MEDS 2023
Bio
Michael Zargari is a Masters of Environmental Data Science student at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB). He graduated from UCSB in 2022 with a B.S. in Statistics and Data Science, B.A. in Economics, and minors in Iranian Studies and Translation Studies.
He started his academic career in 2018 as a Judith Stapelmann Scholar and was awarded the Jeremy D. Friedman Memorial Award upon his graduation for his outstanding leadership and superior scholarship during his undergraduate years.
Coming from a unique background, Michael has a wide range of experience completing internships at globally recognized companies, AIG and Lyft, and participating in research at UCSB where he has completed work as a data analyst, data scientist, statistical researcher, underwriter, and actuary.
This exposure to a wide variety of positions made Michael passionate in using his skills and knowledge to create positive change in the world. During his time working at AIG, he researched and presented a detailed report to the West Coast Underwriting Team offering suggestions in combating climate change.
Michael’s goal is to continue these efforts to influence climate policy at the corporate, national, and state levels.