Weijia Zhang
Weijia (Christy) Zhang is a second-year Master’s student in Environmental Health at Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health, specializing in Climate and Sustainability. She holds dual
Bachelor’s degrees from Duke Kunshan University and Duke University, majoring in
Environmental Science / Public Policy.
Weijia has diverse professional experience spanning industry, policy, and consulting. As a Clean
Energy Policy & Engagement Intern with the Massachusetts Building Congress, she led research
and stakeholder engagement for Boston’s building decarbonization policies. In consulting, she
supported a digital transformation project for an energy company, mastering complex workflows
and delivering actionable insights across cross-functional teams. Weijia has also contributed to
corporate sustainability in the manufacturing sector, where she supported supplier data collection
and validation for Environmental Product Declarations and ESG disclosures, and led successful
supplier training programs to enhance data accuracy and compliance.
Weijia’s research interests are broad, encompassing urban planning, environmental
epidemiology, soil pollution, wetland management, regional cancer disparities, and sustainable
investing across the U.S., China, and the Mediterranean regions. She was selected as a fellow of
the Harvard Cyprus Fellowship 2025 cohort, where she evaluated nature-based solutions for
schools in Nicosia, Cyprus.
She is passionate about leveraging evidence-based solutions to drive meaningful environmental
change, with a long-term commitment to advancing sustainability strategies in both the public
and private sectors.
The Salata Institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so. Faculty interested in the Climate Research Clusters program should note an upcoming deadline for concepts on April 1, 2024.