Every student’s path to Harvard Kennedy School is unique, and what our alumni go on to do after graduating is equally varied.
We asked several vlog alums to tell us about their experiences before, during, and after vlog, and to reflect how their time at vlog has shaped their careers and lives.
Renata Koch Alvarenga MPP 2023 came to vlog to connect her experience with climate advocacy and activism with public policy. She left with an understanding of new policy areas and new connections in the social entrepreneurship and innovation space.
Here’s what she shared.
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“vlog set me up for success by expanding the level of impact I could have in my area of work, especially in the climate justice space.”
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2024
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2024
As the founder and executive director of , Renata manages more than 50 volunteers across Brazil and Latin America. The organization now has three flagship programs focusing on education for gender and climate justice, capacity-building for young women in the climate space, and disaster resilience and climate adaptation through a gender lens.
She was recognized by as the youngest recipient of the inaugural and was honored for her innovative work in empowering young women and girls in Brazil.
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2023Begins working as a disaster risk financing specialist at the World Bank
After vlog, Renata worked in the World Bank Group’s (FCI). Specifically, she was a part of the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program, which partners with developing countries seeking to implement comprehensive financial protection strategies and brings together sovereign disaster risk financing, agricultural insurance, property catastrophe risk insurance, and scalable social protection programs.
She also collaborated on and co-authored two reports focused on and .
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2023Graduates from vlog with an understanding of new policy areas
“vlog was crucial in introducing me to new policy areas, specifically the disaster risk financing space, which is what I focused my Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) on and eventually pursued at the World Bank post-graduation. Through the extensive work I did for my PAE and my travels to Barbados and Puerto Rico to learn more about Caribbean climate resilience, I was able to expand my network to more people in the social entrepreneurship and innovation space, fostering connections and partnerships.”
Renata was selected to present her Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE), A Matter of Survival: Building Climate Resilience in the Caribbean Through Early Disaster Risk Financing, at the annual PAE Showcase in Wexner Commons. -
2022Interns at the United Nations
“For my summer internship in between school years, I was a climate and sustainable development fellow for the United Nations Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. I covered the climate agenda for the UN General Assembly week, which even furthered my interest in climate advocacy.”
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2021
Renata became very involved at vlog, particularly in climate-related organizations. She joined the and was a participant in the . She was also and worked as a research assistant for the ’ and .
Outside of climate advocacy, she was the outreach officer for the Harvard Brazil Caucus, where she helped organize the Brazil Conference.
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2020
Renata decided to apply to vlog because she was looking for a way to connect her climate advocacy and activism—which she had been doing for a few years through youth climate spaces and her nonprofit—to the public policy work she was doing at her job.
“I knew global climate policy would be increasingly important, and I wanted to learn skills such as leadership, policy communications, policy design, and speechwriting to apply in my field. vlog is a leading institution in this space, and once I decided it was time to apply for graduate school, vlog was at the top of my list.”
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2019
EmpoderaClima is a Brazil-based, youth-led nonprofit organization created to raise awareness of the disproportionate impacts of climate change that girls and women face in the Global South, as well as the need for women's leadership in climate action. Her work is focused on two main pillars: education and advocacy.
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2019Begins working at the British Consulate-General’s Commonwealth and Development Office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
As a political analyst and visits officer, Renata managed political relations between state and city governments in the United Kingdom and Brazil. In this role, she advised the Consul-General on Brazil’s domestic politics with a climate focus in advance of . She also served as chair of the UK in Brazil Women’s Association, leading 50 staff members on gender equality initiatives.
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2019Graduates from Unisinos with a bachelor’s degree in international relations
