Aviva Klein Meyers (BS '19)

Aviva fully embodies a Julie Kennedy Public Service scholar. She is kind, witty, and caring, and dedicates herself to activism and justice, both inside and outside the environmental sphere, at Stanford and around the world. Before settling on Earth Systems, Aviva was torn among majors, including International Relations. Her coursework, therefore, has dealt heavily with issues of policy and governance. And though she eventually found her way to Earth Systems, Aviva brings this broader interest in international development and global citizenship everywhere she goes. As a testament to that, Aviva has found adventures across the globe to address the issues she is most passionate about. In the summer after freshman year, Aviva interned at the Population Council in Washington, DC, learning about the intersection of climate resilience and family planning. And after spending a quarter in Santiago, Chile, immersing herself in understanding the country’s physical and human environment, Aviva flew to Ireland. In Dublin, she spent the summer assessing the success of Irish social enterprises at Ashoka. Last summer, Aviva stepped out of her comfort zone to learn more about community-based development, still with the international lens that is so important to her. She first interned at the Kakatiya Sandbox, evaluating the NGO’s vocational programs in rural India. She then spent eight weeks working at Sunfield Energy, a solar energy company, and Wavelabs, a tech startup, in Hyderabad.  Back on campus, Aviva demonstrates the same commitment to environmental and social projects. She served as a Sustainability Leader in Roble Hall, implementing infrastructural and behavioral changes to reduce the dorm’s environmental footprint. And as a volunteer for StanfordVotes, Aviva encourages Stanford students to make their voices heard in the democratic process. In every election, as well as many single-issue cases, since starting at Stanford, Aviva has volunteered for phone banking and voter registration campaigns at local, state, and national levels. She continues to do independent projects for off-campus NGOs working in sustainable and international development. Aviva has the knowledge and passion to match the Julie Kennedy Public Service Award, and she will continue to dedicate herself to environmental issues and social activism beyond Stanford.