Group Alumni
Alicia Bao
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Alicia is a fourth-year computer science and sociology student working with NZT, UESI, and ChatNetZero. Outside of academics, she advocates for the establishment of Asian American Studies at UNC, directs HackNC, and the Triangle Asian American Students Conference. In her free time, she enjoys doodling and painting.
Gabrielle Rothstein
UNC-Chapel Hill, B.A., Public Policy
Gabby is a rising senior at UNC, majoring in Public Policy with a minor in Data Science. She previously worked with the Data-Driven EnviroLab under the supervision of Dr. Angel Hsu on a Diplomacy Lab project in collaboration with the University of Bangui, researching responsible AI adoption in higher education and contributing to a policy brief that received top recognition in the 2026 UNC Policy Brief Competition. She is excited to continue supporting the lab through communications, website updates, and outreach. In her free time, Gabby enjoys running, dancing, and traveling.
Katherine Burley Farr
UNC-Chapel Hill, PhD Student (Public Policy)
Katherine is a graduate research assistant for the Data-Driven Lab, currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include energy and environmental policy, specifically how subnational governments and electric utilities respond to climate change issues and the ongoing renewable energy transition. Prior to entering the PhD program, Katherine worked in economic consulting. At her most recent role, she evaluated demand-side management programs and technologies for utilities and energy companies throughout North America. She received a BS in Economics from Louisiana State University and an MA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Farr graduated with her PhD in May 2026 and is currently a Consultant at Demand Side Analytics.
Elizabeth Brown
UNC-Chapel Hill, PhD Student (Public Policy)
Elizabeth’s research is focused on the intersection of development economics and environmental policy. Specifically, she is researching topics like the off-grid solar energy market in Sub-Saharan Africa, the social and environmental impacts of critical mineral extraction for renewable energy products, and how climate-related disasters affect the global South. After completing her undergraduate years at UNC-Chapel Hill, she joined RTI International as an applied economist. At DDL, her work is primarily focused on tracking sub-national climate actions —collecting, cleaning and analyzing data on city, state and regional governments’ emission pledges and progress, and training a machine-learning model to identify corporate greenwashing. Following her doctoral work, she aims to leverage her data science skills learned at DDL to continue research in an academic, nonprofit, or government setting.
Izzy Bukovnik
UNC-Chapel Hill, PhD Student (Public Policy)
Izzy is a graduate research assistant for the Data-Driven Lab and a PhD student in the Public Policy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her academic interests include the factors that influence non-state actors to enact environmental regulations (particularly the interplay between municipal and state governments), data visualization, and science communication. Izzy has a Masters in Environmental Management with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems from Duke University and a BA in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. In her free time, Izzy enjoys hiking with her two dogs, Artemis and Virgil.
Will Carney
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Will is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Economics and Public Policy with a concentration in Climate and a minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. He joined DDL to work on developing frameworks to evaluate subnational climate policy and research the implications of US-China relations on climate change and Southeast Asia. Outside of his main tasks at DDL, Will also leads the Thematic Working Group on Carbon Markets & Article 6 of the Paris Agreement for the UNFCCC’s research constituency. Post-grad, he intends to take a year off to backpack Southeast Asia before pursuing a degree in international law and continuing to contribute to the UNFCCC in a negotiating capacity. His work at DDL is providing a strong foundation for these ambitions by enhancing his understanding of complex climate policies and the geopolitical factors that influence them.
Scout Correa
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Scout Correa is a rising senior majoring in Environmental Health Sciences and minoring in Data Science. With the DDL Scout will be working with Katherine Burley and Sarah Berk on our cooling pavements and urban heat stress project in Raleigh and heat monitoring in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing water polo, reading, and baking.
Sam Bertossi
UNC-Chapel Hill ’27
Sam Bertossi is a junior majoring in Political Science and Data Science with a minor in Neuroscience. At the DDL, Sam will be researching AI technology for the Global Covenant of Mayors project. Sam previously contributed to the Diplomacy Lab Initiative by working with the State Department and students from the Central African Republic to research AI implementation across the global south. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, poker, and fantasy football.
Jeremy Galsim
UNC-Chapel Hill, MPP, Master of Public Policy
Jeremy is a Master of Public Policy student at UNC Chapel Hill, bringing in experience at both the state and local government levels. At DDL, he will be expanding prior research on a project with Katherine Burley analyzing the environmental impacts of data centers. Jeremy’s interest in data-driven governance has also contributed to his work outside of DDL, including his current work analyzing Indonesian digital fisheries monitoring programs through a data justice lens. Outside of his work, Jeremy is a former world class snare drummer with Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps, and currently spends his free time hiking and playing pickleball.
Colin O’Hagerty
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Colin O’Hagerty is a senior majoring in Environmental Health Sciences with research interests at the intersection between urban planning, climate adaptation, and public health. Joining the DDL with a background in environmental consulting and air quality, Colin represented the group at 2025’s C40 Cities World Mayors Summit and is working with Katherine Burley Farr to estimate the environmental impacts of data centers in the continental US. In addition to his work with the DDL, Colin conducts engineering-focused research on air quality control strategies under Dr. William Vizuete in UNC’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and leads a qualitative project on urban development and environmental change in small municipalities with the Center for the Study of the American South. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing trombone.
Colin is currently an analyst at the Smart Surfaces Coalition.
Andrew Martin
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Andrew Martin is a senior majoring in Political Science and Peace, War & Defense, and minoring in GIS. Andrew is contributing to the UESI by working on global remote sensing data to study urban heat island phenomena. Andrew will also compile global administrative boundary data for the ClimActor R package. Outside of the lab, Andrew’s hobbies include playing tennis and fishing.
Andrew is currently a Masters student studying international security at Georgetown University.
Amelia Wallace
UNC-Chapel Hill, PhD Student (Sociology)
Elle Brunsdale
Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Environmental Management (MEM) candidate ’19
