Sally Qiu is a senior research associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University. In this role, she supports the center’s Inaugural Fellow David Sandalow, in work related to US-China energy and climate policy, as well as the AI-Energy Program. She is a co-author of the Guide to Chinese Climate Policy (2022) and a chapter contributor to the annual China Energy Transformation Outlook (CETO).
Sally founded and co-directs the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network at the Columbia Climate School, a collaborative program that assesses and addresses the complex relationship between the fashion industry, energy transition, and climate change. The network brings together industry stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers to develop systematic, solution-oriented approaches to decarbonizing the fashion industry.
Previously, at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), she supported former dean Merit Janow on research, case studies, and events related to U.S.-China trade relations, foreign direct investment, and digital innovation.
She also worked as an environmental statistics consultant at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she contributed to FAOSTAT databases and publications on greenhouse gas emissions from global food systems. She provided research and analysis on global energy efficiency standards at the ClimateWorks Foundation and supported the clean energy transition projects in Asia-Pacific during her time at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok.
Sally’s passion for sustainability began during her undergraduate years, when she volunteered in Fiji and Mexico, participating in local community development projects and sea turtle conservation. Beyond her professional work, she is currently pursuing a part-time degree in fashion design at Parsons School of Design, further integrating her interest in sustainability with design and innovation.
Sally holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on energy policy and data analytics, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Environmental Geoscience from DePauw University, where she was a Rector Scholar.
