Meet Courtney Hight ’27

Where are you from and what is your background?
I grew up in Arizona. Since childhood, I have had a strong drive to fight for and help create a more just, fair, and safe world. This led me to the University of Oregon where I studied environmental studies and political science. While there, I learned about community organizing as a means to create change and I have been an organizer ever since. I moved to Washington, DC where I worked to increase access to higher education alongside young people around the country. I then had the incredible opportunity to help elect President Obama and help him govern. I joined his campaign in 2007. Post-election, I worked for the White House Council on Environmental Quality focusing on land and water policy, where I had a front seat to the opportunities and challenges of governing. I left the administration to lead a youth climate coalition that pushed the administration from the outside to act more boldly and urgently. I led a team that organized one of the largest ever grassroots organizing trainings, Power Shift 2011, with 10,000 young climate activists. Soon after that, I worked at the Sierra Club, where I created and led the Democracy Program. In collaboration with allies, I created and staffed a national pro-democracy coalition working to limit the influence of corporations and billionaires and their efforts to corrupt our government, drown out the voices of the people, and prevent action on climate and almost every other issue.

Why did you apply for this graduate program and decide to study at USF?
My experiences over the past thirty years have challenged and shaped my perceptions of leadership and expectations of leaders and government. They showed me that we need people on the outside pushing the government to work for us, in concert with good people inside making decisions and implementing public programs in a just and equitable way. After working mostly outside of government, I began looking for a graduate program that could help with the transition to government. USF’s MPA program seemed like the perfect fit. I wanted to learn alongside other people, not alone on my computer, so the in-person classes resonated with me. The Saturday class schedule allows me to spend more time with my small children and play an active role in the co-op we live in. USF’s MPA program will help me explore options, expand my perspective of what is possible, and support me to move confidently into the next phase of my career.

What impacts has the Dean's Scholarship had on your ability to further your studies?
I am so incredibly honored to receive the Dean’s Scholarship. It gives me a sense of validation for the work I have done and for choosing the path of education at this moment. About a year ago, I left the job I’d been with for almost thirteen years. I was feeling burned out. I needed a change of pace, more stability, and to be able to continue to make the world a better place while also being present with my kids. Taking a pause from working and losing a second income was, and is, a stressful decision, especially in such uncertain times. This scholarship not only helps me but my family. It will help reduce some of the financial burden and stress of being a one income family in San Francisco. I can more comfortably focus my time on learning and getting the most out of the MPA program and USF.

What are your career ambitions?
I am interested in working with local or state government, though I am leaving the door open to nonprofit work. I want to leverage my experience and skills to implement laws and policies in a more just way that improves people’s lives. The government needs to be more focused on helping the most people, and I want to be a part of the team striving for it every day.

What is something unique or interesting about you?
I was interviewed for the Obama Oral History Project. I was one of a handful of interviews with a climate and environment focus. The interviewers said they chose me because I am one of the few people who worked for Barack Obama’s campaign, his administration, then left to organize from the outside to challenge and successfully push President Obama to change his position and delay construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. It was an honor to share my story and the stories of so many people I worked with and be a part of the official history of the Obama administration.