Kate Guy is the Managing Director of the Geopolitics of Climate Change and the Energy Transition at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Prior to this role, Kate was an appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration, directing the Department of State’s diplomatic efforts and interagency policy at the intersection of climate change, national security, and foreign policy. She served as a Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and to the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans, and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She formerly was a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security and Deputy Director of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, where she led global research and engagement on growing global threats posed by climate change.
Kate has worked in politics and international environmental policy with numerous institutions, including the U.S. Department of State, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, the Truman National Security Project, Foreign Policy for America, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Her research has appeared in the BBC, Bloomberg News, International Affairs, The Conversation, Forbes, The Guardian, The National Interest, Oxford Magazine, Reuters, Scientific American, USA Today, and War on the Rocks.
Kate earned her B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University, focusing on foreign policy and climate change. She is pursuing a doctorate in international relations with the University of Oxford, where she has served as a lecturer in International Relations at University College, at the Blavatnik School of Government, and with the Oxford School of Climate Change. She was born and raised in Minnesota.
