As we celebrate Earth Day, we reflect not only on our planet’s needs but on the people who will lead climate solutions for decades to come. At C2ES, we believe that meaningful climate action requires investing in human potential alongside innovative policies and technologies. Our internship program represents a significant investment in the pipeline of talent that continues to shape leadership across sectors.
C2ES’s internship program offers emerging professionals hands-on experience in climate and energy policy work, combining substantive research, analysis, and advocacy opportunities under the guidance of experienced staff. Interns contribute to meaningful projects while developing valuable professional skills in a collaborative culture guided by our values of ambition, inclusivity, and teamwork. Our program serves as an important stepping stone for those building careers in climate policy and sustainability.
Our alumni have forged diverse paths—from energy startups and professional sports to roles within our own organization. Their achievements demonstrate how formative experiences in climate work can launch meaningful careers with lasting impact.
Join us in celebrating these remarkable individuals whose C2ES internship experiences helped shape their professional journeys and who continue to advance climate solutions in their own unique ways.
C2ES Interns: Where are They Now?
Digital Publications Wizard: Philip Horowitz
Communications Intern, 2021
Share some highlights from your internship.
Publishing a blog on circularity in the fashion industry.
Where are you now?
I’m now a Communications Manager at C2ES!
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path?
C2ES has been my career path. During the pandemic, the opportunity to intern at C2ES while working full time became a possibility due to expanded remote work. I took that internship and have never looked back. While working at C2ES, I have had the chance to explore my interests in the climate and energy world.
As a communications manager, I get to work with every team across the organization and help them develop the communications strategy that will make the biggest impact. During my education, I never specialized in any specific subject matter, since I was interested in everything: I couldn’t choose between energy policy, climate agreements, resilience and sustainability, or business engagement—it was all interesting to me. Working on the communications team at C2ES, I learned that it is not only okay to be a ‘generalist,’ but there are some incredible ways that being a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ can be a real asset in a career.
The Tennis Pro: Gabriela Knutson
Communications Intern, 2021
Share some highlights from your internship.
Publishing my own blogs, working with the communications team, and editing content for our digital channels.
Where are you now?
I play professional tennis at the Grand Slam level now! I also publish a blog and work as a Social Media Manager for a tennis tournament social media page.
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path?
Although I do not use my C2ES skills on the tennis court, I use the experience off the court daily. The time management skills and social media expertise I gained enhanced both my tennis career and my communications work. The experience was indispensable for my personal growth and I now use it to grow my personal brand, leverage social media, and to work hard toward my professional goals.
Climate and Energy Possibilist: Riccardo Serbolonghi
International Policy Intern, 2024
Share some highlights from your internship.
Remotely supporting the international team to compile C2ES’s COP29 Daily Dispatch summaries. I helped pull together threads while the rest of the international team was on the ground in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Where are you now?
I’m now the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) Coordinator at C2ES where I support the ETA Secretariat team. We collaborate with private sector actors and government stakeholders to leverage high-integrity carbon credits, accelerating the clean energy transition in emerging and developing countries.
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path?
I have always been fascinated by the question of how to materialize public-private collaboration to make progress on energy and climate related challenges. My internship with C2ES’s international team was an excellent platform to address my interest in this broadly abstract question.
As an intern, I worked closely with Catalina Cecchi, Senior Manager for International Strategies, to support her with research on a wide variety of climate issues from an international perspective, including carbon pricing instruments. During the internship I discovered a personal fascination with the landscape of carbon pricing and its intersection with sustainable development, an interest I carry in my current role. As Energy Transition Accelerator Coordinator, I interact with representatives from various governments and a coalition of companies to leverage carbon finance to accelerate energy investments in developing countries.
Green Business Guide: Kira Presley
U.S. Domestic Climate Policy Intern, 2023
Share some highlights from your internship.
Publishing a blog with Johanna Wassermann on engineered carbon removal and C2ES’s Technology Working Groups—work I’d later return to C2ES to focus on! And of course, some of the best moments involved flying to Washington D.C. to participate in our Spring 2023 BELC meeting and 25th Anniversary Celebration, where I got to meet many wonderful C2ES-ers in-person.
Where are you now?
I’m now a Business Engagement Coordinator for C2ES’s Net Zero Pathways programs.
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path?
Before interning at C2ES, environmental policy was a dream I hadn’t yet grounded in reality. My internship changed that, equipping me with a toolbox of skills and insights into how policy is shaped, advocated for, and implemented. I explored the inner workings of a think tank (or “do-tank,” in C2ES’s case), gaining exposure to the interconnected issues within the field of climate policy. With the guidance of my mentor, Jason Ye, and support from the folks at C2ES, I was encouraged to dive deep into the many layers of policymaking—discovering the importance of collaboration across sectors, backgrounds, and perspectives. That experience not only deepened my passion for advancing climate action through policy, but it also led me back to C2ES, where I now serve as the Business Engagement Coordinator for our state and federal policy programs, focused on rooting our policy recommendations in the real-world experiences of key stakeholders.
The Decarbonization Enthusiast: Ariele Ladabaum
Communications Intern, 2020
Share some highlights from your internship.
Publishing a blog article on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture and developing a guide for writing about issues of climate vulnerability and environmental justice.
Where are you now?
I am a Net Zero Associate at the We Mean Business Coalition, a global climate nonprofit that catalyzes business and policy action to accelerate the net zero transition. I work across many of our Net Zero initiatives, collaborating with diverse partners to facilitate climate leadership and support businesses on their decarbonization journeys.
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path?
I interned remotely at C2ES during the pandemic, shortly after graduating from college, which gave me the opportunity to explore many of my interests in the climate and energy space as a fresh Environmental Science graduate. As part of the communications team, I gained experience developing content for a variety of channels and materials, which proved directly valuable when I transitioned into my first full-time role in marketing at an energy tech company.
While I am no longer in a communications-specific role, my internship at C2ES gave me a strong and multi-faceted introduction to working in the climate and energy space, and I still think of it as a key experience in helping me solidify my desire to build a career in this field.
The Next-Gen Energy Advocate: Phoebe Lind
U.S. Climate Policy Intern, 2021
Share some highlights from your internship.
I researched and wrote a memo about potential climate and energy provisions that could be passed through the budget reconciliation process—a mechanism used to pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 under a Democrat-controlled Congress. It was my first time engaging professionally with budget reconciliation, and it gave me a better understanding of how this legislative tool is both limited and powerful. Now, four years later, I see Republicans leverage the same opportunity to influence the U.S. energy landscape. That early experience gave me lasting insight into the intersection of policy, process, and political timing.
Where are you now?
I manage government affairs at Last Energy, a micro nuclear technology startup based in Washington D.C.!
How did your C2ES internship experience shape your career path? My supervisor at C2ES, Tom Erb, was an incredible mentor who showed me the value of building genuine, long-term relationships in the climate and energy world. That lesson has stayed with me, especially now working in government affairs in D.C., where developments can happen quickly and having a strong, trusted network makes all the difference. Since C2ES, I’ve worked in EV policy at a large consulting firm and now in nuclear energy at a fast-moving startup—and at each step, a supportive and reliable network has played a critical role in my growth and success.