A Career Shift Rooted in Environmental Passion

For Alexa Goldner, a lawyer from Mexico City, environmental issues have always carried particular importance. Having done her thesis on the legal protection of the environment and endangered species in Mexico, she then chose to pursue an MA in Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University to study more technical aspects of environmental protection.

“Tel Aviv University was always my first option. If I was going to study something completely new, I wanted to do it in a place that feels like home: I love the campus—it's beautiful."

Crafting a New Path

Goldner focused her coursework mainly on water-related topics, with a seminar on water and wastewater technologies and courses like Transboundary Water Resources Management and the Marine Ecosystems. “I love the ocean—I'm a swimmer and a diver—so learning about marine biology and ecosystems was fascinating,” she says. 

“I haven’t studied biology since school, so I really enjoyed hearing an expert talk about how the ocean works—about the water, the fishes, the corals, etc.”

For her final paper in the Water & Wastewater seminar, Goldner researched how constructed wetlands can be used as a wastewater technology for agricultural irrigation, and for the final paper of the program she focused on constructed wetlands as an educational tool.

A field trip of the marine ecosystems class to look for different organisms in the lower layer of the sand

Another course that piqued Goldner’s interest was Changes in Ways of Perceiving the Environment, which explored how human civilization has evolved in its relationship with nature. 

“The course resonated with my BA thesis on the rights of nature—whether nature itself has rights, which I believe it does.”

Goldner also took an Advertising Earth course on environmental marketing as she had always been interested in it but never had the opportunity to study formally. As part of the course, Goldner and her classmates developed a campaign for an NGO to help bring back monk seals to Israel.

“The NGO even wants to use our advertising campaign, which was a great feeling."

Register for the program webinar on March 24, 2025, to meet the head of the program. You can also watch class streams on March 25 and March 26 to get a taste of what studying at TAU is like.

A Hands-On Experience in Kenya

During the program, students had an opportunity to attend a seminar with Engineers Without Borders-Israel NGO, which led to a field trip to Kenya to work on a project at Nakuru High School. 

With students of Nakuru High School in Kenya

The project that involves building greenhouses with spirulina pools started two years ago. The school now has a spirulina club, where students learn to cultivate and process spirulina, a superfood that addresses malnutrition in their communities.

During this trip, Goldner worked on the relationship with the kindergarten next to the school, where children aged 0-5 only receive one cup of porridge a day. The spirulina grown by high school students is now being given to these younger children to tackle food insecurity, which is crucial during early-age developmental years. 

While Goldner’s teammate Isamu Goiati taught the kids how to read the data sensors he developed to analyze temperature, pH, and moisture, Goldner led a media club that focused on communicating about the project through posters and presentations. “Since many of the kids in Kenya don’t have access to social media, we focused on visual storytelling within their community," adds Goldner.

“We also initiated collaborations with the Agricultural Training Center in Kenya to educate local farmers on the benefits of spirulina and other algae-based livestock feed.”

Working in the Field: Life After the MA

What started as a student project, has now turned into a part-time job for Goldner, who has joined Engineers Without Borders-Israel to work on African projects, such as the ongoing spirulina initiative in Kenya, a new project in Ghana for rehabilitation of disabled people, and another in Tanzania for clean water.

Alexa Goldner speaking at the annual conference of Engineers Without Borders Israel

At the same time, she is working as the Business Development Manager of Noga Plus -an Israeli company that focuses on connecting Israeli technologies with investors and consumers from Latin America and Spain. The technologies Goldner works with focus on sustainability—agri-tech, food tech, water and irrigation management, and environmental solutions. 

“I see it as combining my passion for environmental issues with my values, supporting Israel’s economy by bringing international investment into Israeli technologies."

The flexibility of the program allowed Goldner to tailor her studies to fit her interests in water management, sustainability, and marketing. Despite the challenges of war and hybrid learning at the start of the program, she is now building her new career working on real-world meaningful projects.

Applications for the Environmental Studies MA are now open. Learn more about the program and apply online.

Register for the program webinar on March 24, 2025, to meet the head of the program. You can also watch class streams on March 25 and March 26 to get a taste of what studying at TAU is like.