Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
Date
January 23, 2026
IBES launches STEP Program to expand student professional development opportunities in climate, sustainability and the environment
The new suite of student offerings includes a 500% increase in paid internships and research opportunities as well as professional development workshops, alumni networking, and an annual Climate Career Fair.
Brown students have long been on the leading edge of climate and sustainability issues, from aiding in the construction of the original Urban Environmental Lab in the 1980s to championing Brown’s industry-leading decarbonization targets. With many students seeking careers that advance climate, sustainability, and environmental goals, the Institute at Brown for Environment & Society (IBES) is launching a new program that helps students discover and prepare for their dream jobs, whether in the public, private, or NGO sectors.
The Student Transformative Engagement Pathways (STEP) Program is designed to serve all Brown students with a diverse set of opportunities to cultivate the skills, experiences, and networks to jumpstart their professional training and career planning from their first semester at Brown to their last, and beyond.
We’re thrilled to launch the STEP program. It’s meeting an urgent and growing need among our students, who really want to make a difference in the world. Students are hungry for the kind of real-world, on-the-job training that the STEP program provides, and we’re excited to showcase the wide variety of organizations working in climate and sustainability — a set of prospective employers that grows larger and more diverse every year.
Lawrence and Barbara Margolis Director of IBES, Professor of Environment and Society & Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Brown’s Center for Career Exploration is a key partner in the STEP program, ensuring broad access to program opportunities by students from across campus, and leveraging a vast network of Brown alumni who can support student training and mentoring.
Expanding a portfolio of student experiences
Funded by a generous gift to IBES, the STEP program represents a major expansion in hands-on professional development and career training for undergraduates. Over the next three years, IBES will grow its number of paid summer internships from 10 to 50, and add new fall and spring semester internships. Already this summer, students can apply to 29 paid internships that include a new suite of opportunities in the private sector (such as Sea Ahead, a bluetech startup platform, and Noble Carbon, which develops smart circuit breakers) as well as expanded offerings in the NGO (Providence Resilience Partnership, Orion Magazine) and public sectors (Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management).
Internships in action
Students share how their IBES-funded internships helped them explore careers with purpose. Get inspired and discover what your own pathway could look like.
The STEP program also expands undergraduate research opportunities. STEP will roughly triple the number of paid, multi-semester research assistantships and provide research funding for faculty who serve as mentors to these students. Additional components of the STEP program include expanded alumni engagement, a marquee speaker series and an enhanced Climate Career Fair to be held during Brown Climate Week.
Inaugural STEP Director: Betsy Stubblefield Loucks ’98.5
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The program will be directed by Betsy Stubblefield Loucks ’98.5, a Brown alumna with deep experience in program design and growth, strategic planning, and cross-campus collaboration, most recently with Brown’s Division of Research.
“Betsy has the ideal balance of expertise and vision to guide the development of the STEP Program through its critical first years,” said Cobb. “Her passion for climate and sustainability, her knowledge of Brown, and her professional background with environmental roles spanning the private, non-profit, and public sectors are all incredible assets to the program.”
Stubblefield Loucks will begin her role as Director of the STEP Program on February 9.
“IBES is uniquely positioned to shape the future of climate and sustainability leadership, and this new program offers a powerful platform to connect research, education, and impact,” Stubblefield Loucks said. “I’m thrilled to join such a visionary community as we work with students to lead meaningful change.”