Lauren A.Oliver

Civil Engineering, Santa Clara University

I left high school knowing I wanted to work in natural resources and do something good in the world, but not knowing what. My dad’s advice was to “do the hardest thing” and establish a strong technical foundation from which I could build my career. It was great advice.

An introduction to social entrepreneurship

Going to school in the Bay Area meant constant exposure to the start-up world. For me, that took shape through work with the Miller Center for Global Impact, an accelerator supporting social enterprises around the world. I conducted market research in Uganda and helped launch an online program for last-mile delivery businesses working to expand access to life-saving technologies in the Global South.

After graduation, I spent a gap year at Patagonia, where I saw another model for mission-driven work in practice.

Together, those experiences reshaped how I think about sustainability — not just as environmental stewardship, but as the ability to build organizations that can survive, grow, and keep delivering impact over time. Profit can even play a role, not as something at odds with impact, but often what makes long-term impact possible.

Peace Corps, Benin

I joined the Peace Corps because I wanted to understand the realities of development work firsthand. I learned French, lived in a rural village in Benin, and was welcomed by an extraordinary host family and community. The experience forced me to confront the complexity of poverty, climate vulnerability, and the systems that can unintentionally stall progress.

My service ended abruptly in 2020 due to COVID-19, and in many ways it has never felt fully complete. Even so, my time in Benin continues to shape both my research and my sense of responsibility. Much of my work is still driven by a desire to contribute, in some meaningful way, to a better future for the people and communities who welcomed me there.

Policy and Sustainable Development, University of Notre Dame

Anyone who wants to create meaningful change needs to understand policy. That is what brought me to the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, where I learned how to evaluate, design, and communicate policy across sectors and institutions.

Not a day goes by that I don’t use my policy training. Whether I am conducting research, teaching, analyzing markets, or simply writing emails, my policy background shapes how I think about incentives, institutions, and the gap between good ideas and real-world implementation.

Yale School of the Environment

I chose the Yale School of the Environment because I wanted to pursue research that could help unlock practical solutions while preparing me to lead in the environmental sector. During my time at Yale, I have strengthened my analytical training through coursework in political science and economics, developed my communication and teaching skills as a teaching fellow, and worked closely with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment to connect ideas to real-world implementation.

Along the way, I discovered a new outlet for my interests beyond the development aid sector: the energy and climate space. What drew me in was the combination of urgency, innovation, and complexity. It is a field that demands technical analysis, strategic thinking, communication, and policy fluency all at once — exactly the kind of work I want to be doing.

Beginning in 2026, I am excited to return more directly to the world of business strategy and startups through new collaborations with Yale Ventures and Yale Planetary Solutions.