Dr. Jain Figueroa serves as the Assistant Vice Provost and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Sustainability and Climate Action at the University of Michigan. In this role, she leads cross-cutting internal and external efforts to advance the University’s priorities on sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice, and serves in a key role in developing and implementing strategic plans.
Dr. Jain Figueroa brings a versatile background from the public, private and non-profit sectors, driven by a deep interest in finding balance between our built and natural environments. Prior to joining U of M, she worked in the federal civil service in the U.S. Department of Energy as Chief of Analysis in the Office of Energy Justice and Equity. Her diverse experiences include water resources engineering for design and post-disaster recovery at Arcadis; geospatial data analysis for public good at Green Info Network; and research on the food-water-energy nexus as a post-doc at Stanford.
Dr. Jain Figueroa holds expertise in natural resource management, environmental policy, AI and data science. She earned her B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Michigan, and an MSc. in Technology and Policy and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from M.I.T.
TSN Conference 2026
January 22nd, 2026 (Thursday) // 8:45 am – 9:45 am // Big Ten Room // KEYNOTE | Staying the Course: Sustainability, Climate Action, and Environmental Justice to Meet the Moment