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Matt is a 2017 MENV graduate who specialized in Renewable and Sustainable Energy. He currently works as a Senior Transportation Associate at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), a public-interest organization promoting greater energy efficiency and clean transportation in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. In this alumni spotlight article, Matt tells us about his background and current position, as well as shares his advice for current and future MENV students.

Before joining the inaugural MENV program in 2016, I was an architect building large university and residential towers in New York City.  I traveled west to Colorado in 2015 to pursue my dreams of being a ski bum for a winter, but quickly realized I was here to stay. I decided to apply for the MENV program in Boulder because I felt called to do something about climate change.

Where do you work and how would you describe your role?

I’m the Senior Transportation Associate at a non-profit called the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, or SWEEP, where I work on climate and transportation policy in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona. I work with state and local governments, electric utilities, and the private sector to accelerate the adoption of electric cars, trucks, and buses in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality. I’m also working with the Colorado Department of Transportation to reduce vehicle-miles-traveled by shifting our transportation investments away from highway widening projects and toward multimodal projects like transit, biking, and walking. Another key strategy to address transportation pollution is land use and we support policies that promote infill mixed-use development in walkable communities with a particular focus on affordable housing near transit, jobs, and other services. Over the past couple of years, SWEEP has ramped up our focus on equity by advancing policies that specifically improve health outcomes for residents of communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution and other socioeconomic inequities. It’s challenging, but also very rewarding, and I’m continually inspired by my colleagues, policymakers, and climate activists pushing for action in Colorado and around the country.

How did you find your current position? Could you speak about your job search process and how it went?

I got really lucky! I entered the MENV program with almost no plan – maybe a vague idea of working in city planning, environmental protection, or solar. One of the prerequisites for the Sustainable Planning and Management track (which has since been renamed) was a Sustainable Transportation course. Initially, I thought this class was a total waste of time, but looking back, it was that one special class that completely changed my direction. Our professor (and future boss), Will Toor, quickly became one of my personal heroes. Will taught us about the connection between transportation, climate, land use, and community, and got me excited about all the possibilities for a future sustainable transportation system. At the time, we thought mass-market autonomous vehicles would arrive no later than 2018 (lol), so our class explored the policy implications of an autonomous, electric, and shared mobility future. Will Toor also assigned me a research project on California’s Senate Bill 375, which created GHG targets for transportation plans – a policy that I’m now developing with CDOT almost 5 years later. I worked on another project in the 3^rd semester of MENV with the Colorado Energy Office to identify locations for Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations around Colorado. Our project team was bold, and we contacted anyone we could find to talk about EVs, charging stations, and transportation more broadly. We asked to present our findings to the Colorado Energy Office staff, and they agreed to host us and continue working on the project, even after I graduated at the end of 2017. After a few months of unemployment anxiety, a job opened at SWEEP, where Will Toor was the Transportation Program Director, and he encouraged me to apply for the position. By then, my portfolio of MENV projects, including my Capstone Project with Rocky Mountain Institute, made me a good candidate for a position in transportation policy. I also discovered that I’m a good fit for a non-profit, where I can advocate for a broad suite of public benefits without being tied to any one solution (most of the time). Like I said, very lucky!

Were there any hard or soft skills you felt you lacked or wished you were stronger in when you started your career after graduate school? (i.e. negotiation skills, a certain certification, leadership skills, etc.)?

I wish I’d spend more time focused on my project management and facilitation skills. I also used to have a crippling fear of public speaking and MENV mostly shook me out of that, but it took a lot of practice and repetition. I wish I would’ve confronted that earlier in graduate school, where the consequences are almost nothing. Also, Excel.

What is something people may not know about you?

My band, The Cheeks, has played three MENV holiday parties. Easily our rowdiest show of the year!

What advice would you give to current and/or future MENV students?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with several groups of MENV students on semester-long projects and it’s been hugely valuable to me and our organization. I find MENV students to be inspiring and optimistic, and that energy is refreshing, especially when coalitions have been working on the same campaign for multiple years. I encourage MENV students to speak with as many professionals as they can and design real-world projects with local partners. All of the alumni have been in your position, so don’t hesitate to reach out!