by Jonathan Jones (NE '04)

In Clare Sierawski’s (PA ’04) Truman application policy proposal, she proposed a bilateral agreement between the United States and China on climate change.  As the Special Assistant to the Special Envoy for Climate Change, Sierawski pursued this vision and helped to develop the first official bilateral agreement between the United States and China on climate change. “It was amazing to implement my policy proposal and be a part of something so historic,” Sierawski said.

In between her first and second year in the MPA program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Sierawski was offered a job at the State Department to work on the international climate change team.  Her work on the team soon led to her role as the Special Assistant to the Special Envoy for Climate Change – a position established by the Obama administration.   For Sierawski, this was a major step in achieving her career goals.  “Since my days as an undergraduate climate activist, it was one of my dreams to work for the government on our international climate change policy,” Sierawski explained. 

The Truman Scholar experience has been important in shaping Sierawski’s vision and path on the issue of climate change.  As a recent graduate, Sierwaski worked as a Truman Fellow at the Department of Transportation on its climate change portfolio.  “As a Truman Fellow at DOT, I was able to deepen my understanding of climate change policy, as well as meet the people working on climate change at the State Department, which is in part how I was later offered my job at State," she said.

Sierawski believes that the Truman community has a powerful role to play in helping its members meet their career goals and aspirations for positive change.  “Most of us have a real and burning passion for a particular social issue or change that we want to see in our world,” she said. “At some point, however, the reality hits that it can be extremely difficult to affect even the most incremental change. This is where the Truman community comes in - we can inspire, guide and support each other to realize our goals.”  She added, “The values of the Truman Scholarship and knowing amazing Trumans inspires me to keep going and continually reminds me of the importance of public service.” 

As Sierawski returns to the Woodrow Wilson School this fall to finish her MPA degree, fellow Truman Scholar, Kelley Greenman (FL ’08), will be taking her place as Special Assistant to the Special Envoy on Climate Change.  At a regular meeting that the Truman Foundation hosts for recently graduated Scholars, Sierawski spoke about working on climate change at the State Department.  Greenman was in attendance.  “Kelley was interested in working more directly on climate change and wanted to explore the international side of the issue. When I was looking for a replacement, I knew that she would be perfect for the job,” Sierawski said. 

While at graduate school, Sierawski will continue to study climate change issues and consider how to push forward energy efficient policies and climate change legislation.  She is also interested in developing an informal Truman community around the issue.  Please contact her if you are interested and/or already work on the issue of climate change policy – claresophia@gmail.com.

Jonathan Jones (NE ’04) is pursuing his MPP at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.