According to Sarah Izant ’15, the deputy secretary for climate policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom, her Scripps education and The Claremont Colleges’ network of resources and connections were both invaluable factors in shaping her career after graduation. Her work with environmental public policy has spanned several positions; she was an executive fellow at the California Air Resources Board from 2017 to 2018 and served in the roles of environmental policy advisor and deputy press director in San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s Office beginning in 2019.
Izant graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public policy analysis and Hispanic studies in 2015, and during her time at Scripps, her extracurriculars—senior roles with the Activities Team (A-Team) and Scripps Associated Students (SAS), customer service at the Motley, and participation in Mock Trial—prepared her to handle everything from leadership to public speaking.
The soft skills Izant acquired at Scripps laid the groundwork for her varied career by giving her the tools to understand a problem, identify solutions, and use creative thinking and clear communication to get things done, she says. “Most importantly,” she reflects, “Scripps encouraged my curiosity. It allowed me the intellectual space to read, think, question assumptions, and defend my beliefs in writing. Scripps’ promotion of interdisciplinary thinking prepared me for the world in general—where nothing is black and white and where critical thinking is necessary to fully understand a situation and identify solutions.”
Opportunities provided by a networking program set Izant on the path to her current position.
“During my junior year at Scripps, I studied abroad in Buenos Aires and participated in Claremont McKenna’s Washington Program in the spring. The experience I got in Washington, DC interning at a lobbying firm and then with my hometown congressman’s office, in addition to the networking with individuals in DC, inspired me to continue my pursuit of working in public policy after college,” she says.
“I learned about my first full-time government job in Senator Feinstein’s office from an email sent to 5C alums,” Izant continues. “This same 5C connection eventually led me to San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office, where I had some of my most formative experiences in government, from doing COVID-19 communications during the height of the pandemic to working on consequential state legislation and helping shape the City’s Climate Action Plan.”
As CalEPA’s deputy secretary for climate policy, Izant hopes to guide the implementation of much-needed climate solutions and help advance California’s ambitious climate policies in pursuit of its goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. “In California, the majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, so we will be continuing our nation- and world-leading efforts to slash emissions from the transportation sector.” Additionally, Izant says Californians can expect to see government efforts to drastically cut methane emissions, which would contribute meaningfully to the critical effort of slowing climate change.
Any strategy for addressing climate change must take environmental justice into account, and Izant emphasizes the importance of that consideration in her work. “CalEPA prioritizes equity and environmental justice to ensure that those communities most disproportionately harmed and overburdened by decades of pollution and neglect are supported and listened to by the government,” she says. For instance, 74% of the $9.8 billion of funding provided by the California Climate Investments so far benefits priority populations in California, and the Clean Cars 4 All program helps lower-income consumers living in priority populations scrap and replace their old higher-polluting vehicles with newer and cleaner transportation.
Of course, environmental stewardship is not only a concern for vulnerable populations; the immediacy of the climate crisis cannot be ignored by anyone. “As the effects of climate change are already being felt by people around the world, it is clear that urgent action is needed,” Izant says. “There is an increased appreciation for the need to act now. Unfortunately, the negative consequences of climate change can be very daunting. It’s important people don’t lose hope that we can address this challenge.”
Izant explains that climate policy has far-reaching implications for almost every aspect of life. “It affects everything that we do. When we talk about other issues that are critically important in California, such as housing or healthcare, they are often intertwined with climate and environmental matters. For example, people experience health complications when the state experiences extreme heat and wildfire smoke from fires that are more intense as a result of climate change. Housing policies that encourage development near transit can help reduce commuting by car and the associated emissions.”
While national governments are the main responsible parties to international climate agreements such as the Paris Agreement, subnational governments—like US state and local governments—are often the forefront of creative solutions which can then be scaled to the national level. Izant explains, “Given the global nature of the climate crisis, we need to have global solutions, and California plays a critical role in achieving those solutions by sharing what we have learned and by learning from others.”
When asked what advice she has for current students, Izant provides an emphatic encouragement to those interested in pursuing a career in government or environmental protection: “Do it! Working in public service is incredibly important and fulfilling, and the public sector always needs more smart, dedicated people to join us. If anyone is interested in working for the State of California, please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me directly—I would be happy to be of assistance.”
No matter what field a Scripps student may choose to study, and no matter what they set their sights on postgraduation, Izant says it’s crucial to hold onto the ethos of intellectual curiosity Scripps encourages. “The beauty and joy of a Scripps education is that you don’t need to choose one single specialty in order to have a career in that space. You have the building blocks and tools to navigate many situations and types of work you’ll encounter in the world, and you’ll continue to learn on the job.”
Finally, Izant encourages students to remember the human element of building a meaningful career. “Regardless of the sector you go into, I would advise students to be kind and hardworking in all your jobs. If you stay in the same general sector, especially in government, you will likely encounter many of the same people you worked with before as you progress in your career. It’s a wonderful thing to find yourself working with a former colleague and to already have that baseline relationship formed, so make an effort to build lasting connections with those you work with.”