Tanya Wiedeking never thought she’d spend most of her life in America. Originally from Germany by way of the UK, she came to New York working for the BBC. After a career in publishing and broadcast media, she took advantage of the dynamic career opportunities the US offers. She left a secure full-time job, opting instead to delve into the realm of climate science and policy—an area she’d always been passionate about.
Working at Yale University, she could see the enormous potential of this community and was keen to find ways to apply the wealth of knowledge and resources to finding impactful environmental solutions. She believes this can best be done collaboratively and across disciplines. She is constantly looking for ways to help take this work outside the academy, multiplying the applications of individual research.
Today, as the Interim Director for Planetary Solutions at Yale University, she puts her passion for bringing people together into initiatives that create synergies for interdisciplinary environmental solutions.
Planetary Solutions is a campus-wide initiative that utilizes the University’s capabilities to accelerate action and advance solutions for environmental challenges.
Tanya organizes workshops open to members of the Yale community that foster idea sharing and collaborative development. Participants engage with peers, exchange ideas, and submit written proposals together, with the best ones selected to receive funding.
One of the projects Tanya helped support was the “Cool Murals” project (pictured right), a collaboration between the School of the Environment, the School of Art, and the School of Architecture. The team explored the use of cooling paints for murals in urban areas where the population is particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat.
Situated between two schools in the Fair Haven district of New Haven, this collaboration with civic partners in New Haven brought together art, public engagement, and technological innovations to develop murals that raise awareness about climate change while helping cities adapt to it. More details about this remarkable project can be found here.
Connect with Tanya to start a conversation!
