Alumna Profile: Kiara Ordonez Olazabal

Kiara Ordonez Olazabal’s path to environmental justice advocacy and activism began in Lima, Peru, about 630 miles northwest of Arequipa, her hometown. Kiara was integrally involved in the climate strike movement in Peru, helping to co-found Viernes por el Futuro Perú (a translation: Fridays for Future Peru), a national organization that advocates for environmental and climate justice. In 2022, Peru declared a climate emergency due in part to the activism of Viernes por el Futuro Perú, which has local chapters in 20 Peruvian regions.

Through this work, Kiara has gained firsthand experience in the struggles faced by environmental defenders and indigenous communities, who often bear the brunt of the devastating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.

Environmental activism in Peru and other Latin American countries can be risky. A September 2023 report by the international NGO Global Witness ranks Latin America as the world's most dangerous region for environmental activists, citing at least 1,335 assassinations from 2012 to the report’s publication. In Peru, at least 30 environmental activists and community leaders have been killed since 2020, according to the national human rights center.

Despite this, Kiara has always been and continues to be an activist. “In the past two years, there have been very severe police repression and police brutality of protesters that were protesting against the current government,” Kiara told me. “As an organization, [Viernes por el Futuro Perú] has been focusing a lot on building internal power and developing campaigns that hopefully will help us push for policies once the political climate is better in the country.”

In 2019, Kiara came to Columbia to start undergraduate studies in economics and sustainable development. Kiara was particularly drawn to Columbia's focus on sustainable development and the interdisciplinary nature of the university's environmental programs. 

At Columbia, Kiara was involved in environmental activism and environmental justice advocacy, working as a fellow for the Environmental Justice and Climate Just Cities (EJCJC) Network. Kiara was also involved with Sunrise Columbia and Extinction Rebellion, environmental groups that emphasize institutional change. While she participated in protests calling for a climate emergency with Sunrise, Kiara’s most formative experience was supporting a week-long hunger strike organized by Extinction Rebellion calling for the University to declare a climate emergency, commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and divest from fossil fuels.

Despite studying in New York, Kiara still worked towards improving life in Peru, writing her senior thesis on the economic and environmental impacts of mining on local Peruvian communities. After graduating from Columbia, Kiara worked for a year as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst at the Columbia Climate School. 

Now, as a research associate at the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland, Kiara is applying her expertise and passion to climate policy modeling. Her work involves analyzing the potential impacts of various policies and strategies to help the United States achieve its emissions reduction goals by 2035. But Kiara is not content with simply crunching the numbers – she is also exploring ways to incorporate environmental justice perspectives into the modeling process, ensuring that the needs and concerns of marginalized communities are not overlooked.

Throughout her academic and professional journey, Kiara has remained steadfast in her belief that grassroots activism and community-based organizing are essential for addressing the climate crisis and creating meaningful change. When I asked Kiara for advice for students and young professionals, she emphasized that environmental justice is not solely an academic endeavor and that students should get involved in activism and community organizing. She certainly lives by her own advice!