Kari Twaite

Associate Director, Advisor for Environment, Government, and Policy Career

Kari advises students interested in all aspects of environmental work, from private sector compliance to non-profit advocacy to cutting edge research and development. She also assists students interested in government and policy careers.

A Bowdoin alum, Kari has over fifteen years’ experience with environmental work in the public and private sectors. After graduating from Bowdoin with a dual major in Government and Environmental Studies, Kari worked at a consulting firm implementing energy efficiency programs for the federal government. She then entered a dual degree program with Vermont Law School and the Yale School of Environment, obtaining a JD and a Master of Environmental Management with a focus on industrial systems engineering. As a practicing attorney, Kari spent four years at a law firm doing environmental compliance for the tech and pharmaceutical industries before joining the General Counsel’s office at the U.S. Department of Energy. At DOE, she practiced environmental law for the national labs, advised the Department’s energy R&D programs, and counseled DOE’s natural gas and electric reliability programs. Most recently, she served as Associate Corporate Counsel for the City of Portland, Maine, where she focused on sustainability, urban planning, and enforcement of the City’s health and safety codes.

Kari enjoys hiking and exploring the Maine coast with her husband and children. She’s not a very good baker, but she’s working on it.

Kari Twaite headshot