SUPPORT OUTSTANDING STUDENTS

We uplift the work of about 50 students a year in a way that also supports our civic partners and advances goals for environmental equity. Please see examples of the financial and mentorship support, below, and consider joining us in supporting emerging environmental leaders.

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Are you a student interested in applying to these opportunities?
Learn more on our Student Opportunities page.

FIELD FELLOWSHIP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

This program provides financial support and professional connections for students to work with environmental justice organizations and other civic leaders to advance goals for more livable and prosperous places.

Current and recent community partners:

  • Better World Group
  • Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
  • Communities for a Better Environment
  • East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
  • The Greenlining Institute
  • Pacoima Beautiful
  • The People’s Collective for Environmental Justice
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility-LA
  • Sierra Club

If your organization advances environmental justice and is interested in hosting a fellow/intern, contact Colleen Callahan, co-executive director, at ccallahan@luskin.ucla.edu for more details about the criteria and expectations.

Victoria Martinez

Victoria Martinez will be a summer fellow with the California Environmental Voter and Education Fund. While there, she will analyze environmental policies aimed at reducing emissions and advancing equitable clean transportation initiatives. She brings her experience working with marginalized communities and her passion for community-centered policymaking to this fellowship. Victoria is a rising second-year student in the master in public policy program.

Muizz Akhtar

Muizz Akhtar will join the Greenlining Institute this summer to conduct data and policy research in order to identify better opportunities to deliver climate resiliency investments to low-income communities across California. Muizz is pursuing a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, where they hope to help translate environmental policies that indelibly shape people’s lives.

Avrey Tokuyama

Avrey Tokuyama will be a fellow with Communities for a Better Environment, where she will investigate air quality inequities in Southeast Los Angeles. She will also help develop tools to support advocacy efforts for cleaner air in frontline communities. As a promising fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Public Affairs and Geography/Environmental Studies, Avery has a deep commitment to environmental justice work inside and outside of the classroom.

GRADUATE RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS

Each year, the Luskin Center for Innovation provides financial support for students’ capstone projects, allowing them to expand the scope of their applied environmental justice or sustainability projects.

To the right are members of one team we recently supported with a Graduate Research Grant. In partnership with the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific Southern California Region, this team of master’s in public policy students assessed how government funding decisions to incentivize tugboat electrification and hybrid retrofits, as well as training programs for port workers, can be used to ensure that these programs advance a high-road framework. This includes strong job quality and robust worker training and apprenticeship pathways, which support a just transition to zero-emissions mobility.

Devon Baker

Devon’s has conducted participatory research with the UCLA Labor Center in partnership with labor unions, worker centers, and other stakeholders to support organizing campaigns that build worker power and promote higher labor standards in low-wage industries throughout California. Their research interests include understanding the role the financialization and consolidation of the economy have had on worsening labor conditions globally.

Claire Courtney 

Claire’s experiences working for unions, nonprofits, and California’s Governor’s Office have shaped her perspective on how policy tools and research can help inform, support, and encourage equitable community economic development.

Maureen Flaherman

Maureen has served as a Luskin Leadership Fellow with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and before graduate school, she worked on political campaigns and as a union organizer for several years. Her research interests include the role of labor unions in reducing economic inequality and connecting workers to good jobs.

Carley Towne

Carley’s experience spans policy research and advocacy, including work in reproductive justice, feminist advocacy, and labor organizing. She has supported worker-focused campaigns, conducted applied policy research, and contributed to constituent services and policy analysis in local government, with a focus on advancing equitable policy solutions.

Please help us support emerging environmental leaders shaping a more sustainable and equitable future.

To discuss these opportunities, please contact Colleen Callahan, co-executive director, at ccallahan@luskin.ucla.edu.

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