Environmental Science & Public Administration

Dual Degree Option for BA/BS in Environmental Studies/Sciences

This section is regularly updated with career profiles of MPA graduates  who work in environmental organizations and professional contexts with connection to environmental science.

Evan Davis

Evan Davis

Since 2012, Evan Davis has worked with the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to preserve our state’s agricultural land. As the Administrative Officer of the Farmland Preservation Division, Davis works to manage the application process for agricultural preservation and development project grants. 

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Jackie Ashley

Jackie Ashley

Jackie Ashley has spent nearly a decade working on air quality policy for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – a field she first explored as an MPA student.

Even back in 2007, she said, UNC’s program was flexible enough to allow her to pursue an MPA with an environmental focus. Ashley took environmental policy electives alongside core MPA classes and landed an internship with US EPA to complete her Professional Work Experience requirement.
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Susan Sanford

Susan Sanford

As the Executive Director of the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, Susan Sanford leads an organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of the Research Triangle’s cleantech economy.

By concentrating resources in the Triangle for the clean technology sector, which focuses on using data to improve energy efficiency, Sanford and her organization aim to create an incentive to attract cleantech investment in the area.

“We market the region so that cleantech companies will want to move here and create more jobs,” said Sanford.
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Mary Tiger

Mary Tiger

Mary Tiger has always been passionate about protecting the environment. After graduating from UNC-Asheville, Tiger applied her Environmental Science degree by working for the Southern Environmental Law Center.

While working there to promote environmental advocacy, Tiger saw a need to establish local governments as an informed partner in the push for stronger environmental protections.

“I saw a need for those on the front lines of government to be passionate about the environment and knowledgeable about the science behind it,” said Tiger.

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