Growing Our Reach, Building Our Capacity

When Alex Shahbazi graduated from Middlebury Institute of International Studies with his master’s degree in International Environmental Policy in May 2023, he had already spent over 18 months as a research assistant with SEARCH. During that time, Alex conceived of and co-produced six episodes of the SEARCH podcast Out of the Arctic and played an essential role coordinating two SEARCH convenings in Alaska—one in Anchorage and one in Nome. And now, barely a month since his graduation, Alex has re-joined SEARCH under the banner of Terra Virens Consulting. In his new role as Research & Project Management Fellow, Alex will help bring forth the many syntheses growing from the first two years of SEARCH. Specifically, Alex will help share co-produced, actionable syntheses ranging from Arctic energy and infrastructure to northern wildfires and walrus accessibility. (And we can’t wait for new episodes of Out of the Arctic!) Alex will continue to collaborate with dozens of Arctic experts and knowledge holders across SEARCH’s co-production teams.