Power Flow - Episode 1.05 On Citizen Power for the Climate Crisis with Leslie Glustrom

Episode 1.05 On Citizen Power for the Climate Crisis with Leslie Glustrom

09/28/21 • 56 min

What can regular citizens possibly do about climate change? To move the clean energy transition forward?

Leslie Glustrom was a humble scientist who "belongs in a lab working on a problem only one or two other people understand." But as a mom she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to do something, anything, to leave a cleaner planet for her kids.

She dedicated herself to citizen advocacy -- working hard to rally communities to get energy policy passed at local, state, and federal levels, and engaging large companies to change their approach.

If you have been wondering what one person can do, I invite you to listen to Leslie and get inspired. She's proof that all of us can make a difference.

Quotables

"Every minute you spent in despair is a minute you didn't spend in leadership."

“I was no kind of mother if I didn’t do everything I could to turn around what we now call the climate crisis. All those soccer games and ballet lessons and everything else you do for your kids – all of that was useless if we didn’t leave them a liveable planet.”

“I bring the perspectives of a scientist, a mother and an organizer to bear on the defining issue of our time.”
-all Leslie Glustrom

This Week’s Guest

Leslie is trained as a biochemist and scientist but resigned her job in 2004 to work as a full-time (unpaid) climate advocate at the local, state and national level. She has close to 20 years of experience at the Colorado PUC and working with communities throughout the country to accelerate our transition to a cleaner, more resilient energy future. She has won numerous awards for her climate work.

Resources:

Connect with Leslie Glustrom on LinkedIn and check out the Clean Energy Action website .

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we’re new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok.

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

What can regular citizens possibly do about climate change? To move the clean energy transition forward?

She dedicated herself to citizen advocacy -- working hard to rally communities to get energy policy passed at local, state, and federal levels, and engaging large companies to change their approach.

If you have been wondering what one person can do, I invite you to listen to Leslie and get inspired. She's proof that all of us can make a difference.

Quotables

"Every minute you spent in despair is a minute you didn't spend in leadership."

“I bring the perspectives of a scientist, a mother and an organizer to bear on the defining issue of our time.”
-all Leslie Glustrom

This Week’s Guest

Resources:

Connect with Leslie Glustrom on LinkedIn and check out the Clean Energy Action website .

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok.

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Previous Episode

Episode 1.04 On EV Infrastructure and Green Workforce Development with Kameale Terry

One of the biggest concerns I have heard from laypeople about the electric vehicle transition is about the availability of charging stations. Kameale Terry is helping to address that need with ChargerHelp! which boasts a specialized workforce of charging station maintenance professionals, able to troubleshoot non-working EV charging stations and get them back online.
In doing so, Kameale is not only contributing to the electric vehicle revolution, she is developing the new green workforce - providing solid middle class jobs that advance clean energy and provide healthy, safe work environments with excellent stability for her team.
I also loved talking to Kameale about collaborative ideation and making sure people are "in the room" with lived experience and expertise when decisions are made.

Quotables

“It’s a beautiful thing that one day we'll be able to look back and say we were part of the generation that really changed the trajectory of the health of our nation in regard to air quality.” -Kameale Terry

“Let's have the future right now. Let's reimagine transportation, let's reimagine how we take care of the environment and the things that we create, and the impact of the things that we create. It’s time to do it.” -Kameale Terry

This week’s guest

Kameale is the Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp, Inc. an app that enables on-demand repair of electric vehicle charging stations. As the former Director of Programs at EV Connect, an electric vehicle charge station network provider, Kameale structured and led teams to execute electric vehicle infrastructure projects and programs in the United States, Australia, and Canada for commercial and government entities.

Her most notable projects include the Electrify America – Phase One Program, the Southern California Edison Charge Ready Pilot, and the New York Power Authority portfolio. Prior to this role Kameale created, hired, and oversaw the Customer Experience Department at EV Connect, by partnering with the Southbay Workforce Investment Board to employ candidates from the local community.

As a South Central Los Angeles native, Kameale believes that an equitable green economy can be achieved through impactful workforce development and realignment.

Resources:

Connect with Kameale Terry on LinkedIn and check out her website.

Follow ChargerHelp! on LinkedIn and check out their website.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok.

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

Next Episode

Episode 1.06 On the Power of Holistic, Incremental Transformation with Liana Cassar

As an energy industry professional, I know that energy policy is important, but policymaking itself remains something of a black box.

State representative Liana Cassar of Rhode Island is pulling back the curtain for us today.

Liana's professional background is systems thinking and design for the health care sector, but as a legislator, she balances myriad legislative priorities including energy policy.

On this episode, Liana shares with us how she learns about domain specific issues, how she helps educate constituents on the issues at hand, and how she looks for holistic solutions that are integrative and solve multiple issues facing communities at once.

*Note: Episode 1.04 with Kameale Terry is referenced often. Check it out: Episode 1.04: On EV Infrastructure and Green Workforce Development with Kameale Terry

Quotables

"There's that space between shutting down the old and turning on the new. It's really a rich and important space, and we need to get it right."

"My bottom line for how we make change: we engage."

“So much mythology is getting in the way of good work.”

“What is going to be the right thing that is best for the well-being of all?”

All quotes above by Liana Cassar

“Energy is an intersectional issue that touches every single aspect of our human lives and it affects our planet.” – Amy Simpkins

This week’s guest

Representative Liana Cassar is in her second term in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Her legislative priorities are good government, economic justice, reproductive justice, and environmental stewardship. She currently serves on the House Committees on Health and Human Services, and Small Business.

Rep. Cassar has spent the past 20+ years working across the health care and public health sectors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
With a background in public health, operations and systems, she currently consults with mission-driven and women-led businesses, mainly in the care economy, on operations planning, change management and systems development. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and a Masters in Business Administration from Simmons College.

Resources:

Connect with Liana Cassar on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Check out Cassar Consulting’s website.

You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok.

Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!