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Degree: Master of Environmental Management ’26
Project Teams:
- Humanitarian Impacts of the War in Gaza on Basic Services (2025-2026)
- Humanitarian Impacts of the War in Gaza: Shelter, Water and Sanitary Solutions (2024-2025)
Anna Clauer is a second-year master’s student specializing in ecotoxicology, environmental health and environmental justice. With a deep interest in how pollution shapes human health and commitment community-led research, they have spent the past two years working on a Bass Connections focused on resource provision and humanitarian work in Gaza.
Anna recently shared their Bass Connections experience with Kelly Harrison (Senior Academic Program Coordinator, Bass Connections). The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Can you explain your academic background, current focus and future plans?
I’m a second-year Master of Environmental Management student with concentrations in ecotoxicology and environmental health, as well as community engagement and environmental justice. My work focuses on how environmental pollutants affect human health and on community-based, participatory solutions for populations facing the greatest health burdens.
I completed my undergraduate degree at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. I came to Duke through a dual-degree program, moving straight from undergrad into graduate school.
After graduating, I’m excited to step out of academia and gain more hands-on work experience, ideally working outdoors and directly with people. I’ve previously worked with nonprofits, including an environmental nonprofit in Alaska, and I could see myself continuing in that sector.
What drew you to this Bass Connections project?
I was interested in Bass Connections even before starting my master’s program because of its emphasis on experiential, hands-on learning. I was especially drawn to this project because of its focus on Gaza.
I spent the summer of 2023 in the Middle East working for a Palestinian sustainability organization in the West Bank and studying agriculture in Israel, and my grandmother has a Ph.D. in Middle East studies, so I grew up learning about the region. After October 7 and the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, I wanted to contribute to practical, humanitarian solutions.
Can you describe your role on the team and how the team is structured?
As a project manager, I check in regularly with our project partner Clean Shelter, an NGO based in Germany that is working to provide emergency relief services to internally displaced persons in Gaza, and our faculty team leader to identify priorities and track progress.
I support students across multiple subteams and help with projects ranging from grant writing and fundraising to communications and monitoring and evaluation. The team is organized into six subteams and most students work across multiple teams.
Much of our work supports Clean Shelter broadly, especially through administrative and outward-facing efforts like annual reports, social media campaigns, impact measurement and fundraising infrastructure. We also have a goal of understanding humanitarian aid coordination overall, and we have conducted research on different aid organizations, reached out to them for advice and have been able to apply lessons they have learned to our work with Clean Shelter.
How does Clean Shelter operate in Gaza, and what challenges shape the work?
Clean Shelter is very realistic and transparent about the volatility of the situation. They must constantly pivot as conditions change — IDP (Internally Displaces Person) camps may be moved or shut down due to bombing, water shortages or rising land lease prices. Because importing supplies is so difficult, they source materials locally, even when that means paying more. This approach allows them to deliver aid more quickly and reliably. The work is also shaped by logistical challenges like time zone differences and the need to adjust projects when conditions make certain plans infeasible.
How has Bass Connections differed from traditional coursework, and how does collaboration work?
Bass Connections is very different from traditional classes. There’s much less structure, which requires more initiative, leadership and communication from students.
Our subteams meet weekly, students hold each other accountable, and we also have weekly full-team meetings, sometimes with Clean Shelter founders, to share progress and coordinate efforts. The team leaders focus on supporting students in completing meaningful, real-world work rather than grading assignments, which makes the experience more flexible and collaborative.
What projects stand out to you, and what successes or challenges have been most significant?
One of my biggest individual projects was Clean Shelter’s first annual report, which I built from scratch. It was challenging to synthesize a full year of work into an accessible format, especially without being able to model it off of any previous annual reports, but it laid a strong foundation.
This year, working on the second annual report has been especially rewarding because our team can build on and improve that work. Challenges include needing to pivot quickly when circumstances change and navigating a six-hour time difference with Clean Shelter in Germany.
Successes include Clean Shelter’s water distribution efforts, which now reach approximately 60,000 people each day, as well as a winter aid campaign that provided coats and tarps to those in need. Students have played a direct role in several key accomplishments, including securing a fiscal sponsor that enabled Clean Shelter to register as a nonprofit in both the UK and the U.S., and preparing the annual reports referenced above.
What has been the most rewarding part of your experience, and how has it shaped your perspective?
Meeting Clean Shelter’s founders in person has been incredibly meaningful, and it’s been rewarding to watch the organization grow in capacity, funding and impact. Knowing that my work, and the work of our team, has contributed to that growth has been very fulfilling.
The experience has reinforced my interest in humanitarian work and the human health dimensions of environmental management, especially grassroots efforts that directly improve people’s livelihoods.
February 2026