Hello! Welcome to my New Year’s resolution: communicating my thoughts / opinions / knowledge (is that pretentious?) to the public on topics related to my work and aspirations: water, diplomacy, energy, and climate. If you somehow stumbled upon this blog without knowing who I am, the short of it is that I am a PhD student at UNC-Chapel Hill and aspiring water related diplomat, though who knows where I will end up. But I suppose I can be a bit more wordy… I set my own word count after all. My research is on managing financial risk for hydropower producers – right now in the US Pacific Northwest, but hopefully in international basins in the future, which would let me focus transboundary water resource management. That has been my long term goal: work in the intersection of sustainability/water resources and statecraft. I have long been fascinated by the influence nature, and specifically water, has on politics, and I hope to one day participate in projects that use water to bridge (pun intended) divides, strengthen economies, and protect our environment.
When I am not thinking about lofty goals, I try to keep myself busy. I am very specialized in puttering around the house and finding projects with no urgency: like building a patio or a rain garden. My green thumb has not fully developed, but I am getting there, and when it’s raining I can often be found inside cooking or baking (I am Italian after all) for myself and my fiancé (he provides the drinks, I provide the food). I do also have another part time job: I am co-owner of a bed and breakfast in Italy, Corte Capitani, which I took on after my aunt’s passing. The daily communication with our wonderful manager and constantly reading / writing emails in Italian has really refined my Italian grammar, I must say.
My goal is to post at least once per month, and I am hopeful that this will be as much an exercise for me to reflect deeply on current events and the bigger picture as to serve as a source for interesting angles and new perspectives. In a fantasy world where I actually gain some small following, maybe I will keep this project up. Either way, I am excited to commit to something and to share it with you!
Rosa Isabella Cuppari
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Rosa Cuppari 