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Kowan O’Keefe

  • Scholar 2021
Profile picture for user Kowan.O’Keefe
Policy Studies
University of Maryland
    Profile

    Kowan O’Keefe, born and raised in Kamloops, B.C., is currently a second-year PhD student in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Kowan studies climate change policy and is particularly interested in the social, political, and ethical challenges of using carbon dioxide removal strategies to achieve net-zero emissions goals. Kowan attended Minot State University in North Dakota on a golf scholarship and was a two-time NCAA Division II Academic All-American and a finalist for the NCAA Division II Male Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. He became the first person in his family to graduate from university, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry and mathematics. He then earned a Master’s Degree in chemistry from the University of Toronto. Kowan twice attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference representing the American Chemical Society and has written three chapters for a series of collaborative books on climate change literacy and education. In addition to his doctoral studies, Kowan is a member of an interdisciplinary team at the University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability that focuses on climate change and energy policy projects.