MESM 2023
Bio
Jonah Seif graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies in 2016. A student-athlete at UCSB, Jonah seized the opportunity to continue his volleyball career and play professionally in Europe. For two years, he lived in the most polluted country in the European Union: Poland. Jonah experienced first-hand how the country’s reliance on coal negatively affects the health and happiness of its community. Moments such as the first time he received a radio warning to close all windows due to dangerously high levels of pollution forced him to reevaluate his career path. Witnessing this level of environmental neglect at the expense of the population reignited Jonah’s passion for environmental science. Although his volleyball career was in full swing, he felt compelled to retire from the sport in order to devote himself to making a positive impact on the environment. At the Bren School, Jonah plans to specialize in Corporate Environmental Management because he believes that the private sector can out-pace policy and be leaders in the fight against anthropogenic climate change. His goal is to help large corporations transition to more sustainable technologies and practices by demonstrating the positive economic and social advantages of doing so.