Environmental Policy Collective: Building Community at Luskin

1. Executive Summary: For my Leaders in Sustainability project, I founded the Environmental Policy Collective—a student-led group at the Luskin School of Public Affairs for graduate students interested in environmental and climate-related policy. The Environmental Policy Collective aims to 1) Foster a sense of community between first- and second-year Master of Public Policy students with similar environmental policy interests; 2) Provide a space to share resources on relevant opportunities, campus events, and courses; and 3) Encourage participation in sustainability-related events, talks, and tours.

2. Importance: When I started the MPP program, I was looking for a community of peers who shared my interest in environmental policy—and I noticed there wasn’t a space like that within our program. Inspired by similar affinity groups at Anderson and other policy areas at Luskin, I created the Environmental Policy Collective to fill that gap. I also wanted to build more connection between first- and second-year students with shared passions.

3. Impact and Reach: The Environmental Policy Collective has grown to include 12 students across both cohorts. We’ve hosted monthly lunches that serve as a space for connection, discussion of current environmental topics, and sharing academic and professional resources. The group also maintains an active Discord channel where members share opportunities and advice. Several members have also attended climate-related campus events together, such as the Ministry for the Future book talk and the LA Climate Week “Watch Duty” talk.

4. Collaborations: I collaborated with fellow second-year and LiS student Vivian, who helped shape the initial concept and played an integral role in the success of our lunch discussions. Vivian brought deep insights and generously shared her knowledge with first-year students, making her a key partner in this project.

5. Your Role Defined: I led the project from the ground up—registering the Environmental Policy Collective as an official UCLA student group, writing the group’s constitution, and managing our Discord platform. I conducted outreach via Slack, email, and in-person conversations to bring in both first- and second-year students. I also organized and facilitated all of our monthly lunches.

6. Next Steps: I’ve seen how much value this group brought to its members, especially the first-years, in creating a sense of belonging. I hope to see the Collective continue after I graduate and plan to pass the torch to one of our current first-year members to lead it into its next chapter.