Meg Slattery ’15

Overview

Staff Scientist, Earthjustice
Washington, DC

• BA, Science, Technology, and Society, Vassar College
• MS, Energy Systems, University of California, Davis
• PhD, Energy Systems, University of California, Davis

Meg Slattery (she/her) analyzes sustainability and environmental justice issues for emerging technologies, like batteries and artificial intelligence. As a Staff Scientist at Earthjustice, she supports federal policy advocacy regarding energy, transportation, critical minerals, and data centers. The work varies, depending on what’s going on in Congress, but it includes reading articles, writing blogs and fact sheets, asking lots of questions, drafting legislative text, and meeting with congressional staffers. Meg earned an MS and PhD in energy systems from the University of California, Davis, where she focused on battery reuse and recycling, and incorporating community engagement in research about direct lithium extraction. Her work on the battery supply chain has been published in peer-reviewed journals and reports from institutions like the International Energy Agency and the World Bank. Before graduate school, Meg worked for a small rural energy nonprofit in Nicaragua called Grupo Fenix and gained valuable experience working in Denver restaurants.

Advice to Students:

Pay attention to what makes you curious and follow that, reply to emails quickly, not perfectly, and don’t rush into grad school unless you find a field you’re really interested in, and that’s the best way to get started! If you do go to grad school, ask if you can get funding as a teaching or research assistant. Remember that if you are following a path that’s really unique to you, you’ll probably feel lost at times, and that’s okay. Finally, working in restaurants teaches you how to work hard, handle unexpected problems, and communicate, and I think everyone should do it or something similar. Exercise and prioritize sleep 🙂