Sipping Sustainably: How One Policy School Alumna Is Reimagining the Future of Green Tech

Policy School PhD alumna Gloria Schmitz, Ph.D. ’24, founder of the Boston-based climate technology and sustainability consulting startup Klymatrix, is creating an impact in the sustainability space. At Boston Climate Week, she recently presented the Klymacup™ , her startup's newly patent-pending, smart, reusable cup designed for events. The Klymacup offers a targeted solution to the single-use plastic waste that too often ends up in landfills.

Beyond the Klymacup™, the company has developed a full line of products made from certified organic cotton, 100% recycled polyester and aluminum, and compostable bioplastics, and is also offering consulting services for businesses, organizations, and scientific research teams. Gloria's investment in data-driven sustainability solutions reflects the Policy School’s commitment to preparing the next generation of doers and dreamers.

Prof. Alicia Modestino Promoted

Prof. Alicia Modestino has been promoted to Full Professor in the Policy School and the Department of Economics. She partners with city, state, and community organizations on youth employment, housing, healthcare, and the future of work. She directs the Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy and holds affiliations with J-PAL (MIT), the Brookings Institution, and IZA. Before Northeastern, she spent more than a decade as a Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She also received Northeastern's inaugural Global Network Accelerator Award (2023) and was named a J-PAL Evidence Champion (2024). Congratulations, Prof. Modestino!

Arlington Graduation

Policy School graduates received their degrees at Northeastern's Arlington campus commencement on Friday, May 8th. Dean Kellee Tsai and Policy School Director Maria Ivanova attended the ceremony, which celebrated our students' achievements, and welcomed them to our alumni community. Dean Tsai presented CSSH’s Outstanding Master’s Student Award to MPP graduate Haimanot Tarekegne. 

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Oakland Graduation

Policy School students completing the MPP and MPA programs, directed by Policy School professor Mark Henderson, on the Oakland campus (the inaugural group to do so) were among the newest members to join the Northeastern University network of 3650,000 alumni worldwide. The Chetkovich Awards for Outstanding Graduate Students, recognizing exemplary scholarship and commitment to public service, were presented to MPA graduates Elizabeth Sheets Orcutt, CPRP and United States Coast Guard Officer Drew LoVullo. 

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Housing, Heat, and Health: BARI Conference Promotes Collective Action on Urgent Issues

The 10th Annual BARI Conference drew more than 400 researchers, public servants, and community members, a tenfold growth from the 40 attendees at its inaugural event in 2017. The conference featured a keynote panel on housing affordability, 12 breakout sessions spanning topics from extreme heat to civic participation, and poster presentations from students across Boston-area universities. The day reflected BARI's broader mission of connecting academics, policymakers, and community leaders around shared civic challenges.

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From Boston to Santiago: Prof. Maria Ivanova Champions Women's Leadership at NASPAA

Policy School Director Maria Ivanova participated in the 2026 NASPAA Regional Conference hosted by the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. Bringing together scholars, practitioners, students, and public service leaders from across the region and beyond, the conference explored the theme “Emerging Leaders, Enduring Values: Educating for Public Service in Times of Uncertainty.” Prof. Ivanova spoke on the panel “Developing Future Leaders: Lessons Learned from Women in Public Administration,” alongside NASPAA President Sara Rinfret, NASPAA Executive Council member Nisha Botchwey, and NASPAA Executive Director Crystal Calarusse. The conversation focused on leadership, mentorship, resilience, and the evolving role of public service education in a rapidly changing world.

Collective Persistence in Practice: NULab Conference Models the Way

As NULab Co-Director, Prof. Moira Zellner helped anchor the NULab for Digital Humanities and Computational Social Science's 9th Annual Spring Conference, on the theme of "Collective Persistence." One of the standout presentations she helped shepherd was the Clear Lake Project, a collaborative effort by PhD student Tayte Adderley and Assistant Research Professor (Mills College) Jeremy Sorgen, developed alongside Northeastern scholars, tribal elders, and community partners. The project is building a dynamic model of the social, ecological, and economic systems surrounding Clear Lake, with a focus on supporting the lake's ecology and the dwindling Clear Lake hitch population, all through stakeholder communication and cooperation. 

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Feeding a Fragile World: Prof. Gabriela Garcia Named Food Resilience Fellow

Assistant Professor Gabriela Garcia has been awarded the Food Resilience Fellowship through the USDA-funded Food Shocks Project at Michigan State University. The Food Shocks Project unites scientists, educators, industry stakeholders, and community leaders to tackle pressing global food system challenges from climate disruptions to geopolitical tensions. The fellowship is designed to develop the next generation of leaders in sustainable agriculture and food security worldwide.

From Congestion to Climate Justice: Policy School Researchers Train Spotlight on Urban Freight

Prof. Serena Alexander and recent MUPP graduate Avante Grady presented USDA-funded research at the International Conference on Urban Affairs in Chicago. Their presentation “Beyond Congestion: Rethinking Freight Planning for Sustainable and Just Urban Futures” examined how metropolitan regions are incorporating climate resilience and sustainability into freight planning and investment decisions.

Urban Planning Meets Art and Culture: MassArt Recognizes Prof. Landsmark with the Godine Medal

Prof. Ted Landsmark was among the honorees at the commencement ceremony for 2026 graduates of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), the nation’s first and only independent public college of art and design. The college recognized Prof. Landsmark's legacy as an urban planner, educator, and civic leader by awarding him the Morton R. Godine Medal, presented annually to an individual whose professional and personal contributions advance arts and culture in society.

Talking Trash and Trade: Policy School Scholars Make the Case for Trade Reform Over Waste Management

Policy School Director Maria Ivanova and Senior Fellow Jamel Zarrouk co-authored a May 2026 guest essay in the German publication Der Pragmaticus, arguing that plastic pollution is fundamentally a trade-driven problem rather than a waste management failure. Global trade enables high-income countries to continuously shift disposal costs to less-regulated nations, keeping recycling rates low (currently around 9% worldwide), while economic incentives consistently favor producing new plastic over recycling. The authors contend that without reforming international trade policy alongside downstream regulation, plastic waste will simply keep circulating instead of being eliminated.

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Sister Acts: How Women-Run Community Spaces Are Rewriting Rural India's Story

Prof. Nishith Prakash sees the potential for lasting impact if the Didi ki Library ("library of sisters") program, launched by the Bihar state government in India, is sustained and scaled. The initiative to establish women-run community libraries is giving rural students, especially girls, a safe space to study and access career guidance. It has established 117 community libraries across 33 districts. Each library is conceived, designed, and run by local women from self-help groups.

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Trash, Trust, and Transformation: A Landmark Conference Charts a New Course for Urban Sustainability in India

Prof. Nishith Prakash played a leading role in a landmark conference on urban environmental governance in Patna, India, co-organized by Northeastern, the London School of Economics, and the Asian Development Research Institute. The event brought together senior Bihar government officials, international researchers, urban planners, and educators to translate evidence into action. Key findings included that household waste-segregation training delivers benefits five times its cost, that children are more effective catalysts of environmental behavior change than adults, and that implementation gaps — not lack of intent — are the primary barrier to sustainable urban governance.

Tip of the CAP: Policy School Students Win Summer Fellowships

Congratulations to MPP students Katie Grinell '27, Aleemah Williams '27, and Barry Quinn '27, on their selection for for the Civil Action Project (CAP) Fellows program this summer. The ten-week paid internship matches graduate students with public and private sector placements, while bringing fellows together weekly for roundtable discussions with policy practitioners, advocates, and government and corporate leaders. Katie will work at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), Aleemah at the Somerville Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Barry is preparing for an internship with the Office of the Superintendent of Cambridge. Many thanks to Policy School Advisory Council member Bob Fishman, whose generous support is funding two of this summer's fellowships.

From Classroom to Commonwealth: Urban Informatics Student Helps Shape Clean Energy Future for Massachusetts

Congratulations to Kai Kibilko '27 (MS Urban Informatics) on being awarded an Office of Energy Transformation (OET) Fellowship. Through a 12-month placement, Kai is gaining real-world experience contributing directly to OET's key initiatives and helping shape the future of clean energy in Massachusetts. He is specifically working on decarbonizing peak electricity demand, organizing community meetings across the Commonwealth, and other crucial projects relevant to both OET and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). 

A Digital ID for Every Device: Northeastern MPP Student Makes the Case for Smarter E-Waste Solutions in Africa

Policy School student Virginiah Onyara '27 (MPP) was invited to speak at the 16th Symposium on ICTs, Environment, Climate Change and Circular Economy, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. She presented virtually on digital identification passports and their role in managing electronic waste, as part of a session focused on digital product information systems as enablers of circular ICT value chains in Africa.

Garbage and Geopolitics: PhD Student Uncovers the Power Behind China's Waste Infrastructure

Congratulations to PhD student Yimeng Yang on receiving a $25,000 Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Fellowship in support of his doctoral research. His work, "Waste Power: Infrastructural Fixes and State Techno-Capitalism of Globalizing China," examines critical questions at the intersection of infrastructure, state power, and China's global rise. 

Critical Minerals, Critical Questions: PhD Student Puts Environmental Justice at the Heart of Coal Waste Recovery

PhD student Maddie Craig-Scheckman is the lead author of a newly published article exploring the intersection of critical mineral extraction from coal waste and environmental justice. The article is co-authored with Prof. Laura Kuhl and Northeastern Chemical Engineering colleague Damilola Daramola. It is the product of their collaborative Tier 1 research project tackling one of today's most pressing challenges: How do we recover valuable critical minerals from coal waste in ways that are equitable and just for the communities most affected? 

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From Classroom to City Hall: Students Bring Fresh Policy Thinking to Brookline's Most Pressing Needs

Students in Prof. Cristina Stanica's Spring 2026 PPUA 6506: Techniques of Policy Analysis course partnered with Brookline Community Development Corporation (BCDC) on four real policy challenges: affordable housing development, emergency rental assistance access, organizational sustainability, and on-site solar feasibility. Teams presented their findings virtually to BCDC leadership, Town of Brookline officials, and community stakeholders, exemplifying the School's commitment to applied, community-engaged learning.

Student-Led, Faculty-Fueled: How NAPPS Built a Policy Community Worth Showing Up For

Special thanks to the Northeastern University Association for Public Policy Students (NAPPS) on a groundbreaking year. Under the leadership of Vartika Govil '26 (MPP), Vamini Jain '26 (MPA), and Whitney McVeigh ‘26 (MPP) for the full academic year, and Jonathan Oubenslimane '26 (MPP), during the Fall semester, NAPPS offered new programs with strong student engagement. From Professor After Hours, to Coffee and Conversation, to Book Club, to Open Table, the conversations about public policy andservice were rich and engaging. Thanks to Profs. Joan Fitzgerald, Christopher Bosso, Mark Henderson, Daniel Aldrich, Cristina Stanica, Nichola Minott, Dan O’Brien, Etai Mizrav, Heather Hume, Marcia Mundt, Linda Kowalcky, and Law and Policy Fellow Liz Wilcox who were key contributors. Michele Rosenthal serves as the NAPPS advisor. 

Capped and Gowned: PhD Graduate Celebrates with Her Biggest Little Fan by Her Side

Dr. Alaina Kinol's son Arthur joined his mom in matching regalia as the family celebrated Alaina's new PhD at the Boston commencement ceremony. Alaina defended her thesis entitled "Navigating Power and Obstruction Along the Mountain Valley Pipeline" in March.

Making a Difference from the Local to the Global