Yale, she is studying the intersection of conservation & restoration, agriculture, and climate change mitigation. More specifically, she is interested in how conservation, restoration, and agriculture can serve as natural methods for carbon storage.
Viola Taubmann
Viola is a first-year Master of Environmental Management student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, specializing in Ecosystems and Land Conservation and Management. Her academic focus is on land-use change, agroforestry and conservation on agricultural land. Before attending Yale, she worked for the German Development Corporation (GIZ) and for the European Parliament on agricultural policy. Viola holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Science from University College Freiburg, Germany.
Shitiz Chaudhary
Shitiz is a first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) student at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a focus on Business and Environment. His interests lie in Impact Investing, Corporate Sustainability and Mountain Ecosystems. Before F&ES, he worked as a consultant with KPMG and has also worked with non-profits and Govt. of India on issues like sustainable agriculture, rural livelihoods, behavior change communication and tourism. He grew up in India and has studied Mechanical engineering in his undergraduate studies. Shitiz is an outdoor enthusiast and loves hiking, trekking, and soccer.
Diego Angel
Diego is a first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies specializing in Energy & the Environment and Green Chemistry & Industrial Ecology. His interests lie in scaling up “high risk-high impact” clean technologies for the decarbonization of the economy and the human progress of developing countries. Before attending Yale, Diego worked for 3.5+ years on financial and advisory services for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Mexico. Diego studied chemical engineering during his undergraduate studies. He is also passionate about music and a fitness enthusiast.
Claudia Sánchez de Lozada
Claudia is a first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, specializing in Climate Change Science and Solutions. Her academic interests include climate change adaptation, water resources, and international development. Before attending Yale, Claudia worked as an international environmental consultant assessing environmental impacts from different industries in several countries in Latin America and Africa. She also worked as part of a team of environmental experts in several international environmental litigations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Macalester College. Her hobbies include photography, camping, and hiking.