MESM 2021
Bio
Joanne Pham graduated from UC Berkeley in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Integrative Biology, with an emphasis in Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology. Growing up in the Bay Area, with its wealth of green organizations and educational opportunities, Joanne eventually realized that she took such knowledge for granted. Joanne's family immigrated from Vietnam, and environmental science does not translate well. She sought to overcome the language barrier in describing her career path to her family while concurrently studying California native flora and interning at the Plant Genetics and Expression Center at Cal. Joanne then worked as an intern on urban hydroponics farm, Local Greens, and urban forestry nonprofit, Our City Forest, after graduation. Her interest in improving her communication skills and providing more practical assessments of sustainable choices also continued to grow. Now at Bren School, Joanne specializes in Economics and Policy. She seeks to shore up eco-conscious cultural practices and create general lifestyle plans in ethnic communities or other underprivileged people that emphasize clear, economically efficient goals. Joanne especially wants to educate the community members on how these goals affect their personal lives and how they can individually contribute to success.