EESI Internship Set Guille Pelaez on a Path to a Career in Energy Workforce Development

In summer 2017, I was a Development Intern at EESI. My experience there was so valuable, from learning about the fundraising side of a nonprofit to witnessing nonpartisan commitment to climate action and a clean energy future. At EESI, I learned the vital roles that strategic communication and collaboration play in public policy. As a Development Intern, I reported on current issues to donors, helped with grant writing, researched new grant opportunities, streamlined the donation process, and wrote web articles. I also assisted with EESI’s phenomenal nonpartisan energy and environmental briefings on Capitol Hill. During my internship, I learned how policy is developed and how EESI informs decision-makers in the federal policy process.

Guille Pelaez

Anyone working towards a sustainable future knows the unfortunate political polarization around climate change and the transition to fossil-free energy. As a non-partisan, information-based organization, EESI manages that challenge with nuance and facts, two things often not included in the discourse surrounding energy, the environment, and society.

When I started at EESI, I was fresh out of college. I needed to learn that, despite our political differences, most of us want the same thing: a future to believe in. At the heart of this future is access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy.

EESI makes strides towards that goal by focusing on what’s at stake and what can be done. For example, I had the privilege of contributing to the success of a Congressional briefing that discussed the national security threat of increased and harsher weather events due to climate change. That same briefing addressed ways to make military bases more resilient through microgrids. An energy-resilient base could in turn make the surrounding community more resilient by acting as an emergency power source. That was just one of 10 EESI briefings I was able to attend that summer!

That acknowledgment of nuance, the power of informing decision-makers, and my passion for sustainability led me to pursue a second internship at the Utah Office of Energy Development right after I left EESI. I am now a Program Specialist for the State of Utah, working on education and workforce development within the energy sector. My dream is to be a part of an equitable transition to a clean energy workforce. I also want to be a facilitator of innovative ways to address the needs of a world impacted by climate change. There is no doubt that the ideas and framework that EESI showcased impacted the trajectory of my career and led to where I am today.

EESI was one of my first professional experiences and I am grateful to have felt supported by my supervisor, Susan. We had a couple of lunches together at a nearby park and I was always struck by her interest in my career plans and I enjoyed hearing her career and family stories. She, like everyone at EESI, felt the urge to act on climate change and build a better world. Being surrounded by folks with that mindset, working to make sustainability a political priority, was so inspiring. All in a day's work. All in a trip to Capitol Hill, or in lunch at the park. All I can say is, thank you, EESI! Thank you for having me and thank you for the work you do!

Author: Guille Pelaez