"We cannont solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

Profile

Basic Info

Chia-YiChia-Yi Hou
Location: New York, NY
Email: chewbear@beforebreakfast.net
Interests: ecology, conservation biology, economics, psychology, neuroscience, policy, technology, green building, urban issues
Hobbies: Ultimate frisbee, (very) amateur photography and videography

Current Experience

Industry Tracker (Ecology), Green Career Central

  • Develop Industry Profile for website
  • Investigate industry trends

Past Experience

Associate Director, Energy Liberty

  • Develop and implement main programs
  • Operations and project management
  • Create partnerships and reach out to the community
  • Maintain Energy Liberty’s online presence
 Intern, Greenanswers.com
August-October 2009

  • Contributed by writing answer content for 560+ questions

Instructor, CAPA Summer Camp
July-August 2009

  • Led 2 classes per afternoon of 10-15 children, ages 5-12
 Intern, American Museum of Natural History

Education

Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
New York, NY
August 2007 – May 2009
Department: Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental Biology (E3B)
Major: Conservation Biology, M.A.     Overall GPA: 3.74		 Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
August 2003 – May 2007
Major: Biology, B.S.
Minor: Chinese
Overall GPA: 3.32		 Stuyvesant High School of Math and Science
New York, NY
September 1999 – June 2003

Skills and Qualifications

LEED Green Associate
Languages: Fluent English, Conversational Mandarin and Shanghainese
Applications: Microsoft Office, R, Google Docs, Wikis
During my time as Associate Director for Energy Liberty, I have taken on several responsibilities, which include developing programs, applying for 501(c)3 tax exempt status, interviewing potential interns, and dealing with government relations.

Examples of my work

Writing

Other than here, I also wrote for Energy Liberty. I also had an editorial piece in the weekly column for Consilience, the Journal of Sustainable Development.

Video


Pictures

In progress

Q&A

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about learning more about the relationship between humans and the earth and how things might change in the future to move towards a more mutually beneficial and sustainable situation. I am particularly interested in the dynamics of global collaboration.

What motivates you? How do you motivate others?

I’m motivated by a search for knowledge to feed my brain. I want to know more about how things work and I’m fascinated by the different nuances of human relationships and interactions with other humans, wildlife, ecosystems, the environment, etc. I’m also interested in how many disciplines are connected through conservation biology and ecology, and sustainable development. All of these things are and will be increasingly important for the future of humanity and I am in love with the idea of being a part of it all.
Making connections excites me and motivates me to dig deeper to find more connections and figure out how it all works together. I motivate others by hopefully helping them make their own connections and coming to their own realizations. I hope to do this by facilitating the process with information and knowledge that they may not have.

What are your long term goals?

My long term goals include returning to graduate school to further study environmental science and policy, and resource management. Specifically, I would like to study the relationships between science, society and technology/innovation. After that, I would like to work in education, research and advocacy.

What are some books you have read recently?

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Superfreakonomics by Levitt and Dubnar
The Pirate’s Dilemma by Matt Mason

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