Graduating Seniors
Lexi Perez (double major in Climate and Environmental Studies and Human and Organizational Development). Prior to her senior year, Lexie interned with Guidehouse’s Community, Energy, and Infrastructure sector in Boulder, Colorado where she designed and evaluated customer-facing energy efficiency programs for utility clients. For her capstone project, Lexie collaborated with The Nashville Food Project, delivering meals made from donated, recovered, and garden-grown food to local non-profits focused on poverty alleviation. Additionally, she served as a student consultant for the Healing Arts Project Inc. through the Climate Innovation Accelerator at the Wond’ry. In this role, she assisted the non-profit in diversifying its revenue streams and establishing a sustainable social enterprise model to further its mission of promoting healing through art. After graduation, Lexie will return to Guidehouse full-time in New York City. She has loved her time at Vanderbilt and is grateful to the Climate and Environmental Studies department for their kindness, guidance, and support.
Elias Fording (double major in Climate and Environmental Studies and Public Policy). While at Vanderbilt, Eli co-founded and led both Plant Futures Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt Energy Transition Society. Through these organizations, Eli learned the value of investing deeply in relationships and peer-to-peer learning. Along the way, he came to see student organizations as something more than their programming — as vehicles for skill-building and for impacting the Vanderbilt community beyond the classroom. After graduating a semester early, Eli remained in Nashville and interned at Wilmot Inc., a local environmental consulting firm, gaining hands-on experience in solar, green buildings, and recycling. Starting in August 2026, he will join Capstone in Washington, DC, as a policy research analyst on the firm’s Energy and Industrials team. As he looks forward to building a meaningful career in sustainability and policy, he’s incredibly grateful to the faculty and peers who shaped his time at Vanderbilt.
Eloise Shehan (major in Climate and Environmental Studies and minor in Data Science).
During her time at Vanderbilt, Eloise conducted research in the Climate, Health, and Energy Equity Lab, focusing on the carbon emissions of different environmental diseases. Her specific interest in agroecosystems has led her to pursue a career in agriculture and research. She now works at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York where she leads their Gas Flux experiment that aims to understand the ecological benefits and resilience of pasture systems under regenerative management practices.
Yidi Wang (double major in Climate and Environmental Studies and Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science). During her time at Vanderbilt University, Yidi conducted interdisciplinary research at the intersection of climate science, mathematical modeling, and environmental systems. Her work includes honors research on the diurnal variability of tropical ice clouds using satellite observations and reanalysis datasets. In addition to her research, Yidi led several team-based projects addressing climate and energy challenges, including the development of a system for assessing personal carbon emissions and an analysis of equitable transitions for communities dependent on fossil fuels. Following graduation, Yidi will pursue a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University, where she will continue her research on atmospheric processes and climate dynamics. She is excited to further develop as a researcher and contribute to advancing the understanding of climate systems.
Grace Park (double major in Climate and Environmental Studies and Human & Organizational Development). On campus, she served as Team Lead for the Wondr’y Climate Innovation Accelerator, conducted research with the CHEEL Lab, and represented the CES Program as Student Ambassador. Beyond Vanderbilt, she interned at the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation on the North Shore of O’ahu where she worked on their Learning Farm and gained hands-on experience in regenerative agriculture, environmental education, and sustainable social enterprise. She also designed a sustainability curriculum for The Nashville Food Project and represented the Rachel Carson Council on Capitol Hill, lobbying for environmental legislation in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Grace will take a job with Google as a Growth Strategist in San Francisco, where she looks forward to exploring climate tech.
Hayden Davidson 
(double major in Climate Studies and Human & Organizational Development). During his time on campus, he served as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Zdravka Tzankova’s Business, Society, and the Environment course and as a Research Assistant for Dr. David Hess in his work on local siting authority for utility-scale solar farms. Hayden has interned in Renewable Development at Invenergy, the largest privately held clean energy developer in the U.S., and in both Project Development and Community Relations at Silicon Ranch, one of the nation’s largest independent power producers. For his Silicon Ranch internship, which he completed through the HOD Capstone program, Hayden received the HOD Capstone Impact Award for 2025-26, which celebrates one HOD student who showed exceptional care and performance in their HOD Capstone site, supporting the overall mission and organizational goals. He also enjoyed internship experiences with Clearloop, Silicon Ranch’s carbon solutions platform, and Renew Missouri. One of his favorite experiences has been co-founding and serving as president of the Vanderbilt Energy Transition Society, a student organization aimed at building out a network of students and professionals interested in clean energy and sustainability. Hayden is excited to join Grid United as a Development Analyst in Houston. He greatly enjoyed Climate and Environmental Studies and is grateful for all of the advice and support from professors and mentors.
Holland Perryman (double major in Climate Studies and Political Science and a minor in Anthropology) is the recipient of the 2026 Climate and Environmental Studies Outstanding Senior Award, and of a Keegan Travel Fellowship! She is excited to embark on a year of studying flood recovery and community resilience around the world. She hopes to capture stories of hope, creativity, and ingenuity in the face of climate change. Having previously interned at The Carter Center, a nonprofit that works to advance health and peace in over 80 countries, she looks forward to this opportunity to travel the globe to learn from the practices of different cultures and communities. Through this project, Holland intends to prepare herself for a career in environmental nonprofit work and coastal community planning. If you have any connections in flood-prone communities around the world, please reach out to Holland (843-812-9935) to share!
Current Students
Ella Scott (2027) will participate this summer in the William Lapenta Internship Program at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), where she will work with the NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services on a project focused on stakeholder engagement and communications for operational ocean modeling products and tools. A licensed 50-ton ship captain, Ella is especially interested in the intersection of maritime and environmental law, particularly as it relates to coastal resource management and conservation. This internship will allow her to combine her on-the-water experience with her academic interests, while gaining exposure to the National Ocean Service’s advanced ocean modeling systems. Through this role, Ella will further develop skills in stakeholder engagement, workshop planning, data synthesis, and technical communication, while deepening her subject matter expertise in ocean modeling. The experience will also strengthen the impact of her campus sustainability work, where she serves as Vice President of the Plant Futures student organization.