可持续发展与环境科学

可持续性的官

Mindy Granley, sustainability officer, Duluth

她出现的原因: It’s inspiring that my role gets to be involved in decision-making across the city. It’s my job to inspire people to think about sustainability and the environment and find ways to get that work done. 这让我很兴奋. 这是环境之间的平衡, 我们的经济, and the social needs of our community – I love all three of those things. 我希望每个人都能成功, 我希望那里有很棒的工作, 我希望我们保护我们的环境, and I want to give everyone equal access to all the great things Duluth has to offer.

How she got the job (and how you could too): A high school friend’s mom worked for the city, and I always admired her. I knew I wanted to be a scientist and didn’t think scientists worked for cities, but his mom did all this important work and made things happen. 她是一个鼓舞人心的人, so it did put an idea in my head to know somebody who worked for the city.

Leaving high school, I knew I was really good at math and science, and I wanted to be a scientist. I have a science degree in geology and hydrogeology. 我还获得了理学硕士学位, and it was during my thesis work that I realized I wanted to translate science to help people make good decisions based on science.

I knew I was a scientist, but not the kind that worked in a lab. I wanted to be able to inform decisions and work alongside people. I had a series of jobs that helped me do that and hone that skill, so when this job with the City of Duluth opened, 我以为这是适合我的工作.

Working in sustainability, you need to be a good partner and 听er. You need to love talking to people –all the time. You have to be able to relate to folks and meet them where they are and understand their limitations and budget concerns.

Change management is the skill that I would emphasize. That’s not a skill you learn through getting a degree, but it’s learned through getting experience and getting things done. I think too often we’re in our technical specialties, but sometimes you just need someone who knows how to create partnerships, 沟通, 管理项目, 简单地推动事情向前发展. You need to be a good activator, communicator, 听er, and learner. You also need to have some technical background – in energy, 水, 减少废物, 气候, 建筑- but change management skill is critical too.

那份工作怎么样? 并不是典型的一天, 但是要开很多会, 大量的学习, 很多网络研讨会, 很多电话, 大量的交流. 我也写和编辑了很多提案, 球, 拨款申请, 以及我们网站的通讯部分. If you’re not sharing what you’re doing or learning with others, you’re not doing it right. I work 关闭ly with our communications department, trying to tell our sustainability stories.

I’m currently working to implement three Department of Energy award projects: solar planning, 地热区能源, and creating an energy blueprint for an environmental justice community. So, project coordination and management is an everyday activity too. I’m writing a fourth energy-related grant with a community partner right now to focus on commercial 建筑 and industry!  Another example of a future project priority is Street Maintenance. Street Maintenance equipment renewal is one of my priorities right now because I see that some of our stuff is old and aged, 而且不可靠. We can do it better – we can get equipment that covers more ground, 效率更高, 是安静的, 是可靠的, 空气质量问题也更少!

Advice she has for those interested in pursuing a career in sustainability or cities hoping to create sustainability teams: 可持续性是关于基础设施的, 建筑, 街道, 雨水, 废水, 还有能量——所有的能量! Sometimes cities are just missing that person who has a little bit of capacity and time and energy to flow across departments and look for priorities or chase down projects and partnerships to move forward. I think that’s what sustainability staff can do; it’s really about innovation. All the ingredients are there for the chemical reaction, but the sustainability officer can be your catalyst!

You should thrive on change and innovation too, if you join a sustainability team. 如果你经常说， “我们一直都是这么做的，那就三思而后行! 为了取得进步, 我们需要愿意尝试新事物的人, 用不同的方式做事, 寻求新的解决方案. 尝试创新, 灵活的, 听, and use sustainability as a way to de-silo the City’s various departments. 最后, progress in sustainability almost always comes down to those relationships and the trust you build between departments and organizations.

Are you interested in learning more about a city career? One great way to get advice is to contact someone in your own city or a city nearby. You can ask questions about the job and learn more about training programs that may be available. 连接到 城市网站和城市联系信息 通过明尼苏达城市联盟.