Meet our 2026-27 Inaugural Penn Climate Cohort!
Meet the students exploring climate research, action, and solutions across Penn.
Lindsay Boettiger
Lindsay Boettiger is from Austin, Texas, and is pursuing a Master of Architecture/Master of Landscape Architecture. Her interest in sustainability and climate action began through food and environmental justice projects at the local level during college. At Penn, these interests have carried into her design work, where she is particularly interested in environmental resilience, food systems, and community health and engagement.
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Climate Communications Assistant: Writing
PI: Heidi Wunder-Riegel
Heidi Cooke
Heidi Cooke is from Manchester, England, and is a first-year PhD student in Linguistic Anthropology. She is interested in how people approach solutions to planetary crises, particularly economic solutions, as well as in the design of multilateral environmental agreements. As part of the Climate Cohort, she will investigate the history of climate change and the insurance industry under Dr. Melissa Charenko, exploring how insurers price nature-related risks and how this intersects with or impedes climate solutions.
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Research Assistant: A History of Climate Change and the Insurance Industry
PI: Melissa Charenko
Margaux Cowles
Margaux Cowles is from Larchmont, New York, and is pursuing a BA in Environmental Studies (C’27) and an MA in Environmental Studies (C’29). A competitive sailor since age 10, she has traveled widely for her sport, developing a deep appreciation for marine environments while witnessing different cultural approaches to environmental protection. She is interested in how culture and history shape nations’ ability to respond to climate change, as well as in sustainable innovation and design tailored to local socioeconomic contexts. She hopes to use her education and fluency in French and Spanish to strengthen climate change communication, particularly among young people.
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Climate Solutions Hub Research Assistant: A North-South Living Lab for Heat Resilience during the First 1,000 Days of Life
Multiple PI: Ricardo Castillo, Grace Chan
Paola Rueda-Guevara
Paola Rueda-Guevara is from Bogotá, Colombia, and is a fourth-year PhD student in Demography and Sociology. Her interest in climate change centers on understanding how environmental conditions affect population health and socioeconomic well-being. Her current research on irrigation investments and health in Peru has strengthened her interest in the connections between climate, agriculture, health, and economic development. More broadly, she is interested in bringing a demographic and health equity perspective to climate research, particularly in Latin America.
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Data Assistant: Climate Shocks, Irrigation Megaprojects, and the Resilience of Peruvian Communities
Multiple PI: Ricardo Castillo, Leandro Pongeluppe
Radha Iyer
Radha Iyer is from Seattle, Washington, and is a second-year Master of Architecture student. Her interest in climate stems from the role architectural materials can play in reducing our ecological footprint. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest and spending time outdoors also gave her a personal connection to the region’s ecosystems and an awareness of the ways climate change is affecting them.
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Research Assistant: Terene 4 Lifecycle - Environmental Impact of Novel Earthen Materials from Hyperlocal Byproducts
PI: Laia Mogas-Soldevila
Daniel Katz
Daniel Katz is from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and is pursuing a degree in Mathematics and Urban Studies with a concentration in Urban Education (C’28). His connection to climate is primarily through education, with a particular interest in how climate change is already shaping students’ experiences in their schools and communities. He is especially interested in the democratic role of education and how schools can help young people understand these challenges, have a voice in responding to them, and shape the future they will inherit.
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Research Assistant: Youth Voices, Green Choices - Deliberating Responses to Climate-Related Problems in Philadelphia Public Schools
PI: Rand Quinn
Yusuf Khalil
Yusuf Khalil is from Swansea, UK, and is a second-year Master of City Planning student concentrating in spatial analytics. He is interested in how climate adaptation can be measured and financed in the places that need it most. His current research on charcoal-driven forest degradation in Zambia uses remote sensing to make an under-documented driver of deforestation more visible. His interest in climate finance also draws on his experience in private equity, including a summer internship in Tunis focused on sustainable infrastructure in the MENA region, as well as his studies in environmental economics, law, and urban climate finance.
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Climate-Agriculture Research Assistant
PI: Thabo Lenneiye
Tegan Lochner
Tegan Lochner is a student in the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics program in the Weitzman School of Design. She is interested in how spatial data and its representation affect public policy, landscape interpretation, and landscape architecture. Before coming to Penn, she earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Penn State and worked at a Chicago-based firm specializing in ecologically resilient and socially just landscape infrastructure.
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Research Assistant: Block-Scale Climate Inequality in Philadelphia - Measuring Micro-Scale Heat and Air Quality Across Urban Land Cover Gradients
PI: Jane E. Dmochowski
Maya Miller
Maya Miller is from Laurel, Maryland, and is pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Application (C’27). She is particularly interested in the connection between climate and agriculture and how climate change is increasing the intensity and unpredictability of agricultural outcomes. She hopes to contribute to a food system that supports consumer well-being and environmental health while sustaining people for generations, with an emphasis on collaboration and diverse perspectives.
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Climate-Agriculture Research Assistant
PI: Thabo Lenneiye
Heidi Pan
Heidi Pan is from Middlesex County and is studying Environmental Studies, Art History, and Philosophy. She has loved the environment since childhood and has developed a deep empathy for nature, particularly because it can be easily misunderstood and cannot advocate for itself. An avid birdwatcher, leaf collector, and insect enthusiast, she is interested in the ways people build relationships with the natural world. She also hosts a podcast and is writing a book about intergenerational advocacy and her personal history as a neurodivergent person who has found community in nature.
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Climate Communications Assistant: Social Media
PI: Heidi Wunder-Riegel
Madeline Scolio
Madeline Scolio is from Woodstock, Illinois, and is pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture (’27). She is interested in the overlapping roles of human and ecological agency in shaping landscapes, the potential of nature-based solutions to build climate resilience, and the evolving role of designers as long-term stewards of environmental change. More broadly, she is interested in how people can live within ecological systems in more responsible and reciprocal ways.
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Data Assistant: Climate Adaptation in the Tourism Sector - A Framework for Destinations, Governments, and the Tourism Industry
PI: Matthijs Bouw
Katherine Wu
Katherine Wu is from Shanghai and Singapore and is a junior at Wharton studying Finance and Statistics. She is interested in infrastructure investing and exploring how private capital can strengthen climate resilience while creating social impact.
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Climate Solutions Hub Research Assistant: Climate Resilience and Private-Sector Engagement
Multiple PI: Arthur van Benthem, Caro Park, R. Jisung Park
Helen Xu
Helen Xu is from Hefei, Anhui, China, and is pursuing a Master of City Planning (’27). She is interested in how cities can respond to climate change through more sustainable and equitable transportation and urban development. Her work sits at the intersection of urban planning, transportation, and data science, with particular interests in public transit, walkability, urban heat, and access to green space. She is especially interested in using spatial and data-driven methods to understand how climate and transportation investments affect different communities and help cities become more resilient, accessible, and sustainable.
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Data Assistant: Assessing local media coverage of the US clean energy supply chain
PI: Parrish Bergquist
