Tessa Varvares is a Program Coordinator at the Arctic Initiative, focused mainly on the Permafrost Pathways project. She works as a project liaison to external stakeholders and policymakers on matters regarding the impact of permafrost thaw on Arctic communities.  

Before joining the Belfer Center, Varvares served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Venda region of South Africa. She then went on to manage an oil spill prevention and mitigation project throughout the 88 Ocean and Great Lake National Parks. She is also experienced in facilitating community efforts to build resiliency and adapt to life with wildfire. She received her B.A. in Political Science with minors in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality, and Africana Studies from the College of the Holy Cross. She also holds a M.A. in International Environmental Policy, specializing in Natural Resource Policy and Management, from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.