CIERP Alumni Perspectives: A Conversation with Julio Rivera Alejo

By Marília Ramos

Julio Rivera indeed imbues his students with a sense of passion and enthusiasm. And even though this writer is not one of these fortunate students, she can feel how much he cares about climate change and how it influences a classroom.

Julio Rivera Alejo, MALD ‘17

A Fletcher alumnus from Spain, Julio Rivera began his undergraduate degree in space engineering at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. However, he switched his major to International Relations (IR). Julio says his curiosity to learn new subjects and the possibility to study a variety of different content within the discipline were the primary reasons for his decision to study IR. His first exposure to the challenges of climate change and environmental issues came through a class project. This was the beginning of a long journey dedicated to these pressing issues. In the subsequent years, Julio did a semester abroad in Scotland and undertook an internship in the environmental field. Upon graduation, Julio won a competitive scholarship in Spain to do his first master’s degree in Madrid. This opportunity allowed him to specialize in environmental studies and became the stepping stone to The Fletcher School.

It was Fletcher’s focus on environmental and sustainability issues, small program and sense of community that drew him to the MALD degree. The possibility of studying these issues in an interdisciplinary light that fed his curiosity about the world only convinced him that Fletcher is where he would want to be.

At Fletcher, Julio discovered that sustainability and environment are deeply interlinked with agriculture, economics, politics, transportation, and numerous other sub-disciplines. The application of climate policies within these topics is endless, a realm which captured his imagination. Outside of class, Julio was Professor Barbara Kates Garnick’s teaching assistant in her Energy and Entrepreneurship course. He was also a research assistant for Dean Kelly Sims Gallagher, who was also his capstone advisor. While working as the Dean’s RA, Julio co-authored an article on carbon markets that was published in the Climate Policy Journal.

For Julio, the Climate Change Policy class was the most impactful during his time at Fletcher. Knowing that he wanted to specialize in environmental and climate issues, courses such as Environmental Problem Solving, Energy Entrepreneurship and Finance, or International Energy Policy helped him acquire a deeper understanding of contemporary challenges. He supplemented these classes with quantitative skills, taking econometrics and Professor Jacque’s finance course. Through his classes, Julio learned how to write a policy memo, a necessary skill in diplomatic careers. He took advantage of cross-registration at Harvard, to study Financing Policies in Developing Countries, a course whose principals have been handy in his current job at the World Bank.

In terms of non-academically related activities while Rivera was at Fletcher, he mentioned how important it was to go to the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 16) in Marrakesh, Morocco. Moreover, he said how the OCS (Office of Career Services) was very helpful. Going to career trips to DC and NY and attending all OCS seminars played a huge part on helping Rivera get to where he is in his career. Lastly, Julio emphasized how the PDP (Professional Development Program) was a great introduction to the US job market and a great starting point for his job and internship search while he was in Fletcher.

After graduating from Fletcher, Rivera had multiple working experiences. According to him all his experiences were impactful in some way, however he mentioned his job at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) in more detail, where he worked with developing countries to implement climate policies and climate mitigation. He worked locally, particularly in Latin America countries, where he would go on field trips to get in contact directly with companies, stakeholders and other parties involved in such policies. Even though not all the projects worked out in the end, Rivera mentioned how meaningful his experience was working directly with those organizations and participating in actions that were generating direct contributions to mitigate climate change.

Another impactful experience that Julio mentioned was the time that he spent with the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. During his time there he helped with the energy transition in Spain, since many coal mines were shutting down and the Spanish government was looking for a more ecological alternative to substitute fossil fuels.

Lastly, Julio mentions his current job at the World Bank in climate finance, and supporting mainstream climate change across operations in the World Bank, regardless if they are climate related or not. Concomitant with his job at the World Bank, Julio is also a visiting professor at IE School of Global and Public Affairs where he teaches an elective course on climate change and a seminar on climate advocacy for the undergraduates. In Julio’s opinion, it is very rewarding to see young minds learning about climate change and how they can help this cause as well.

To conclude, Rivera gave two types of advice for the current Fletcher students, one more general and another more professional. Julio says that is important to make the most out of your experience in Fletcher and to choose your courses is the smartest way possible; students are given too many options of courses, at times it’s hard to filter the options down and choose which ones would make more sense for your career path. Also, he emphasizes that studying is not everything, thus he incentivizes students to enjoy as much as possible outside of the classroom as well, as going to Boston and visiting museums and going on the ski and cultural trips. Finally, he advises that students should not worry, everything is going to be well in the end!

Lastly, for his professional advice, Rivera mentions once again how important it is to take advantage of the OCS and to do networking. This is important not only to find a job, but to make friends as well. He highlights how widening your circle of friends makes a difference, and how this also applies for making friends with the professors as well. Finally, he stresses how significant the Fletcher network is and how nowadays it still plays a massive role for him to get new opportunities, such as his current position in the World Bank, and in many other situations as well. ∎

Marília Ramos is MIB candidate at the Fletcher School at Tufts University