Alicia is a Research Associate at the Center for Global Sustainability. Her work focuses on climate mitigation and sustainability, with an emphasis on integrated quantitative analysis and modeling of energy systems, land use, and related issues at the center of climate and sustainability debates.
Prior to joining CGS, Alicia worked at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres. She then completed her Masters in Environmental Management at Duke University, where she became passionate about mitigating climate change through the use of data science, economics and stakeholder engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental science from Cornell University. In her free time, Alicia enjoys playing music, being outdoors, and exploring different cafes and restaurants.
- Climate change mitigation & adaptation; energy policy; environmental justice

After the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2017, CGS led the analysis of commitments from the more than 4,000 cities, states, businesses, universities, communities of faith, and more who pledged to support the goals of the Paris Agreement in their own capacity. Since the U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement in March 2021, CGS has continued working with U.S. subnational and international partners to deliver analysis that informs how an "all-of-society" ambitious and achievable U.S. climate strategy can drive actionable and feasible policy. CGS informs U.S. climate policy from the local to global through developing integrated modeling and climate scenarios for the federal government, advising on international discussions to ramp up ambition, and collaborating from the bottom-up to move the resources necessary to set and achieve ambitious climate goals.
Learn More about Building a Comprehensive U.S. Climate PolicySchool Authors: Alicia Zhao, Haewon McJeon, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Gokul Iyer, Kathleen Kennedy, Shannon Kennedy, Nathan Hultman
Other Authors: Tom Cyrs, John Feldmann, Kevin Kennedy, Kowan O'Keefe (CGS PhD Candidate), Sujata Rajpurohit, Lainie Rowland
School Authors: Morgan Edwards, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Nathan Hultman, Haewon McJeon, Gokul Iyer, Jiawei Song, Alicia Zhao
Other Authors: Matilyn Bindl, Krinjal Mathur
School Authors: Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon, Alicia Zhao, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Shannon Kennedy
Other Authors: Kevin Kennedy, Wendy Jaglom, Erin Bridgwater, Randall Mendell, Haley Leslie-Bole, Lanie Rowland, Emily McGlynn, Tansy Massey-Green, Tom Cyrs, John O'Neill, Rebecca Gasper, John Feldmann, Kowan O'Keefe
School Authors: Leon Clarke, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, James 'Jae' Edmonds, Sha Yu, Alicia Zhao
Other Authors: Cornelia Auer, Ryan Barrett, Antoine Boirard, Renaud Concordet, Jérôme Hilaire, Otso Manninen, Thessa Beck, David Bresch, Christoph Bertram, Molly Charles, Dawn Holland, Ian Hurst, Elmar Kriegler, Chahan Kropf, Iana Liadze, Theresa Löber, Franziska Piontek, Jihoon Min, Edo Schets, Inga Sauer, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Bas van Ruijven
School Authors: Morgan Edwards, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Nathan Hultman, Haewon McJeon, Gokul Iyer, Jiawei Song, Alicia Zhao
School Authors: Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Shannon Kennedy, Alicia Zhao, Jenna Behrendt
Other Authors: John O'Neill, Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon , Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Shannon Kennedy, Alicia Zhao, Jenna Behrendt
School Authors: Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon, Alicia Zhao, Jenna Behrendt, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui
Other Authors: Kevin Kennedy, Tom Cyrs, John O'Neill, Wendy Jaglom , John Feldmann, Kowan O'Keefe
School Authors: Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Alicia Zhao
Other Authors: Pete Hansel, Emily McGlynn, Kowan O'Keefe, John O'Neill, Celeste Wanner
School Authors: Nathan Hultman, Leon Clarke, Haewon McJeon, Yiyun 'Ryna' Cui, Alicia Zhao
Other Authors: Pete Hansel, Emily McGlynn, Kowan O'Keefe, John O'Neill, Celeste Wanner