MENV's 2025 Capstone report is released
In Fall 2025, 78 Masters of the Environment (MENV) graduate students completed 26 capstone projects with external partner organizations, investing more than 46,800 hours in advancing sustainability and climate action across Colorado and beyond. The results of that work are now captured in the 2025 MENV Capstone Impact Report, available now.
MENV is an interdisciplinary professional graduate program that empowers students to drive change through sustainability solutions and climate action. Designed to meet the growing demand for sustainability professionals, MENV equips graduates with the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience to address complex environmental and climate challenges. The program builds partnerships with purpose, collaborating with a diverse ecosystem of communities, governments, nonprofits, and industry partners to amplify student impact and prepare the next generation of sustainability leaders.
The report documents the breadth and depth of student impact across six key areas: resiliency, decarbonization, conservation, strategy, community, and policy. Partner organizations spanned nonprofit, government, private, and education sectors, with projects reaching communities across 10+ U.S. states and multiple countries.
The following are just a few examples of the real-world outcomes capstone projects produced for partner organizations. The Town of Erie capstone team developed a Resilience Action Plan in collaboration with Erie sustainability staff that was formally adopted by Erie Town Council in March 2026. In Northwest Colorado, a student team worked directly with the Town of Hayden to inform its developing resiliency plan through community engagement at local events including Hayden Daze and the Routt County Fair. A third team partnered with Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to align the city’s capital projects with its net-zero greenhouse gas goals, delivering a practical emissions tracking tool and action plan.
Other projects addressed long-duration energy storage policy for the Western grid (OneEnergy Renewables), urban forestry strategies to mitigate extreme heat across Colorado communities (Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado Governor’s Office for Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery), supply chain environmental risk in global organic food operations (Riverside Naturals), and the social and ecological conditions for beaver reintroduction along the Front Range (Boulder Watershed Collective), reflecting the interdisciplinary, applied approach that defines the MENV program.
The report also marks the first time the MENV Capstone Program formally measured its impact through partner surveys, and the results were striking. 100% of Capstone Partner organizations reported satisfaction with their experience, and 100% said the program effectively supported their organization’s goals. 96% agreed that students adapted well to challenges and changing project needs, and 92% said students communicated clearly, consistently, and professionally. Partners also noted that student teams generated new ideas and innovations (80%), supported data collection and analysis (73%), and informed key organizational decisions (73%).
“The Capstone team exceeded my expectations, delivering innovative, data-driven work on interconnection pathways that will help our company explore new opportunities to accelerate decarbonization. Mentoring the students while gaining such high-quality results was incredibly rewarding.” — Mikkela Blanton, Associate Director of Development, OneEnergy Renewables
Beyond organizational outcomes, partners also reflected on the professional growth they observed in students. Through the capstone experience, students practice disciplinary skills such as data analysis, GIS, financial modeling, stakeholder engagement, and technical writing, as well as essential leadership and management skills including project management, communication, critical thinking, and public speaking. 96% of partners reported growth in time management and self-organization, 92% in both project management and communication, and 88% in critical thinking, research, and stakeholder engagement. These are the competencies that define successful sustainability careers, and MENV students graduate having applied them in real-world settings.
“Our Capstone team members were exceptional. They really dove into the project and showed ownership over their scope of work — they consistently demonstrated that they could ask the critical questions to understand the request, complete the task, and provide a quality deliverable without delay. They really did help lighten the load on staff and expand our capacity.” — Tegan Ebbert, Deputy Town Manager, Town of Hayden
The Capstone Program has also proven to be a direct pathway to employment: each year, multiple MENV graduates transition directly into roles with their capstone partner organizations. Following her project with OneEnergy Renewables, Kaylie Larson accepted a full-time position as Senior Associate in Commercial Strategy with her capstone partner. Sarah Nick transitioned into a role as Sustainability and Energy Analyst with the Boulder Valley School District, her Capstone Partner in 2024, where she continues building on the decarbonization goals her capstone team developed. Abigale Purvis now works for Colorado’s Governor’s Office for Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery, and has since returned as a capstone partner herself for the 2026 Capstone iteration.
Faculty, students, and partners also shared their work at Colorado Climate Week, the CU Boulder Campus Sustainability Summit, Mountain Towns 2030, and the Second Nature Climate Leadership Summit in Chicago, extending the reach of capstone work well beyond the classroom.
The 2025 MENV Capstone Impact Report is available now. Read the full report here!