'Stay Open and Curious'

Leslie Hubbard, MDiv ’15, Assistant Director of Climate and Sustainability, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)

View more stories on HDS alumni and their career paths.

Describe the work you do today:

I work to support the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University, whose mission is to develop and advance durable, effective, and equitable solutions to the climate change challenges confronting humanity. 

I’m thrilled to have returned to Harvard to contribute to this important mission—specifically by supporting current students and alumni in gaining the skills and expanding the networks they need to become global leaders in climate and sustainability. This work is deeply interdisciplinary, because no single discipline, industry, or sector can solve the climate crisis alone. It requires interdependent collaboration across fields and geographies. 

In my role, I have the privilege of working daily with exceptional faculty across Harvard’s schools to help design new educational programming—including courses and degree pathways—as well as with alumni and leading employers to connect students with impactful career opportunities. I’m also fortunate to collaborate with an inspiring team of colleagues to raise awareness of and leverage Harvard’s incredible convening power to accelerate climate action on a global scale.

How has your HDS degree experience influenced your career journey?

My HDS experience fundamentally shaped the way I approach my career and the world. It allowed me to explore life’s most essential questions from a variety of perspectives—what does it mean to be human? How do culture, geography, religion, and personal experience shape our beliefs, values, and sense of purpose? And how do those beliefs influence the systems we build—our policies, institutions, economies, and responses to conflict?

At HDS, I not only engaged deeply with these questions through coursework, but the flexible design of the degree allowed me to take classes across Harvard’s professional schools—including HBS, HKS, HLS, and GSAS. This interdisciplinary approach taught me to think holistically and work across boundaries, which has been foundational to my career. After graduating, I worked at the University of Virginia to integrate principles of human flourishing into teaching, learning, and student life across disciplines. 

Today, I work at the Salata Institute at Harvard, bringing together faculty, students, alumni, and practitioners to address one of the greatest challenges of our time: the climate crisis. This work requires both a deep understanding of systems and values, and the courage to imagine a better future. Living at the Center for the Study of World Religions while at HDS also deeply influenced me. It nurtured my ability to live in and build community—skills that have been essential to my personal and professional growth. Solving complex global crises requires not only knowledge and strategy, but also trust, empathy, and the ability to collaborate across difference. My HDS experience prepared me to do just that. 

Perhaps most importantly, HDS nurtured in me the belief that learning is a lifelong process. In fact, I never wanted to leave HDS or Harvard—three years didn’t feel like enough time to take in all the courses, conversations, and perspectives. That spirit of curiosity and ongoing growth has stayed with me. Since graduating, I completed an MBA from Bard College and earned a Climate Change and Health Professional Certificate from Yale, continuing to build the skills needed to serve in this critical moment.

What career advice would you offer to current HDS students?

When I first started at HDS, I had tunnel vision. I had mapped out my entire career before even arriving—I was set on becoming a professor of Buddhist Studies and tailored all of my learning and experiences toward applying to PhD programs. While I was academically successful in pursuing that goal, I gradually realized that my heart wasn’t fully aligned with the path I had planned. So, I gave myself permission to imagine something different—something bigger. I considered careers in corporate sustainability, government, chaplaincy, even entrepreneurship. I allowed for the possibility that the right opportunity might be one I couldn’t yet imagine.

As it turned out, the job I took after graduating didn’t even exist when I started the program. I ultimately found myself working at a top university, teaching and leading in ways that aligned with my values and strengths—just not through the traditional academic path I had envisioned.

My advice: stay open and curious. Use your time at HDS to explore widely. Attend talks at other schools like HKS, GSAS, and HSPH. Go to job fairs—even those that don’t seem directly related to your path—and start conversations with recruiters. I even handed out my resume at events for roles that didn’t exist yet, just to spark a conversation about what could be created. Don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild. Leave space for a calling or opportunity you never could have predicted. Some of the most meaningful career paths are the ones you don’t see coming.