Alumni spotlight: Aiyana Bodi, cross-environmentalist and innovative thinker
Aiyana Bodi graduated from MPA in Environmental Science and Policy in 2019.
Ayana Bodie recently joined Project drawdown As a senior assistant of Drawdown Labs.After graduation Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) At Columbia University in 2019, she started as a summer researcher Powerful earth, A global advocacy organization focused on reducing deforestation through global supply chains. During the scholarship, her research focused on rubber farming and forestry, and assisted in the development of a campaign aimed at forming a sustainable natural rubber alliance.
After receiving the scholarship, Aiyana began to work as a policy assistant Pacific Forest Trust, An organization dedicated to protecting and conserving American forest landscapes. While there, she was able to work on climate policy related to land and forest protection. She used her memo writing skills in the MPA-ESP project to formulate state and federal policies for California and Oregon, and assisted Oregon’s alliance building. In her spare time, Aiyana likes hiking and backpacking in the Bay Area. Her new hobbies include screen printing and learning Korean.
Before joining the MPA-ESP project, Aiyana graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in ecology and a minor in geology. She has a very scientific background, but wants to find the intersection of science and policy.She intern Alaska Wilderness League Carry out policy and communication work, while creating community support for the organization. At the same time, Ayana interned for Congressman Gerry Connolly, serving in the 11th District of Virginia, learning the internal operation of Capitol Hill. She then focused on acquiring the technical skills required by regulatory agencies and understanding how to communicate environmental science with non-scientists as a project assistant. National Environmental Council.
Aiyana has had several policy internships before, but her full-time job is not specialized in policy work. She wants to obtain a graduate degree in public administration and gain knowledge and understanding of practical aspects of environmental policy. The acceleration aspect of the plan attracted her interest because she wanted to return to work, and Colombia’s location in New York City was the main advantage of the network and new experiences. The course structure of the summer science section allows her to acquire technical skills and knowledge that can be applied in the policy-focused semesters of the fall and spring. These are valuable for learning how to translate science into policy.
In the summer semester of intensive science, climatology is her favorite course. “I know the basics of climate change, but I can learn a lot of details to understand how the climate works and why it changes,” she said. The in-depth nature of the course enables students to explore their specific passion for the environment.
Another course she thinks most is financial management in the spring semester. She found this course not only useful in the real world, but also a fascinating and rich study of how organizations, including non-governmental organizations, for-profit organizations, and government agencies, manage finances.
Aiyana is also the workshop manager for the spring semester of the Applied Earth System and Policy Analysis Workshop. Although the spring semester is busy with graduation, job search and the end of graduate school, it is a precious experience. She can learn valuable skills about managing peers and gain a knowledge environment suitable for personal leaders in the real world.
For one of her elective courses, Aiyana combined climate change policy with Scott BarrettShe described the course as similar to the summer MPA-ESP climatology course, but provided a new level of understanding of what climate policy might look like at an international level and why some policies are successful while others are not. She thinks this course is her favorite because it highlights the complexity of climate policy on a global scale.
She can also Benjamin Orlov During her time at Columbia University and during the spring semester, she participated in an independent study that allowed her to study how climate change is communicated within Congress. She focused on three different bills in Congress and how they communicate climate change in different ways. These bills deal with economic policy, energy security, and military defense. By watching the testimony and hearings of Congress, her last project studied how to communicate climate change and identified the factors for success in climate legislation and communication from the perspective of Congress.
Since she worked in the environmental field, Aiyana’s interests have changed a bit. The MPA-ESP program enables her to discover climate policy, with special attention to legislative matters and how the protection and restoration of land and natural systems can help adapt to climate change. Recently, due to the urgency of the problem, her enthusiasm for the environment has shifted to private sector participation and climate mobilization.
Aiyana started her job search in January and she shared: “I know it may be a little too early, but it gives me some experience and practice when applying for multiple jobs at the same time.” This allows her to get used to Apply for a job and create a good template for her resume and cover letter. Her advice to students at school includes keeping an electronic form for job search. This allows her to track the job she applied for, details about the organization and deadlines, and the timeline for applications, responses, and interviews. She suggested that current students treat job hunting as an elective course and set aside some time each week to find and apply for jobs. One suggestion is to find a job-seeking partner in the queue and hold each other accountable.
Aiyana has a non-profit focus and experience in this field, but it is recommended that students consider less the specific content of science courses and pay more attention to what the content can teach you or the skills you can gain from learning a specific topic. She said, “The ESP program discusses a lot of questions about how to convey technical information to non-professionals.” These skills enable students to use the content of the summer science intensive courses to communicate with others how environmental science affects them and the world.
Her advice to current students is not to focus on finding ideal jobs after graduate school. She recommends trying to apply for a job that you would be happy to have, but don’t wait for the perfect job to appear: “Spread the net, but don’t focus on finding the perfect job, because you never know where you will end.”
Finally, Aiyana reviewed three of her most memorable experiences in the ESP program:
- “The people you meet in the MPA-ESP program will be your closest friends. They are like-minded people who are as passionate about the environment as you.”
- “Summer field trips are not only educational, but also very interesting, allowing you to get in touch with your peers while understanding the real environmental issues in New York.”
- “Although the spring capstone course is intense, it is very beneficial. It allows you to gain real-world skills while building professional and personal relationships with your peers.”
Michael Bannon is MPA Environmental Science and Policy Plan, 2021 level.
If you are interested in learning more about the MPA-ESP program, please contact Assistant Director Stephanie Hoyt (sah2239@columbia.edu).
