“I used to hear a lot of despair and hopelessness around climate change, but lately I’ve been hearing more about concrete actions we could take, if we could only figure out how to navigate certain roadblocks.”
This newsletter features Kristi Kattapong, Communications Specialist at the Global CO2 Initiative.
Kristi Kattapong describes her position at the Global CO2 Initiative (GCI) as a communications bridge, helping forge connections between academia, research, industry and the world beyond. She has a PhD in Applied Social Psychology from Loyola University Chicago, as well as a BA and MA from the University of Chicago. She has worked in a variety research, program management, and communications roles. In her free time, she likes to travel and learn languages. She has lived in four different countries, visited dozens of other countries, and can say a few words in about 20 languages
What is your background, and how did you come to work for GCI?
I have academic training in social sciences, but eventually I realized that I was not interested in pursuing a career in academia. I wanted to be able to do something with practical benefits – something that would really make a difference.
To answer how I came to work for the GCI – I got extremely lucky! I love what I do, and I really appreciate being on a team of people who care deeply about the environment and sustainability. I had never worked with engineers before, and I was a little surprised by how they did not conform to the STEM stereotype. Many of the people I work with are actually very funny, creative, and engaging. My boss, for example, is a German engineer who can also be quite funny. He would make a great guest on a late night talk show. Are you reading this Jimmy Fallon?
