MESM 2025
Pronouns: she/her
Bio
Abigail Kirk is a MESM candidate at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, pursuing the Environmental Policy track. Her research interests include corporate sustainability, environmental economics, and policymaking mechanisms. At Bren, she wants to explore ways to improve market transparency by examining the social costs behind supply chains and analyzing industry behavior.
Abigail obtained an Environmental Economics & Policy BS degree with honors from UC Berkeley in 2019. Her undergraduate experience included sustainable tiny-home development for homelessness solutions and research into urban agriculture and agricultural supply chains.
Prior to joining Bren, Abigail worked as an in-house corporate paralegal for a sustainably-minded retail company. She focused on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, and had to navigate the paradoxical world of corporate sustainability. It was this work experience that shaped her academic interests and led her to Bren. Upon finishing the program, Abigail plans to pursue research-focused career opportunities so she can probe how macro-level policies and market incentives interact with micro-level decision-making to accelerate a circular and more just economy.