This summer, five students pursued prestigious climate-related internships with support from the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth’s internship program. The program, supported by the Polsky Energy Transition Leadership Academy, provides stipends to students who have secured external, unpaid positions in the climate and energy fields.
This year’s interns left Hyde Park for offices in New York, Beijing, Geneva and California, where they dove into the fields of sustainable development, finance, policy and law. Working with leading public and private organizations, the interns developed real-world experience and built valuable connections for their future careers in climate and sustainable growth.
Read reflections from the 2025 cohort below.
Xinyuan Bao
United Nations Environment Programme–International Ecosystem Management Partnership
Xinyuan Bao is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Harris School of Public Policy. Her interests focus on climate adaptation, sustainable development, and international environmental cooperation.
This summer, Bao interned with the UNEP-International Ecosystem Management Partnership in Beijing, supporting research on ecosystem-based climate adaptation and South-South cooperation. During her internship, Bao conducted in-depth research on biodiversity conservation measures in
ecological farms in China, based on multi-year survey data (2022, 2023, 2025). The analysis covered four domains—pest control, soil and crop protection, irrigation practices, and agricultural waste management. Bao quantified adoption rates of different practices and identified key factors driving farmer decision-making, including cost–benefit trade-offs, technical barriers, and the role of policy incentives.
“This project allowed me to strengthen my quantitative analysis and policy evaluation skills. More importantly, it helped me understand how institutional support and economic incentives shape farmer adoption of biodiversity-friendly practices. The experience reinforced my commitment to advancing sustainable agriculture and climate policy through data-driven governance and has inspired me to continue working at the intersection of research, policy, and global sustainability.”
Caroline Denniston
United Nations Environment Programme
Caroline Denniston is pursuing her Master of Public Policy degree at the Harris School. She specializes in environmental policy and sustainable development.
This summer, Denniston interned with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the Programme Resources and Oversight Unit. She supported preparations for the 2025 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions, conducted research on potential funding sources and analyzed global trends in resource mobilization. Denniston also contributed to developing project proposals and donor reports, monitored contributions, enhanced data visualization tools for voluntary funding, and supported the Executive Office with oversight functions and policy development.
“My internship at UNEP was an invaluable opportunity to contribute to international efforts at the intersection of chemicals, waste, and sustainable development. Working on both resource mobilization and oversight deepened my appreciation for the complexities of financing global environmental governance and showed me the importance of aligning donor priorities with long-term sustainability goals. I especially valued collaborating with colleagues committed to strengthening multilateral action, which has inspired me to continue building a career dedicated to bridging technical analysis, policy, and global cooperation.”
Tony Jiang
Silver Leaf Partners
Tony Jiang is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Harris School of Public Policy, specializing in finance and energy policy.
This summer, Jiang interned at Silver Leaf Partners in New York as part of their Sustainable Finance Practice. He led research on the Regulatory & Disclosure Landscape, covering the SEC climate rule, Scope 3 standards, and analyzed how these policies are reshaping capital flows and investor requirements. Jiang also produced weekly briefings on capital markets trends (fundraising, LP behavior, green bond activity), built a structured database of policy/market developments for our client work, and contributed sector analyses (clean energy, industrial decarbonization, green manufacturing, sustainable agriculture) to a comprehensive report used by the Sustainable Finance Practice.
“The internship clarified how regulation and market structure directly influence sustainable investment strategies, especially the way disclosure mandates change risk pricing and access to capital. I grew a lot in synthesizing policy, data, and investor needs into actionable insights for clients, and I’m excited to keep building in sustainable finance at the intersection of policy and markets.”
Adrianne Kehne
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Natural Resources Section
Adrianne Kehne is a rising 2L at the Law School. This summer, Kehne interned with the Natural Resources Law Section at the California Department of Justice. She conducted legal research to support litigation defending California’s emissions regulations and climate disclosure laws. In addition to studying substantive law, Kehne also learned how different state agencies and the Attorney General’s office collaborate to advance and protect state laws, and how a diverse network of public and nonprofit lawyers work in parallel to fight for the environment.
“This internship gave me a window into some of the most vital fights in climate law, and I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship and support that made it possible.”
Stephanie (Nan Xi) Zhao
United Nations, Division of Sustainable Development Goals, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Stephanie Zhao is a second-year Master of Public Policy candidate at the Harris School of Public Policy. This summer, she interned in the Natural Resources and Interlinkages Branch of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in New York. In this role, she authored a policy memorandum titled “Financing the Ocean: Quantifying Gaps, Tracking Delivery, and Targeting Equity for SDG14 Implementation.” This involved a comprehensive screening of nearly 700 new Voluntary Commitments made at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and 3600+ Commitments made from the previous 2 conferences to produce a rigorous, data-driven analysis on global ocean finance mechanisms. She also contributed substantially to the Fall 2025 Ocean Action Newsletter, leading its drafting and coordination, and introduced the “Emerging Priorities” section to spotlight evolving thematic trends in global ocean action.
“Working at UN DESA during these especially challenging times for multilateralism has been both humbling and inspiring. As President Stubb of Finland said at this year’s General Assembly, “each and every Member State of the UN has agency — a say in how the new world order will look.” I am deeply grateful to have contributed, even in a small way, to that collective effort and to have learned from colleagues whose quiet dedication and grace under pressure left a lasting impression on me. This experience truly deepened my conviction to stay engaged in work that bridges policy and human impact, and to keep faith in collaboration even when the world feels most divided.”