2024 Alumni Awards

Alu WISCO REDDY Photography Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois ’10, MA’13 Lead Climate Security Analyst, U.S. Department of State UW Major: Agricultural and Applied Economics, Soil Science, Languages and Cultures of Asia Chelsea Cervantes De Blois was the first woman on either side of her family to earn an undergraduate and graduate degree. She focused on Middle Eastern studies, agricultural economics, and soil science, and she hoped to gain experience in the Middle East to pursue a career in environmental-focused diplomacy. During her sophomore year, when

Forward Award

The Forward Award acknowledges rising stars in various fields who exemplify the Wisconsin Idea through an emphasis on service, discovery and progress. This award celebrates young alumni who have demonstrated exceptional early career achievement and a positive impact on their professions.

her funding request for a UW–sponsored undergraduate research project was denied, Cervantes De Blois was undaunted. She networked with soil scientists connected to the United Nations and was invited to the Applied University of Al-Baqqa’ in Jordan to work on a wetland irrigation project. It was the first in a long string of overseas opportunities. She received a Fulbright Fellowship in Azerbaijan, followed soon by a Boren Fellowship and State Department Title VIII fellowships, to investigate environmental vulnerability and climate variability in the Middle East and Eurasia. In between, she worked as a consulting scientist for commercial agricultural firms in Serbia and Kyrgyzstan. These experiences, combined with recruitment bid from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Geographer and Global Issues. There, Cervantes De Blois informs climate policy and diplomacy discussions in Washington, DC. A significant part of her role is to brief diplomats and special envoys. She’s also one of a handful of experts in her field who speaks Russian, Turkish, Farsi, and Azerbaijani. her dissertation on addressing human environmental data gaps, earned her a

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WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION