Alumni Spotlight: Nick Burk (CAS ’00) on BU Foundations to Driving Innovation in Disaster Management and Student Engagement
Nick Burk (CAS ’00), Co-Founder and Managing Director of Blue Ocean Analytics (BOA), a mission-driven venture established in 2018 to help organizations foster innovation in response to complex overlapping crises, reflects on how his experience studying international relations at Boston University shaped his career in disaster management, the motivations behind launching BOA, and his ongoing efforts to connect students with hands-on research and cultural preservation opportunities.
BOA’s Spring 2026 Anthrogeography Disaster Innovation Scoping Project has brought in students from universities far and wide. One student being Pardee’s own Alexa Hankins (BA IR ’26), who not only gained experience working with communities affected by climate disasters, but also alongside a team of graduate students and industry professionals in finding culturally bespoke solutions.
What inspired you to start up BlueOcean Analytics?
I had a long career of supporting the public sector in the refugee resettlement, applied disaster analysis, and disaster management field. Blue Ocean Analytics was founded as a response to what my business partner and I saw as an urgent need for agile, human-centered approaches to deal with accelerating climate change. BOA was intended to support the public sector with outside-the-box thinking to strengthen capacities to deal with cascading disasters, which were really piling up in the late 2010’s. BOA functions very similarly to a non-profit in terms of values and sees the public sector as a common good.
How did your time at BU set you on your current path? Were there any specific classes or faculty that greatly impacted your development?
It was a major experience for me and analytical policy writing was a key skill that the program emphasized. I had so many terrific professors. I was very fortunate to take a class with Dr. Najam on International Organizations which helped instill a sense of ethics, justice, and humanitarian decency into career planning. I have so many fond memories of collaborating with professors including Ambassador Lyne, Dr. Chehabi, and Dr. Goldstein, among others.
How did your previous positions or career development lead you to work in disaster management?
Certainly class and conversations with Dr. Najam were a major influence during the program itself. Globally, very soon after my graduation, 9/11 struck, and soon after, major conflicts that had massive humanitarian dimensions. It was during this time that I wanted to especially pursue career paths that supported humanitarianism and disasters.
How did BOA’s Anthrogeography internship come about?
I’m an alum of BU as well as Clark University, and one of my first employers, the East-West Center in Honolulu, considers me an alum too. The Anthrogeography internship program was designed to be a learning lab on some practice-based research I did about creating “community disaster libraries” in international settings to support grassroots mutual aid and disaster response. It looks at IR, Anthropology, Geography, and related disciplines and brings post-graduates together to discuss ideas and learn from each other.
What do you wish more people knew about the intersection of disaster, international, and environmental studies?
These fields are all tough right now given the political and economic pressures, climate stress, etc. So much has been cut back. That said, the lane to advance innovative ideas has never been more open. Don’t give up, and don’t forget the conversations at Pardee that inspired you and supported your ethical beliefs.
As an alum, how are you currently engaging with, mentoring, and creating connections with Pardee students?
Remaining in contact with BU and Pardee has been essential as I had a late-career pivot to launch my own organization. I have had opportunities to attend events and engage those at Pardee and other Departments, and even was able to incubate my organization in the physical space of the BUILD Lab.
Interns have been an opportunity to give back and provide support as needed just as the BU ecosystem has supported me. The learning lab environment of the internship infuses my organization with fresh ideas and perspectives.
What advice would you give to students who are recently graduated?
For students who recently graduated, I often suggest asking, “What would you really like to do 6-, 12-, 18-, 24- or even more months from now?” Finding a first job to make a sustainable living can be daunting, and sometimes it may make sense to find a job first that just pays basic expenses and isn’t emotionally too draining. It doesn’t have to be a major piece of your long-term career plans. Then your efforts and energy can go into preparing for that big step, like planning relocation logistics for months from now, networking, applying, or taking online certificates. In that respect, finding that longer-term exciting career position may take some time and may even feel impossible at times. But all it takes is one thing to go right. You may send 300 resumes and networking e-mails and 299 may not be successful over the course of 18 months, but if 1 opportunity evolves into a position you really like, that incubation time is worth it.
It’s important to stay connected to alumni networks – now more than ever. Take the time to talk to others who may be pivoting careers or could have career advice. Alums very often enjoy talking to recent graduates and sharing what worked and what didn’t in their career journeys. Just building interpersonal relationships with others on the same path is invaluable.
Are you a Pardee student looking to connect with alumni? Check out BU Connects!