Muir Institute Announces Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives
Sara L. Nichols Brings Experience with Cap-and-Trade, International Climate Diplomacy
By Lisa Howard
The John Muir Institute of the Environment at UC Davis is pleased to announce the selection of Sara L. Nichols as associate director of strategic initiatives.
Nichols joins the team to coordinate and manage large-scale interdisciplinary research and outreach initiatives including OneClimate, which brings together teams of experts from all of UC Davis’s colleges and professional schools to transform the world for rapid, real-world societal impact.
“This is a major coup for the Muir Institute. Sara brings tremendous positive energy and experience working at the interface of policy, industry and science,” said Ben Houlton, director of the Muir Institute. “Sara’s past work on California’s cap-and-trade market, coupled with her global leadership working on driving climate solutions overseas, marks her as extremely well positioned to help lead the Muir Institute into more of a global problem-solver for people and the planet.”
In her role, Nichols will also foster external relationships in support of fund diversification, assist in the management of larger development activities, and oversee external and internal advisory boards.
Nichols received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara and went on to receive a Master of Environmental Management in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
Nichols spent the last year in Berlin, Germany, serving as a Transatlantic Fellow for the Robert Bosch Foundation, where she worked as a consultant to the German Federation of Industries and Adelphi Research on topics including climate diplomacy, international energy policy and emissions trading. Prior to her time in Berlin, Sara worked for over four years as an Air Pollution Specialist for the California Air Resources Board, where she specialized in program development and allowance allocation for the California Cap-and-Trade Program.
About the John Muir Institute of the Environment
Established in 1997, the Muir Institute supports innovation and discovery aimed at solving real-world environmental problems. The institute’s faculty span all of UC Davis’ colleges and professional schools, with a commitment to strengthening the scientific foundation for environmental decision making through collective entrepreneurship – a team-oriented approach that recognizes the complexities of environmental problems and the societal context in which they occur.
Media contact
- AJ Cheline, UC Davis Office of Research, 530-752-1101, [email protected]
Media resources
- John Muir Institute of the Environment
- ‘OneClimate’ a Call to Arms: Fusing UC Davis’ Collective Strength in Climate Science
- New JMIE Director Wants to Help UC Davis Solve Climate Change
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