Eight Sabin International Fellows to Take Lessons Back to Their Home Nations

Note: Yale School of the Environment (YSE) was formerly known as the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). News articles and events posted prior to July 1, 2020 refer to the School's name at that time.

2015 Sabin Fellows browser
The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies has selected eight graduate students as Andrew Sabin International Environmental Fellows, with each Fellow to receive up to $40,000 of funding for their education and post-graduate service in the environmental sector.
 
The 2015 Sabin Fellows are Lara Iwanicki (Brazil), Hassaan Sipra (Pakistan), Mohammad Aatish Khan (India), Tamara Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago), Paloma Caro Torres (Chile), Mariana Vedoveto (Brazil), Luciana Maia Villalba  (Argentina), and Raymond Waweru (Kenya).
 
Each Fellow is eligible to receive tuition assistance up to $20,000 and another $20,000 in post-graduation awards. The post-graduation award is contingent on the students returning to their home countries or regions and completing one year of work in the environmental sector within 18 months of graduation.
 
The Andrew Sabin Family Foundation created the Sabin Fellowship program at Yale in 2011 to provide scholarship support for students from developing countries, and to provide additional post-graduate awards to those students returning to their home countries and regions to pursue environmental careers.  Since, 2011, the Andrew Sabin Foundation has supported 40 Sabin Fellows, all graduate students attending the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
 
“Now in its fifth year, the Sabin International Environmental Fellowship has established itself as a key program for our international students who wish to return to their home countries and regions to pursue environmental careers,” said F&ES Dean Peter Crane. “We are incredibly thankful to the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation for supporting students from developing countries to study at F&ES, and for easing their path back home where they have the financial flexibility to pursue their dream environmental careers.”
 
“I am excited to support these young environmental professionals from around the world through scholarships and by jumpstarting their environmental careers,” said Andrew Sabin. “My goal is to lower their debt burden while in School, and then offer an incentive for each of them to return to their home countries and regions as quickly as possible to work on pressing environmental issues. 
 
“Over the past five years, I’ve been thrilled to start building a global network of committed young, environmental leaders who are tackling tough issues like climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.”

Information about applying for a Sabin Fellowship can be found here.
 
About the 2015 Sabin Fellows
 
Lara Iwanicki ’16 M.E.M. (Brazil) is focused on marine conservation, and the development and implementation of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in her home country. She is studying marine ecosystems, fisheries and conservation, ichthyology, and working on clinical projects. This summer, she will be based in the Caribbean U.S. Virgin Islands conducting research to evaluate the effectiveness of MPA’s in conserving marine biodiversity, as well as examining social and political acceptance of MPAs. Lara’s career goals include working for non-governmental organizations to conduct scientific research, and promote marine conservation projects at local, state, and federal levels in Brazil. 

Hassaan Sipra ’16 M.E.M. (Pakistan) is pursing studies in energy, with a focus on renewable energy development in rural areas as an economic development tool, and in the context of climate change.  In addition to his coursework, he is pursuing collaborative partnerships with local and regional institutions to assess development projects and models in his home region, supplemented by research into carbon trading and waste management programs in Pakistan. This summer, Hassaan would like to intern with the International Energy Agency to gain exposure to their operations and strategy. In the future, he is interested in working on renewable energy issues in his home region, and promoting regional cooperation in renewable energy deployment.

Mohammad Aatish Khan ’16 M.E.M. (India) is interested in developing an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing project design and policy development in the context of climate adaptation and clean energy in developing countries. His specific interest is the study of public and private finance options for clean energy finance, and identification of pathways to design, implement, and evaluate adaptation projects through climate finance. This summer, Mohammad plans to work on climate finance, and continue his research analyzing 16 adaptation projects to identify best practices and innovative tools. In the future, he wants to work for a non-governmental organization in the area of climate finance, and project and policy evaluation.

Tamara Thomas’16 M.E.M. (Trinidad and Tobago) is researching international marine policy for small island developing states, with a focus on water resource and coastal zone management. This summer, she will be interning with the UNDP and WAITT Institute in her home country to help develop and implement best management practices designed to protect local drinking water sources from polluted surface water runoff. She will also be working on the development of a coastal zone management plan to reduce storm water runoff into the coastal zone.  In the future, Tamara wants to work in the Caribbean region on coastal zone management and climate adaptation.

Paloma Caro Torres ’16 M.E.M. (Chile) is interested in building upon her previous experience in production agriculture by studying agricultural policy and governance issues. She is studying agricultural and rural development, and natural resource management in a public policy context. This summer she hopes to work with an international non-governmental organization on policy implementation related to sustainable development and agriculture. After graduation, Paloma will return to Chile to work on policy development and implementation contributing toward environmental protection and sustainable development in Latin America.

Mariana Vedoveto ’16 M.E.M. (Brazil) is passionate about conservation of the Amazon rainforest, and is studying development models that combine economic growth with forest conservation. At F&ES, her academic goals are to strengthen her economic and finance skills that can be applied to policy development to incentive forest conservation and restoration. This summer she hopes to examine how market mechanisms and agreements are impacting deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia. In the future, Mariana aspires to work in the Amazon for a non-governmental organization to conduct research and advocacy on conservation, policy and market-based approaches in support of forest conservation.

Luciana Maia Villalba ’16 M.E.M. (Argentina) is focused on the study of industrial ecology which combines her interests in the natural sciences and engineering. Her goal is to apply her industrial ecology training to develop sustainable practices that can be applied in industrial processes and settings. In particular, Luciana will focus on life-cycle assessment and investigate industrial symbiosis in the context of economic development in Argentina. This summer, she is hoping for an international internship to learn more about water resource management, energy efficiency, and circular economy applications in industrial applications. After graduating from F&ES, Luciana will pursue opportunities in both the public and private sectors where she can apply industrial ecology principles to industrial development and environmental protection.

Raymond Waweru ’16 M.E.M. (Kenya) is focused on the study of conservation and development in Africa. His interests are in environmental economics, natural resource management, energy, and policy development. This summer, he hopes to work with a non-governmental organization in his home country engaged in conservation and development activities. Raymond aspires to work for the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, addressing issues of climate change, drought, economic development and policy.