News

Alumni at Work

From creating NYC Summer Streets to recycling billions of pieces of hard-to-recycle waste to helping tens of thousands of people connect to the outdoors, YSE alumni really are everywhere. Follow our Alumni at Work series — in print and video — to learn more about the impact they are making globally.

Environmental Joy: Writing the Future

Global leaders will share strategies for advancing sustainability through community empowerment and cross-sector partnerships at the annual Yale Global Environmental Justice Conference.

Tracing the Hidden Connections in Nature and People

Jim Coleman,  a 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award winner, bridged science and humanity in his work as a plant ecologist— advancing ecological research, championing student success, and embracing his identity as a neurodiverse educator.

Driving Global Forest Solutions From the Ground Up

Steering Historic U.S. Climate Policy

Maggie Thomas’ persistence, leadership, and creative approach to policy implementation have earned her the Yale School of the Environment 2025 Prospect Street Award.

Building Trust in Soil Carbon as a Climate Solution Requires Stronger Evidence

As policymakers, markets, and the public look to soil carbon sequestration as a key climate solution, new research led by Yale School of the Environment scientists warns that current methods for measuring success may not be up to the task.

YSE Celebrates 125 Years of Leadership, Innovation, and Impact

The Yale School of the Environment has been educating the next generation of environmental leaders and helping to meet some of society’s greatest challenges since 1900. Today, the community is working on climate solutions while looking at the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Direct Measurements Can Reduce Uncertainty in Soil Carbon Credit Markets

Yale scientists find that a “measure and remeasure” approach is a feasible method of verifying soil carbon storage in croplands for climate mitigation.

YSE Awards First Endowed Chairs for Professors of Environmental Justice

Yale School of the Environment Profs. Dorceta Taylor ’85 MFS, ’91 PhD, and Gerald Torres were honored with the first endowed chairs in environmental justice. Taylor was named the Wangari Maathai Professor of Environmental Justice, while Torres was named the Dolores Huerta and Wilma Mankiller Professor of Environmental Justice. Taylor and Torres, internationally renowned scholars, have been central to YSE’s ongoing efforts in building a world-class environmental justice program and incorporating it across all disciplines.

YSE Alumni Award Winner Honored for Work in Building Coalitions in Colombia

Claudia Martínez Zuleta is bringing together leaders in finance, agriculture, and climate change to fuel economic growth while also meeting the challenge of sustainable development. Her work has earned her the Yale School of the Environment’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors the achievements of YSE graduates who have made significant contributions to the field of conservation, environmental science, and management.

YSE Alumni Award Winner is Incentivizing Conservation in Panama

From establishing The Nature Conservancy’s presence in Panama to serving as the country’s first minister of the environment, Yale School of the Environment Distinguished Alumni Award winner Mirei Endara de Heras has dedicated her career to addressing environmental challenges

YSE Alumnus Honored for Reclaiming and Protecting Indigenous Land in Virginia

Luke Swampdog Tyree ’14 MESc founded NDPonics, which has helped reclaim and restore about 1,000 acres of Indigenous land of the Monacan Indian Nation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In recognition of his efforts, Tyree received the Prospect Street Award, which recognizes a recent Yale School of the Environment graduate who has made significant contributions in the environmental field and exemplifies the spirit of the school. 

COP28 Highlights YSE’s and Yale’s Leadership on Climate Solutions

From greening global trade to reducing the “embodied” carbon emissions generated by building materials to de-fossilizing our economy through innovation in green chemistry and green engineering, Yale faculty and thought leaders participating in COP28 emphasized a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the climate crisis. 

Yale School of Environment Scientists Emphasize Importance of Forest Management in Reaching Net Zero Emission Goals

Forests play a key role in mitigating climate change by removing and storing carbon dioxide, but they are facing increasing challenges. In the new Department of Energy report “Roads to Removal,” a team of YSE scientists map out a plan to reach critical climate goals by increasing the total forested area in the U.S., increasing the rate at which forests remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and increasing durability of forest carbon storage.

Knauss Fellow Kirsten Williams Is Committed to Protecting Our Coastlines

Kirsten Williams '23 MEM/JD will serve as an international and interagency ocean policy liaison for the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy as a 2024 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow.