Dana Yoo is a second-year MPP student at Harvard Kennedy School. She was accepted into the Growth Lab’s 2025 Summer Internship Program and contributed to an ongoing project in Meghalaya, India.
Why did you apply to the Growth Lab Summer Internship?
I was genuinely excited about the Growth Lab’s approach of applying research and theory to real-world development challenges. Meghalaya also felt personally meaningful to me because my mentee from the Beyond Boundaries mentoring program is from the state. I was curious to better understand the region. At the same time, Meghalaya is known for pioneering Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in India – an incentive-based conservation model that compensates communities for protecting natural resources. As someone eager to learn more about climate change responses, I found the state particularly compelling to work in.
What did you work on?
My internship had two main pillars. The first was climate, where I worked on revising a water-conservation law that had been in place for decades but had never been implemented due to feasibility issues. Rather than relying on penalties for enforcement, I focused on fostering a sense of stewardship in local communities so that people would voluntarily protect their water resources.
The second pillar was the intersection of gender and climate. I worked on ways to improve women farmers’ livelihoods by supporting natural farming practices. Natural farming, which avoids the use of chemical fertilizers, is carried out by women. It not only protects the environment but also serves as a pathway for women’s financial empowerment. I identified barriers to scaling up natural farming, collected scattered and undocumented field data, and outlined a new five-year strategic plan. I also proposed two pilot programs to improve market access – one of the greatest challenges limiting women farmers’ income gains.
In what ways were you challenged?
It was common for government schemes to be implemented in a fragmented way by multiple agencies, which made it difficult to obtain comprehensive data. Through interviews with various departments, I learned about the challenges of overlap and duplication. Based on those findings, I suggested convening a steering committee to bring all stakeholders together to share information and coordinate efforts.
What was your most exciting/surprising experience?
Northeast India, including Meghalaya, is strikingly different from the rest of the country – geographically, culturally, and even in food traditions. For example, more than 70% of Meghalaya’s population is Christian, and unlike most parts of India, vegetarianism is uncommon. Living there allowed me to take a step closer to understanding the region’s unique history and culture. Another fascinating experience was seeing how decentralized governance works: in a state of just over three million people, there are around 7,000 villages, each with its own councils. These councils play an active role in community decision-making, which gave me a new perspective on participatory governance.
What advice would you give future Growth Lab interns?
Go with a clear idea of the area you want to focus on, and once you arrive, learn the organizational structure and ongoing programs quickly. Then, don’t hesitate to ask to work in the area that interests you most. Because the internship is only about two months, you will gain more if you approach it as independent research rather than trying to fully integrate as a regular staff member.
What’s next for you?
I am about to begin my second year in the MPP program. I hope to deepen my focus on gender empowerment and the environment, while also broadening my exposure to other fields of development. After graduation, I’d like to continue working in development, ideally in Africa.
