Mai Ichihara graduated from Yale with a joint degree, Master of Environmental Management and Master of Global Affairs from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. She is specializing in water resource management with a regional focus in the Asia Pacific. At Yale, she focused on understanding equitable approaches to sustainable development, and she is a strong advocate of integrating ecosystem services, local knowledge, and participatory engagement into urban and rural development interventions.