Emily Clark

I am from a suburb of Chicago in Indiana; but with family all over the world, I discovered a passion for travel at a young age. I moved to New York after college to pursue a role at a large international bank in commercial lending. However, upon realizing that my true interests aligned more with the discovery of and integration into foreign cultures, I moved to New Zealand then joined the Peace Corps as an Economic Development Volunteer in Peru for two years prior to coming to MIIS. I’m currently working on my MA in International Policy and Development, but I am spending part of the summer at a wildlife organization in Thailand working with elephants, learning more about conservation and animal welfare, other interests of mine. In relation to sustainable behavior change, Peace Corps helped me discover the importance of end-user project design, local involvement, integration, empathy for the individual, and was integral in sparking my interest in international development, of which conflict resolution and peacebuilding play a key role; thus, I’m really looking forward to participating in SPP and all it has to offer.