Senior Director, Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy
Environment America Research and Policy Center Latest Blog Posts
3/20/2020
Recently my family watched the Pixar movie “Inside Out.” We all appreciated the vivid image of core memories as islands in our minds, forming the foundational values that make up a person. My illustration includes a nature island where, fittingly, the ocean features prominently. Core memories of exploring the sea and its wildlife as a child are inextricably linked with one of the most important people in my life: my dad.
3/16/2020
America’s cities are leading the transition to solar energy. With millions of rooftops and lots of land well-suited to solar, it’s not hard to see why. Solar power installed in just the top 20 cities now exceeds that of the entire U.S. capacity in 2010.
2/28/2020
When I was seven, my dad took me on my first backpacking trip. My older brother had gone the year before, but this summer it was my turn. It was just me, my dad and our purple bandanas. We filled our backpacks with instant mashed potatoes and hot chocolate mix, then set out into the wilderness of the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee.
2/26/2020
Imagine a future powered completely with clean, renewable energy. Imagine everything about your daily routine, whether it’s turning on your coffee maker in the morning or driving to work in your electric car, powered by the solar panels on your roof and the batteries in your garage.
2/20/2020
In January of this year, after working nearly 20 years with Environment America and our related organizations, I started a new role as our Senior Director for Campaigns for 100% Renewable Energy. In this capacity, I direct a team of talented advocates and organizers that work with our state offices and allies across the country to move America and the world toward a future powered entirely by clean renewable energy.
2/19/2020
Recently, I had lunch with a friend who is an energy consultant working on utility issues. As we got chatting, he mentioned that street lamps were among the biggest energy users in cities around the country. Even as someone who spends most of his day thinking about energy issues, that was surprising. When I think of energy efficiency and conservation, I have to admit street lamps aren’t at the top of my list of concerns. But after learning this interesting fact, I decided to do some research.
2/12/2020
As part of my job, I interview a few candidates each week for Environment America’s year-long fellowship program. Generally speaking, I’m talking to college seniors, who are figuring out the very first step in their post-graduation careers. In those conversations, I invariably end up spending some time discussing why I do what I do. Last week, an interviewee asked point-blank how I first got my start in environmental advocacy, and I surprised myself by having to stop and think about it.
2/12/2020
The Canadian boreal needs our help before it gets flushed down the drain.
2/10/2020
I have spent much of my life around the water. Many of my best childhood memories are closely tied to the lakes around my house in Michigan. I grew up in West Bloomfield Township, which is known for its many lakes, where I spent hours and hours each summer canoeing with my friends. My collection of memorable moments grew during my time at Kalamazoo College.
1/30/2020
For the past few years I’ve worked on Environment America’s national Go Solar campaign. My job was to push for strong solar policies in cities and states across the country. But I recently took the reins of our 100% Renewable Campaign. Today marks my one-month anniversary since stepping into this new and exciting role, and I can already tell it’s going to be a wild ride.