George Sarrinikolaou works to advance Harvard’s critical work in preparing students for leadership in a world with a changing climate, as well as to strengthen Harvard’s research in climate change, and to enhance its engagement on this issue with the outside world.

Before joining Harvard, George served as Director of the Office of Academic and Research Programs at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. In that role, he was responsible for the management of several sustainability degree programs, for initiatives that strengthened the Earth Institute's research enterprise, and for administrative support to the Institute's academic governance.

George previously worked at the Institute for Sustainable Communities, where he managed the Climate Leadership Academy, a training and technical assistance program for hundreds of sustainability practitioners working in U.S. cities and metropolitan regions. He also served as the first sustainability manager of The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, where he created and managed the Port Authority's sustainability program, which focused on climate change mitigation, carbon neutrality, and adaptation. He is the author of "Facing Athens: Encounters with the Modern City." He has also written for The New York Times and reported for CNN and Public Radio International.

George holds a B.A. cum laude in English from Cornell University, as well as an MPA in Environmental Policy and an MA in English from Columbia University.