During my first summer in the Laidlaw Program, I am working with the Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law to research and provide a series of write-ups to West Harlem Environmental Action Coalition on actions the federal government can take to combat climate change, with a particular focus on efforts that could benefit communities facing environmental injustice.

Wena Teng studies History at Columbia University specializing in Political Economy. Born in Queens and raised in Asia, Wena’s transnational experience drives her advocacy for migration labor and diasporic communities. Wena has led the Urban Justice Center on policy campaigns to accommodate legal resources for street vendors and has provided policy recommendations on labor and trade as a White House Intern. She serves as Columbia University Senator and is a Truman Scholar, Laidlaw Scholar, and Research Assistant. Wena aspires to build inclusive migration policy as a clinical legal academic and elected policymaker. Wena is from the United States.

My Laidlaw experience focuses on reframing the tourism industry to center the environment. In my first year, I developed a map of NYC's ecotourism, focused on environmental justice, circularity, and emissions reduction. In my second year in Santiago, Chile, I have collaborated with FEDETUR, the federation of tourism enterprises of Chile, to develop materials for tourism businesses to reduce their carbon footprint.

Ana is a senior at Barnard College pursuing a combined major in religion and human rights. She is specifically interested in the relationship between religion and politics, law, and histories of empire. Her other passions include Arabic language study, vocal jazz, and coffee culture.

Hello everyone! My name is Isabella Garcia Bernstein (she/they), and I am going into my second year at Barnard College. I study Spanish and Latin American Cultures and Archaeology. My research project involves examining the allegorical play Loa for the Divine Narcissus by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to situate her views of scholarship and education in the larger educational structure of colonial Mexico. With my research, I hope to gain an understanding of educational disenfranchisement in the country as a result of Spanish Catholic colonization. I look forward to connecting with you all.

I am the founder of buddhistphilosophy.co.uk where I currently host podcasts with expert guests in Buddhist philosophical practice and theory. With this project, I am to contribute toward correcting the entrenched Eurocentric bias in philosophy by creating an inclusive space for learning about Buddhist philosophy. As a Laidlaw Scholar, I have researched on researched philosophy of time, Buddhist philosophy, and philosophy of language. My research output includes a paper entitled Meaning in Gibberish (forthcoming in Aporia). I have presented this paper and discussed related issues in talks and workshops at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. Language learning holds a high in priority in my studies and research. I have studied some Pali (OCBS levels 1 and 2) and I read French fluently. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any interest in the following: Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy, Ambedkar studies, women and Buddhist philosophy, cross-cultural philosophy, critical theory, French philosophy, Laruelle’s non-philosophy, non-Buddhism, philosophy of nonsense, philosophy of death.

Hello! I was Laidlaw scholar in 2019, and I studied national, regional, and local identity in northern Tajikistan through the lens of women's fashion.  For a year after graduating, I worked for the UN Mine Action Service which removes landmines from conflict and post-conflict regions. I then worked for the Laidlaw Foundation 2021-22 and completed a Master's Degree in Anthropology and Development Management at the London School of Economics. Now I'm working with the UN on innovative finance for biodiversity conservation, focusing on marine ecosystems. Please feel free to reach out on the network, on LinkedIn, or by email. I'm always happy to meet new people and chat.

Final-year Durham student studying Politics; President of Durham Laidlaw Scholars' Organisation; Incoming ESRC-funded MA-PhD student in NINE DTP. My research so far has covered ideological identity in left-wing student activism, examining the interplay of social movement theory and the philosophy of identity, and my general research interests include citizenship education, democratic theory and the occasional bit of political anthropology. Outside of my studies it's mainly twentieth-century literature, cocktails and cooking!