Yale News
Being an environmentalist in 2025 can be bleak.
With 2024 as the warmest year on record, engaging in climate sciences has, in some ways, become a solemn responsibility. Yet few in the field are nearly as optimistic as Indy Burke, the dean of the School of the Environment.
“Here at the YSE, we don’t just contribute by minding our business at home — we contribute by taking it out into the world,” she told the News. “When you need to feel optimistic, come around here.”
Burke grew up with forests in the backdrop. Her mother and father, University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University graduates, met doing backcountry hikes with the Sierra Club.
While she frequents the West for holidays, Burke was raised predominantly in Virginia, where she backpacked, hiked, camped and sailed.
“Growing up, the [area] between the mountains and the bay of Virginia was my laboratory,” Burke said.
Burke said she found her passion for environmental science during an immersive undergraduate research expedition as a biology major at Middlebury College. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, she and 11 fellow undergraduates conducted an environmental analysis of the Ray Mountains in Alaska.
After graduating from Middlebury, Burke went to Canyonlands National Park in Utah as a Student Conservation Association biological intern. She was later hired by Maine to do an analysis of the Mahoosuc Range, an untouched region of the Appalachian Trail home to a variety of endangered plant species. She began her doctorate at Dartmouth but followed her advisor to the University of Wyoming when he was offered a position there.
According to Scott Carpenter ENV ’25, Burke’s background in Western culture equipped her with a unique and valuable perspective at the School of the Environment, notably how she communicates the significance of climate change and environmental issues to a bipartisan audience.
“This ability to engage with a wide range of perspectives is particularly crucial in today’s polarized political climate,” Carpenter wrote to the News. “[Burke’s] dedication to fostering dialogue and collaboration across belief systems underscores her care and passion for driving meaningful environmental progress.”
Burke serves on Carpenter’s doctorate committee, along with his primary advisor, professor William Lauenroth. Carpenter credits Burke’s mentorship for improving his writing and data analysis skills.
The beauty of the Rocky Mountains is something that Burke, who has spent the last eight years in Connecticut, still misses.
After Wyoming, Burke took up a postdoctoral position at Colorado State University, or CSU, on wheat and corn systems. In 1989, she became CSU’s first female faculty member in the College of Natural Resources — something she feared was an “Affirmative Action position.”
“I always felt concerned that I was hired beyond my intellectual capabilities and accomplishments, and I had to work extra hard to prove that I was a good hire,” Burke reflected. “I was treated quite well, so I think that it was more of an internal worry and not something that the environment imposed on me.”
Gender equality in the forestry field is no longer a concern — according to Burke, the School of the Environment’s forestry program has a higher female-to-male student ratio.
Burke served as the dean of the University of Wyoming’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources for eight years before coming to the School of the Environment.
“I have been at YSE for the last 40 years and can state that Dean Burke is the hardest working, most dedicated and most effective Dean that YSE has had over that period,” Robert Mendelsohn, professor of forest policy, wrote to the News. “Moving from being just a forestry school to a School of the Environment would not have happened without her.”
Mendelsohn referred to 2020, when the School of the Environment — previously the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies — was renamed, reflecting a broader approach to global sustainability and environmental impacts.
Yale’s finesse for action is why she remains optimistic about Yale’s climate goals.
Yale Sustainability’s website, which the School of the Environment oversees, states that Yale is committed to “zero actual carbon emissions by 2050 with an interim goal to reach net zero emissions by 2035.”
According to Burke, the school is making strides in the right direction. Kroon Hall, where the School of the Environment is located, was the first LEED platinum building on campus. The distinction is given by the U.S. Green Building Council when the building meets standards in six categories.
“There’s a ton going on that makes me feel quite optimistic that we’ll certainly meet the net target,” Burke said of recent environmental initiatives on campus. “2050 seems like a long time away, but it’s not that long away. It’s certainly ambitious, but I do think that if anybody can do it, Yale can.”
School of the Environment faculty often engage in climate change policy-making and communication.
Graduates go on to work in the business sector, local and federal government, nonprofits and NGOs. This widespread influence is why Burke remains optimistic about Yale’s future in climate leadership.
“You can’t swing a stick in Washington, D.C., without hitting somebody from our school who is engaged in environmental policy, environmental regulation or environmental science,” Burke said. “It’s really quite awesome.”
Outside of her School of the Environment work, Burke still manages to engage with grassroots organizations. She is active on the board of the Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, the Wilderness Society and the Conservation Fund. She said it has been gratifying to visit the places she’s worked to preserve, including a $100 million sale of land just outside Grand Teton National Park.
Burke’s passion and fondness for the wilderness are apparent; despite her hectic workload, she finds ways to engage with nature. Her favorite tree, the ponderosa pine, has orange bark with hints of vanilla when it rains, and her favorite bird is the meadowlark for its endearing song.
“I squeeze in adventure whenever I can,” Burke, an avid hiker and runner, said.
This June, she will be going rafting down the Yampa River with the Wilderness Society.
Kroon Hall opened in January 2009.