Summer Highlights From Climate and Society Graduates – State of the Planet

As summer internships come to an end, graduates of the Columbia Climate School are heading out into the world to put their new skills and education into practice.

Students in the MA in Climate and Society program have spent the past 12 months learning about climate change and social science. Offered by the Climate School in partnership with the Columbia’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the interdisciplinary graduate program trains professionals and academics to understand and address the impacts of climate variability and climate change on society and the environment.

Below, we share some summer highlights and future plans for four recent graduates.

María Martí Ramos (she/her) 

• Summer Position: Intern Advisor at Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations in New York City.
• Sector: Sustainable Development / Global Policy
• Ramos is an international student with a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Northeastern University (2013)

Ramos served as an intern advisor for the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations in New York City. Throughout her internship, she attended U.N. meetings, assisted delegates, and gained insights into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and negotiation processes. During Sustainability Week, Ramos focused on topics such as sustainable infrastructure, clean energy, poverty eradication, mobility, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“I recently completed a four-month internship at the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic, where I attended meetings and negotiations related to all committees, but my primary focus was on the Committee of the Economy and the Environment. I was there for the closing of very important declarations, such as the Pact for the Future, and witnessed the negotiation processes,” says Ramos.

Grayson Sussman Squires (he/him)

• Summer Position: Summer Associate, New Markets Team at Apex Clean Energy
• Sector: Renewables (wind, solar and energy storage development)
• Squires is a domestic student with a B.A. in the College of Social Studies and Environmental Studies (2021)

Squires interned as a summer associate on the New Markets Team at Apex Clean Energy, focusing on the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects. His role involved originating new projects and conducting thorough due diligence to build a competitive and successful portfolio in wind, solar and energy storage. This experience has allowed Squires to achieve his goal of transitioning into the clean energy sector, contributing to the development of impactful renewable energy solutions.

“During my summer internship, I played a key role in identifying strategic, high-value sites for new utility-scale solar and wind projects. My responsibilities included conducting comprehensive due diligence to de-risk investment decisions, leveraging the hard skills I honed at Columbia—such as financial modeling, data analysis, GIS and energy systems analysis—to assess transmission capacity, market opportunities, financial feasibility and environmental risks,” Squires says. “My experiences at Apex and Columbia have been instrumental in preparing me for a career in clean energy investing and deployment.”

Fiona Flaherty (she/they)

• Summer Position: Sustainability Communications and Strategy Intern @ F1R THE GIRLS
• Sector: Communications/Sports Media
• Flaherty is a domestic student with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University (2023)

Flaherty served as a sustainability communications and strategy intern for F1R THE GIRLS, a Formula 1 podcast and media platform with a community of over 200K women. Flaherty supported the platform’s sustainability content strategy and development, including the research and development of F1R the Girls Media Sustainability Narrative Series pitch to F1. She contributed to educational content, podcast episodes, and research on ESG trends in motorsport, helping to embed sustainability into the platform’s media coverage.

“Three months ago, I was hired to create a long-term sustainability communications strategy for F1R THE WORLD, our sustainability podcast. After months of expert interviews, gathering qualitative data at motorsport events, and creating experimental climate content (and leading a design sprint with our incredible leadership team!), I’m excited to promote the next evolution of our efforts: Planet Paddock,” says Flaherty.

Meghan Russell (she/her)

• Summer Position: Graduate Consultant at NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA): Climate Sustainability Planning team // Project Title: Carbon finance for mass transit
• Sector: Climate Finance / Public Transportation
• Russell is an international student from South Africa with a BBusSci in Marketing & Economics (2017).

Alongside her team, Russell explored the potential for the MTA to develop carbon offsets as a revenue stream to fund projects that increase mass transit ridership and reduce emissions. She led research on carbon offsets, assessed demand, estimated potential revenue, and identified the best verification processes. This capstone contributed to advancing the MTA’s sustainability goals while investigating innovative funding strategies for future transit projects.

“This summer, I had the opportunity to lead an exciting capstone project in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. My research team explored applications of carbon finance, recommending a framework for developing the first mass transit carbon offset project in the U.S. Now back in my home country of South Africa, I look forward to channeling my expertise in climate finance, focusing on developing solutions that drive climate action and energy access in underserved markets,” Russell says.