From Grad School to Government: My Journey from IRES to Climate Policy

Talk summary:

I went into grad school not knowing what I wanted to do afterwards. Something related to policy, something impactful, and something with work-life balance, but beyond that, who knew! Through internships/jobs, classes, networking, my research, and saying yes to almost everything (drawbacks definitely noted), I developed various skillsets that prepared me for my current, amazing job. I work at Metro Vancouver (the regional government for the lower mainland) in our Air Quality and Climate Action Services department, developing and implementing climate policy. I manage or support 18+ diverse projects, with a through line of increasing our focus on social equity and data-driven policy. It’s an interesting, challenging, rewarding, and dynamic space, ripe with opportunity and urgency. In this talk, I’ll share my learnings on moving from academia to policy work and what I’ve learned in my work so far.

Bio:

Claire is a Senior Policy and Planning Analyst with Metro Vancouver in the Air Quality and Climate Action Services Department. She contributes to the development and implementation of our Climate 2050 Strategy and Clean Air Plan, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas reductions for buildings, transportation, and industry. She conducts policy and data analyses and manage and support many internal and cross-jurisdictional/collaborative projects. In 2021, She graduated with an MSc in IRES. Her Master’s research thesis, Environmental Justice and the Enforcement of Air Pollution Laws in Canada, examined how different governments enforce air pollution laws and administer various enforcement tools to offenders, and how different communities experience enforcement.