Gillian McBride

Gillian McBride (she/her/hers)

Program: MPA

Concentration: Energy and Environment

Specialization: International Conflict Resolution and Latin America Regional Specialization

Hometown: Wauwatosa, WI

Gillian McBride (she/her/hers) is an MPA candidate concentrating in Energy and Environment with a dual specialization in International Conflict Resolution and Latin America regional studies. She is originally from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies in May 2017. Her studies included conservation biology research and interning in a nonprofit disaster relief effort in Ecuador as well as a thesis on the role of land use and agricultural policy reform in political security in El Salvador. After college, Gillian completed an AmeriCorps service year with City Year Milwaukee; an Urban Leaders Fellowship in New Orleans, Louisiana; project management and communications positions with southeastern Wisconsin legal and nonprofit organizations; and two years as a legislative aide and chief of staff to a representative in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Gillian is at SIPA to learn how to develop effective, science-based, and inclusive policy tools in disaster resilience, climate mitigation, and energy security. During her time at Columbia, Gillian has worked with the Department of Latin American and Iberian Studies, Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment, and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. In her free time, Gillian enjoys birdwatching, gardening, hitting up the city parks and Harlem YMCA, and lounging around with her cat, Jupiter.