The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University is currently in its fifth year. With Columbia World Projects (CWP) the program has hosted 58 rising leaders from 47 countries around the world. Applicants to the program are individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to finding solutions to intractable challenges in their communities and countries. Scholars spend a year at Columbia University in the City of New York enhancing their skills, gaining new knowledge and tools, and join a lifelong international network of the world’s current and future leaders who are identifying innovative solutions to complex global problems.
CWP is now accepting applications until 5pm ET on January 19, 2023 for the next cohort of Obama Foundation Scholars that begins in August 2023.
CWP recently caught up with 2021-22 Obama Foundation Scholar Jean-Noé Landry who shared his experience as a Scholar, how the program influenced his career, and his current work. Landry came to the program with two decades of experience as a community organizer, social entrepreneur and open data advocate. Today, he works in climate justice activism in Montreal, which was a key area of engagement during his time in the program.
Q. How did the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University influence your career path?
A. It was a time to think and strategize about next steps. I connected with world-leading researchers in the Columbia climate community, and I asked, how do we connect climate science with climate action and climate justice? That led me to volunteer with local environmental justice organizations and train myself as an intermediary between different sectors and stakeholders―between climate scientists working on different aspects of the climate emergency and, for example, local activists and residents in Harlem who were developing readiness plans for various extreme climate event scenarios.
Q. While a Scholar you were partnered with a Columbia University faculty advisor. What was your experience like?
A. I was paired with leading environmental scientist Ruth DeFries, Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School, University Professor, and Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development. I told her about the work I was doing in Harlem, how I was seeing a gap between climate science and climate activism. She saw somebody who could navigate between different communities and be part of Columbia University’s Fourth Purpose. We hosted a meeting where academic leaders from the Columbia Climate School connected with members of the Obama Foundation’s Climate Leaders Networks. It was a space to appreciate where academics and activists were coming from, how we worked and what defined us, and then look at opportunities to collaborate across disciplines, mindsets, and sectors.
Q. How is the professional network you were able to create while at Columbia University supporting your climate justice work?
A. I met academics and researchers from at least 20 different disciplines, and I maintain relationships with them. I was able to build a network, hone my skills as a mediator, and validate some of the assumptions I had about the necessity of bridging climate science, climate action and climate justice―and doing that from a multidisciplinary perspective―in order to scale and have more impact and relevance. It drew from my professional experience supporting emerging democratic systems and institutions as well as my open data leadership which positioned me at the intersection of many communities mobilizing, researching, and confronting a range of urban challenges like affordable housing, poverty, and food systems.
Q. What does the Obama Foundation Scholars network mean to you?
A. There are hundreds of climate leaders who have graduated from different Obama Foundation programs, and that is a very powerful group of people. It’s not just about affiliation, it’s about how we as leaders contribute to a community of practice. The program inspired me to see the path and the possibilities, forge solidarity, and make common cause with other leaders around the world. Building on my Obama Scholars experience, it was wonderful to play an active role in co-organizing a convening with some of these inspiring leaders at Climate Week NYC this Fall. I strongly believe in contributing to the Obama climate leaders network, maintaining relationships with researchers, and connecting both of those communities.
Q. How have the experiences you had at Columbia University impacted your current work?
A. It struck me right away that in Montreal, we weren't framing the ecological transition in terms of social justice. As part of a new civil society alliance (Transition en Commun) with the City of Montreal, I’m now involved in co-constructing a civic agenda for the socio-ecological transition with a stronger social justice lens, changing the way we develop policies and strategies so that this is much more inclusive and representative. I'm also setting up a climate-focused inter-university data studio at Concordia University that connects researchers and flips the research model so that it is more centered on the people most affected by the climate. We identify issues locally with partners and residents, through local partnerships, then look for the knowledge and data assets that we have in Montreal and create an enabling environment for collaboration.