Kelly Sims Gallagher is a professor of

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

and

environmental policy Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem ...

and Dean of the

Fletcher School at Tufts University The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

. Gallagher was appointed the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

in 2024, and retains her appointments as director of the Center for International Environment & Resource Policy and the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts. Her research focuses on

energy technology Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and r ...

and

climate policy The politics of climate change results from different perspectives on how to respond to climate change. Global warming is driven largely by the emissions of greenhouse gases due to human economic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuel ...

across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Personal life and education

Born in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, on August 21, 1973, Kelly Megan Sims was raised in

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

by parents William J. and JoAnn Sims. During her upbringing she "took a clean and natural environment for granted" until moving to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to attend

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

. There, she suffered from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

due to

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

, which led her to complete a second major in

environmental studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

. Sims married Kevin Paul Gallagher in the

Goddard Chapel Goddard Chapel is a historic chapel located in Rose Hill Cemetery in Marion, Illinois. The chapel was constructed in 1918 through a donation from Leroy A. Goddard, who served two terms as Marion's mayor and founded the city's first bank. Chicago a ...

on June 16, 2001. The couple have two children, born 2005 and 2009.

Career

After graduating from Occidental in 1995 with an A.B. degree in diplomacy & world affairs and environmental studies, she was awarded a

Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence ...

and worked in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as an intern in the Office of the Vice President and, later, as the science policy director at Ozone Action. She enrolled in the

M.A.L.D. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

program at the

Fletcher School The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student b ...

, the professional international affairs school of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. There, she studied

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

with a focus on

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

and climate negotiation in

and received her degree in 2000. She completed a Ph.D. in 2003; her dissertation, chaired by William R. Moomaw, was entitled ''Foreign Direct Investment as a Vehicle for Deploying Cleaner Technologies: Technology Transfer and the Big Three Automakers in China''. She joined the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

as a postdoctoral fellow and worked as a lecturer and program director until joining the Fletcher School as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 2009. In 2010, she spent

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

as a visiting professor at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. After receiving tenure at Tufts in 2013 and becoming Director of the Center for International Environment & Resource Policy that same year, she worked in 2014 and 2015 as an advisor to the

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

administration's

Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congres ...

and

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

. In her role, she helped negotiate multiple U.S.–China climate agreements. Upon her return to Tufts, she was promoted to a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in 2015 and founded the Climate Policy Lab within the Center for International Environment & Resource Policy in 2016, where she continues to serve as Founding Director. Gallagher was appointed Dean of the Fletcher School in 2024 after having served as interim dean since 2023. She is the 15th dean of the school, and succeeds Rachel Kyte in the position. Gallagher is also a nonresident scholar at the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

and a board member of the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. From 2 ...

Books

* * * * Reviewed in: *''Asia Pacific Business Review'' – . *''The China Journal'' – , . *''The China Quarterly'' – . *''China Review International'' – . *''East Asian Science, Technology and Society'' �
Link

Link
. *''The Journal of Environment & Development'' – . *''Material Culture'' – . *''Pacific Affairs'' – .

References

External links

* Kelly Sims Gallagher – Living people 1973 births People from Denver People from Evergreen, Colorado Academics from Colorado American women social scientists American women academic administrators American international relations scholars Environmental studies scholars Occidental College alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Harvard Kennedy School staff The Fletcher School at Tufts University faculty {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Kelly Sims