Mariah Caballero ’19

Overview

Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA

• BA, Biology, Geography, Vassar College
• MS, Community Research and Action, Vanderbilt University
• PhD, Community Research and Action, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Mariah Caballero (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Wellesley College. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, her research uses a combination of geospatial methods and energy justice theories to investigate U.S. climate and energy policies and their impact on the inequitable distribution of energy costs, infrastructure, and inefficiencies in rural and coastal communities. Through this work, she aims to develop community-defined policy and engagement strategies for the clean energy transition that prioritize rural livelihoods and well-being. Beyond the academy, she strives to produce meaningful research for non-profit organizations, including co-authoring a report on rural and Tribal community-defined decarbonization in Washington State and serving as an equity and environmental justice technical contributor on the Oregon State Energy Strategy. She believes academia is a privilege, and research should be actionable, policy-relevant, and a service to our communities. Mariah earned her bachelor’s degrees in geography and biology at Vassar and her PhD in Community Research & Action (CRA) from Vanderbilt University.

Advice to Students: 

Speak kindly to yourself! Building a career you are excited about is an endless pursuit, and there will always be moments when doubt, fear, and comparisons creep in. Remind yourself that opportunities will come when you’re prepared to receive them, and that many of those opportunities are likely to be preceded by multiple setbacks. Your twenties are the time for self-discovery, and speaking kindly to yourself will get you much further than sowing seeds of inner doubt.