In this Tactical Tuesday episode, we speak with three Department of Energy officials on strategies for building lasting, equitable institutions that effectively forward the adoption of clean energy in our communities. 

From the newly created Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) come Chief of Staff Chris Castro and Director Dr. Henry McKoy. SCEP’s mission is to work closely with state and local governments, tribal nations, and community members to deploy decarbonizing technologies. Chris was formerly Director of Sustainability for the City of Orlando and President of the environmental nonprofit IDEAS for Us. Henry was the Director of Entrepreneurship at NC Central University, held positions at Duke University and Harvard University, and served in the North Carolina Department of Commerce. 

We also hear from Anna Siefken, Senior Advisor for the Office of Technology Transition (OTT). After serving as Executive Director of The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon, Anna joined the OTT to focus on moving energy and climate tech innovations from the research lab to market.

Our guests offer specific insights about how to introduce clean energy solutions so that communities can really absorb them. They dig into staffing in a way that reflects the communities and building systems that lower barriers to entry for funding and programming. Chris and Anna talk about questions to ask when engaging organizations that don’t always know how to proceed while Henry defines how to reach those communities that need decarbonizing tech the most.

The goal for these three visionaries? “Transform this country,” as Chris puts it. Catch the full episode to learn how.

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.

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