Hometown
Delafield, Wisconsin
Undergraduate education
Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, minor in political economy, Carleton College
Employer
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Job title
PhD student/research assistant
Start date
Fall 2022
Primary job responsibilities
I’m a PhD student in the Environment and Resources program through the Nelson Institute at UW–Madison. I am at the dissertation stage, which means I am done with classes and spend most of my time on my own research: both the analysis and the writing.
Describe a project that best illustrates your job
My PhD research focuses on what we can learn from historical technology transitions that can help us understand the technology transitions that are necessary to meet our climate goals.
How do you use what you learned at La Follette on the job?
I use the analytical skills from the two statistics courses at LFS in my research all the time. Having a foundation in regression analysis and econometrics has helped me transition from the MPA to a PhD program. I also appreciate how much we wrote in the LFS classes, which has remained true in my PhD.
What experiences shaped your decision to pursue a master’s degree in public affairs?
Before pursuing an MPA, I was working in Minneapolis at a non-profit organization where I worked on climate action planning and local energy policymaking. I decided to go to graduate school to sharpen my analytical skills and dive deeper into the world of energy policy.
What drew you to the La Follette School?
I originally applied to the La Follette School in part because I’m originally from Wisconsin and have family here. Particularly over the course of the past year with the pandemic, it became more important to me to live somewhere where I had a support network.
After learning more about the La Follette School, I was drawn to the small cohort size, the Energy Analysis and Policy program, and the wonderful students, alumni, and staff I spoke with as I made my graduate school decision. I was also concerned about funding in my graduate school decision, and at La Follette I was also offered a project assistantship working with Professor Greg Nemet, which informed my decision to choose LFS.
Project assistantships
I worked with Professor Greg Nemet as a project assistant during my time at LFS. He is now my PhD advisor and I have worked with him as a research assistant since the beginning of my PhD. In my first year at LFS, I worked with him to prepare materials for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report and wrote literature reviews on solar energy, industrial policy, and carbon dioxide removal. In my second year, I started working on building a dataset on historical technology adoption that ended up being the foundation of my PhD research.
What impact did your client-based projects have on your education and/or career?
My cost-benefit analysis project and Energy Analysis and Policy capstone project, both of which were focused on heat pump adoption in Wisconsin, provided lasting relationships with professors at UW as well as our clients. It has kept me engaged in local energy and climate mitigation topics, even as my PhD research has shifted my focus to an international level.
Most rewarding experience at the La Follette School
I enjoyed the group work at LFS – I learned a lot from my classmates and enjoyed the discussions we had in and outside the classroom. I am still friends with many people from my time at La Follette.
Most challenging experience at the La Follette School
I began in the fall of 2020, so the most challenging experience was doing the majority of graduate coursework online. It was challenging to connect with my classmates and participating in discussions felt harder online than I think it would have been in person.