Integration with Georgetown Law
The Georgetown Climate Center is fully integrated with life at Georgetown Law and provides opportunities for students to serve as research assistants, gaining valuable, real world experience.
Research assistants work closely with the Center's full-time staff and state officials to produce reports that help shape some of the biggest climate and energy decisions being made by policymakers today.
Research Assistants:
- Analyze federal bills, providing guidance and background for state policymakers.
- Produce weekly state policy roundups, facilitating state-to-state information sharing.
- Develop research reports that respond to policy needs and requests by state officials.
- Identify and analyze adaptation resources to make them more useful for policymakers.
Comments from Recent Research Assistants:
"As an RA for the Climate Center, I have had the opportunity to work on issues at the intersection of transportation and climate policy, EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of states generally in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
"The experience has helped me develop and refine my own views on a range of policy questions. I recently wrote a seminar paper outlining some of these ideas and plan to submit it for publication. I have also had the opportunity to meet and interact with policymakers through the center's conferences and relationships with state governments. Professor Arroyo and the rest of the staff have been great about passing along information about job openings, serving as references, and writing letters of recommendation. Overall, it has been a rewarding experience that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in climate policy."
Gabriel Weil
JD, 2011
"My experience with the Georgetown Climate Center has been tremendously valuable. As a student interested in pursuing a career in energy and environmental policy, the Center has provided me the opportunity to obtain real-world work experience in my field of interest. By researching developments in federal and state energy policy, I now have a more comprehensive understanding of economic, political and philosophical factors that come to bear in shaping these policies. It has also been exciting to work for an organization that is often out in front and taking a lead role in forming the policy.
"The professionals on the Climate Center’s staff are exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable in all matters relating to energy policy. With them as a resource, I have learned a great deal simply by attending staff meetings and by reaching out to them with questions. In addition, the Center and its staff have great relationships with both state and federal organizations, which has been valuable in my search for career opportunities. Everyone has always been happy and willing to offer me career advice, serve as a reference, or reach out to partner organizations on my behalf."
Anthony Moriello
"Working at the GCC gave me exposure to a range of climate-related law and policy issues relevant at the moment, through the projects I worked on as well as interactions with the GCC staff and other fellows. The practical knowledge of how climate law and policy is created and evolves was a useful addition to the theoretical environmental law courses I had taken. I also gained a better understanding of the different organizations and stakeholders involved in climate policy, which has aided in me in narrowing down how I want to engage on climate policy and where I might like to work when I graduate."
Shani Harmon