What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

Since 2012, I’ve been on a mission to understand how we can collectively solve some of our world’s most complex problems and why the solutions we tend to put forward don’t seem to make enough progress. This foundational concept led me to completing a bachelor’s degree (2017) in Philosophy, Sustainability and Environmental Studies, and Chinese Language and a master’s degree (2019) in Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership. After five years in the field working in local government policy and climate action planning, I was ready to revisit foundational sustainability concepts and its historical background to ensure I was upholding the integrity of the field. 

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

After working in the sustainability field for five years and spending less time focused on the historical background or fundamentals, which I had spent so much time studying in my undergraduate and graduate education, I felt the desire to reconnect with the core concepts and historical richness of sustainability. The pandemic presented major human and societal challenges, and it also brought Greenhouse Gas emissions on a downward (albeit temporary) trend for the first time in decades. The federal government also mobilized historic levels of capital to achieve the most aggressive climate actions at scale in history. Those contributions have created arguably the most exciting and innovative habitats for the sustainability professional to work in. As exciting as it is to work in this field right now, I was eager to re-ground myself in the basics of sustainability, and the Sustainability Excellent Associate (SEA) was the perfect opportunity for me to settle back in to the foundations of this work. Today, I serve as a Council Member for the City of La Crosse, WI Common Council and serve as Chair for the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee. I work for the U.S. Green Building Council as a LEED for Cities Fellow where I support cities and communities around the United States in achieving their climate action goals.  

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

Even though I’ve been studying and working in the field of sustainability since 2012, I feel like I’m just now breaking through into my career as a higher-level sustainability professional. I’ve found it difficult to really get into the field as a professional, despite my higher education and experience. In order to help leverage my credibility and expertise, I’ve spent 10 years volunteering on the board of directors for various sustainability organizations and climate action initiatives. For anyone trying to advance in this field, I highly recommend leveraging your professional experience in service to your community, whether local or other levels of government, and taking advantage of as many professional development and networking opportunities as possible, such those the International Society of Sustainability Professionals offers! I also recommend taking time each quarter to speak with youth about how they can impact their communities and work toward our collective climate goals as well. We can all do our part in building up this field and making climate action the status quo!