BE-Ex is delighted to introduce our 2026 Summer Interns: Laisa Tarannum Latif, who supports our Education & Engagement team, and Thalia Witkovsky, who supports our Educational Resources team!
Laisa Tarannum Latif is a recent graduate of the City College of New York, where she studied economics with a focus on climate policy and environmental justice. During her tenure, she was selected for the Aligning Profit with Purpose Fellowship, where she explored corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices, and for the Climate Policy Fellowship, where she explored how policy design and economic incentives can effectively shape climate action. She also served on the Colin Powell Student Advisory Board, where she helped amplify other students’ voices while designing engagement programs and initiatives, and conducted research spanning NYC’s congestion pricing program, transit equity, sustainable business practices, and the role of mangrove ecosystems in carbon sequestration in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Laisa has a deep connection to climate work, shaped by her family’s experiences; she witnessed the devastating effects of climate change firsthand. Floods and droughts gradually eroded her grandfather’s ancestral land, which had sustained their family for generations, and eventually engulfed her father’s childhood home. That profound loss inspired Laisa to dedicate her life to climate advocacy.
Ask Laisa for a fun energy fact, and she’ll tell you this one: in the early 1990s, only around 15% of Bangladesh’s population had access to electricity. Today, that number has soared to over 99%.
Outside of work, she enjoys movies, eating out, and spending time with her friends and cats. She does her best to tread lightly, taking public transit, limiting high-emission foods, and shopping mindfully. She is currently making her way through A World of Three Zeros by her favorite economist, Muhammad Yunus, and her all-time favorite read remains A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Thalia Witkovsky is a rising senior at Wesleyan University majoring in Environmental Studies and Government. She is a 2026 recipient of the Robert Schumann Distinguished Environmental Stewardship Award and the Parker Prize from Wesleyan University. At Wesleyan, she serves as a Coordinator for the Environmental Fellows Program.
Thalia grew up in a well-built but leaky 100-year-old Chicago greystone. Over the past five years, she lived through its DIY transformation into an efficient and eco-friendly house, including the addition of rooftop solar panels, storm windows, LED lights, insulation, and a green roof over the garage. With the switch to heat pumps, an EV, and an induction stove, Thalia’s family was able to cut off the gas connection to their house. Witnessing this retrofit of her childhood home set Thalia on the path of sustainable architecture.
In her junior year, Thalia co-created and taught a student-led class on solutions at the intersection of housing and environmental crises. One energy factoid she enjoyed sharing with her class is that in Australia, solar installation companies can get permits over the phone in 24 hours, whereas it takes about 60 to 90 days in the US to get the same permit, according to renewable electricity advocate Saul Griffith.
In her free time, Thalia loves to play soccer, cook for friends, and listen to David Roberts’ podcast “Volts.” She is currently reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and plans to start Climate Change as Class War by Matthew T. Huber next. Thalia is excited to be working for BE-Ex this summer and looking forward to navigating New York as a new resident.
We are thrilled to have them both on board this summer and look forward to their contributions!