At this time of converging massive global challenges, it’s inspiring to hear from women who are at the top of their game, driving change in the male-dominated science, technology, engineering and math fields at the forefront of the new 21st century economy. That is, in energy, climate and sustainability.
Here is career advice from: Jessica Filante Farrington of AT&T; Rose-May Lucotte of ChangeNow; Sarah Golden of Greenbiz; Lucy Hargreaves of Patch; and Pamela Conrad of Climate Positive Design. This advice is excerpted from exclusive interviews with each of them on Electric Ladies Podcast.
Ø Jessica Filante-Farrington is the Director of Global Sustainability at AT&T. She has been one of the leaders spearheading an innovative partnership between AT&T, Argonne National Laboratory and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It built and operates a portal that forecasts the impact of climate change forward up to 30 years on any patch of land in the U.S. It’s called ClimRR.
Her career advice is: “Don’t be hesitant to jump into the sustainability space because you don’t feel you have the technical chops yet. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to get them, but don’t let it discourage you at the onset. And it can be an advantage because you’re often communicating with people who are not climate savvy.”
“And I guess the other piece, in terms of how much risk to bring into your life,” Filante-Farrington added, is “during Covid, a lot of us parents became sort of the chief resilience officers of our own household. So, how do we manage all the risk and how do we adapt?” In essence, she said, we figure it out.
Ø Rose-May Lucotte is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of ChangeNow World. They created huge new Summits held in Paris, France that bring together ~35,000 innovators, leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and other changemakers in the climate-sustainability, energy-ESG space (environment-social-governance). After I interviewed her on Electric Ladies Podcast, she invited me to speak at their Summit, which I did.
Her career advice is (Note: English is not her native language): “I will say an advice I was given at the very beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, which is, never underestimate a meeting. When I mean is, in your professional life and also personal life, there are some meetings that seem to be very relevant. You have a lot of expectations. And, you have meetings that are random, or you don’t really know why you’ve been connected to this person. You have time to go to this meeting, and actually those meetings sometimes are the most powerful ones. So many times I experienced that. So really, never underestimate a meeting.”
Ø Sarah Golden is Vice President of Energy at Greenbiz, a global climate, green economy media and events company. She’s also (Interim) Director of Verge, a flagship Greenbiz event they host every year with thousands of people in the green economy. (Note: She was one of the reporters who accompanied me on a ground-breaking trip to Iceland last year, at the invitation of Business Iceland. I have spoken at Greenbiz events many times.)
Her career advice is: “What’s top of mind for me right now is around recognizing the finite nature of what you are able to do and the way the sort of obsession that our jobs have and the way our economy is set up for productivity and churning things out.”
“So, what I’m working on right now, and I would encourage other people to do, is to respect our finite nature, not buy into the never-ending cycle of hustle culture and be thoughtful about where you really want to spend your time and design your work and personal life to make space for that without trying to please everyone else.”
Ø Lucy Hargreaves is head of Climate Policy at Patch, a carbon markets platform. Previously, Hargreaves served as Chief of Staff to the Finance Minister of Canada.
Her career advice is: “The first thing I think is, just like, be really clear on what your goals are. Really think about why are you doing what you’re doing, what motivates you. And just get some clarity around that.”
She added, “be extremely opportunistic and don’t be afraid to take risks….(M)ost of my opportunities that I’ve had have come from me putting my hand up, taking a chance, doing something that feels scary and terrifying, but that is aligned to my core goal and mission of working on climate and sustainability.”
Ø Pamela Conrad is the Founder of Climate Positive Design and a faculty lecturer at the Harvard University School of Design. She’s a landscape architect using the convergence of design, architecture, landscaping and protecting our natural resources to address climate change.
Her career advice is: “One, knowing and understanding your own strengths and then asking, ‘what action is needed around climate action?’ And then especially, ‘where do you see the gaps?’ And then fill it, jump into those spaces.”
“And then the third,” she added, “is to ask yourself that question of ‘what brings you joy’…And I think that to make sure that what you’re doing is something that you love, it can help prevent burnout.”
A huge number of new career, job and business opportunities have been created by the climate-energy-sustainability-ESG economy, especially with the new ~$3 trillion in funding from the trifecta of the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment Act and CHIPS and Science Act passed by the last Congress (under Democrats) with President Biden.
This year, 2024 is the year when deployment of those resources kicks into high gear. So, now is the time to leverage these opportunities for your own career. This advice can help.
Listen to the full interviews of each one on Electric Ladies Podcast by clicking on the links in their names.
