Careers

An exciting gift from Anita and Joshua Bekenstein ’80 to the Yale School of the Environment will establish a university-wide program to increase the ranks of Yale graduates in climate leadership roles and accelerate the pace of climate action.

Forester and federal wildland firefighter Monte Kawahara is working to mitigate the effects of extreme wildfires by focusing on the root causes and partnering with tribal communities. Kawahara’s efforts earned him the Yale School of Environment's 2023 Prospect Street Award.

From populating an early conservation database using IBM key punch cards to protecting many thousands of acres of ecologically significant lands in South Carolina, 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award winner Tom Kohlsaat ’73 MFS has always been guided by the relevant conservation needs of the day.

As executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, Ann Pesiri Swanson '83 MES brought together scientists, federal and state legislators, and environmental advocates to forge agreements to protect the health of the largest estuary in the U.S.

YSE Associate Dean for International Engagement Gordon Geballe is retiring after a nearly 50-year affiliation with the School and Yale. He is known for always keeping students at the center, his ability to build community and befriend everyone in the room, and his dedication to New Haven.

In addition to YSE students and faculty, alumni played a major role at the November 2021 U.N. climate summit, representing global organizations and taking part in negotiations aimed at stronger climate action.

Mesa, a startup run by Tony Cisneros '21 MEM and Caroline Ebinger '22 MEM, seeks to provide nutritious backpacking meals while supporting core planetary health principles. 

Margaret Williams’ M.E.Sc '93 eclectic work as director of the World Wildlife Fund's Arctic program reflects the diversity of challenges facing this vulnerable eco-region.

With nearly every sector worldwide affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Kevin Doyle offers advice for students looking to enter the job market at a difficult time and shares advice from alumni who launched their careers a decade ago during another time of economic crisis.

By the time he arrived at F&ES, Terry Baker ’07 M.F. had already learned first-hand how the U.S. Forest Service works — and about the people who make it run. But he says his time at Yale helped make him a leader.

A broad science background and some old-fashioned pluck helped Jean Thomson Black ’75 MFS build an impactful career in science publishing, for which she was honored with the School’s Distinguished Service Award at Reunion Weekend 2020.

For more than four decades, Ian von Lindern M.F.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’80 has been at the center of a massive cleanup of lead pollution in Idaho. The strategies he has helped develop are now being used to tackle health threats globally.

Robert K. Klee M.E.S. ’99, J.D. ’04, Ph.D. ’05 has been nominated to succeed Daniel C. Esty as commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Erik Kulleseid ’94 M.F. has been appointed commissioner of the New York State’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Reservation, replacing Rose Harvey ’84 M.E.S.

By the time she arrived at F&ES, Jill Savery M.E.M. '06 had already won an Olympic gold medal. Today she is working at the nexus of sustainability and sports, helping sports organizations embed sustainable practices into their event planning.