Celebrating the 2025–2026 Aronson Scholars
We are proud to congratulate the 2025-2026 cohort of Aronson Scholars on the completion of a remarkable academic year at The New School. Through the Aronson Scholarship, six students advanced innovative projects that address climate, environmental, and social challenges through research, design, storytelling, and community engagement.
This year's scholars and their projects included:
Kyndal Coleman and Antonia Simon (Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management) developed Slow Circuits, a project that creates community libraries of refurbished technology to expand access to digital resources while reducing electronic waste.
Aronson Scholars Kyndal Coleman and Antonia Simon share their project, Slow Circuits, which creates community libraries of refurbished technology, at the Aronson Celebratory Brunch.
Sofya Kasnaya (Public and Urban Policy PhD), whose dissertation research explores how nature-based solutions can help mitigate harms related to the climate crisis and strengthen resilience in communities surrounding the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Ashli Watson (Industrial Design), who investigated the potential of Japanese Knotweed, an invasive plant species, as a sustainable, alternative building material.
Fernanda Rebelato Lopes de Oliveira (Graduate Program in International Affairs), who documented how communities in Belém, Brazil, experienced and engaged with the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), highlighting local perspectives on global climate governance.
Aronson Scholar Fernanda Rebelato Lopes de Oliveira presents her research documenting community experiences of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, during the Aronson Celebratory Brunch.
Grace Anderson (Creative Writing), who organized writing workshops through the Lupine Collaborative, which Grace co-founded for Black women, transgender, and non-binary writers working at the intersections of climate, environmental, and nature writing.
Grace shared that “the Aronson Scholarship allowed me to offer more free writing workshops for Black women, transgender, and non-binary environmental, nature, and climate writers through my project, Lupine Collaborative. The scholarship made it possible to compensate workshop leaders while ensuring community members could participate at no cost. Two workshop highlights were: Editing as Creative Praxis with Mo Asebiomo and Activating Love as Lifeforce: A Write-in for Minnesota with katie robinson.”
Together, these projects demonstrate the creativity, rigor, and commitment to justice that define the Aronson Scholarship community. The Tishman Center is honored to provide financial support to these students for their graduate-level studies, research, or practice related to the climate crisis, solutions rooted in environmental and climate justice, and sustainability.
The application for the 2026–2027 Aronson Scholarship is expected to open in September 2026. To learn more about the scholarship (formerly the Aronson Fellowship), visit the Aronson Scholarship page.