Schneider Sustainable Energy 1-Year Fellowships (2022-2023)

Overview:

The Schneider Fellowships were created for current Stanford students and recent graduates to promote the awareness of environmental issues resulting from our past and present energy use. The Fellowship program supports the efforts of non-governmental organizations, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), that are chosen based on their efforts to identify and solve the challenges of developing a more equitable and sustainable energy future.

NRDC is a non-profit international environmental advocacy organization with 3.1 million members and online activists. They use law, policy, and science to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and now has a staff of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others working across the United States and internationally from offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Santa Monica; San Francisco; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing.

The Climate and Clean Energy Program focuses on fighting climate change by designing equitable policies with community partners to cut carbon pollution and expand the contribution of energy efficiency and renewable energy to ensure clean, reliable and affordable energy services that a healthy and sustainable economy needs. NRDC is currently looking for passionate individuals who are willing to learn; want to take advantage of a rich, interdisciplinary work environment; and can bring their unique skills and perspective to help develop smart and equitable environmental policies.

Responsibilities:

Available Positions:

Midwest Sustainable Energy and Climate Fellow, Chicago

Nowhere is this advocacy more needed than in the Midwest U.S., where electric utilities remain heavily reliant on coal, and where fracked gas is quickly taking its place. Developing the policies and markets to allow large scale deployment of clean energy in the Midwest and electrifying buildings and cars will be key to getting off fossil once and for all. The Midwest is also on the cusp of a building decarbonization push, in which we are prioritizing low-income and affordable housing to cut emissions and improve indoor air quality. The Fellow will be involved directly in the development of advocacy strategies and in the preparation of NRDC materials relevant to these issues and the broader clean energy transition. The Fellow will focus on developing and implementing a set of climate and clean energy policies in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri, and working with key partners and other stakeholders in the region. Past Fellows have taken the lead on equitable building electrification; low-income solar advocacy; helped develop and implement strategies to advance specific policy objectives in state and city legislatures; and led our Midwest electric vehicle advocacy. We expect 2021 to be an exciting year to broaden the base of support for climate and clean energy progress in the Midwest.

Eastern Sustainable Energy and Climate Fellow, New York

NRDC is seeking a fellow to be based in the New York office and work with our Clean Vehicles & Fuels and Eastern Region teams. Potential projects include helping to advance equitable clean transportation and building decarbonization policies, significantly through efficiency and electrification. The fellow will focus on policies that help to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use while improving air quality and outcomes for historically underserved communities. The fellow will use and hone analytical and public communications skills to advance needed policies, relying on those policies adopted in leading states (like California and New York) and new policy opportunities. The fellow will become an integral member of teams of clean transportation and building decarbonization experts from across NRDC, as well as regional advocates with deep expertise in the political workings of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and other Northeastern states. The fellowship will provide an excellent opportunity to investigate major barriers and potential solutions to the deployment of efficiency and electrification policies to clean up vehicles and buildings.

Western Sustainable Energy and Climate Fellow, San Francisco

The Fellow will be involved directly in the development of advocacy strategies, collaboration with key stakeholders, and in the preparation of NRDC materials designed to influence equitable public policy decisions. Projects that the Fellow may work on include furthering NRDC's work to ensure California and the Interior West's greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency, and renewable energy mandates are implemented effectively and with a focus on equity, quality workforce, & improving air quality in disadvantaged communities. The work will include developing and analyzing policy proposals, writing comments for regulatory agencies, generating and testing proposals and rationales for different audiences, working with coalitions in states, and helping state advocates identify and implement priority tasks. Past projects include helping with the implementation of a multi-state campaign to increase portfolio standards across the West; and assisting with the implementation of California energy efficiency policies as well as decarbonization efforts of the state's transportation and building sectors.

Federal Climate and Clean Energy Policy Analysis Fellow, Washington, DC or New York

The Fellow will be directly involved in policy development and technical analysis of various federal regulatory and legislative approaches to climate policy. Research and analysis projects that the Fellow may work on include the redesign and strengthening of key federal standards for carbon dioxide pollution from power plants, approaches for innovative regulatory action under the Clean Air Act, strategic climate and clean energy legislation. The Fellow will work within the Climate and Clean Energy Policy Analysis Group as well as with the federal policy teams to analyze the economic, environmental, and public health impacts of these policy opportunities in preparation for an incoming administration in 2020. The Fellow will also work on analyzing the opportunities for green hydrogen to decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector as well as an effective set of policies to help scale up the domestic green hydrogen industry. Current and past fellows have provided integral analysis and materials development in support of the Clean Power Plan, the federal tax credits for wind and solar energy, and numerous state and regional clean energy policies. Fellows have developed expertise in modeling analysis of the economy as a whole, as well as individual sectors including electricity, transportation and industry. Fellows have relied on their modeling and analytical skills to support both federal and state climate and clean energy policy, and have successfully engaged in all stages of policy advocacy from concept and strategy development to analysis, negotiation, execution, and implementation.

For all Fellowships:

The Fellow will gain skills in research and analysis, written advocacy, oral advocacy, legislative and/or regulatory processes, and inclusive and equitable policy development. The Fellow will be an integral part of NRDC's team and will gain exposure to a variety of activities including attending policy meetings, working with private sector stakeholders, engaging in joint advocacy with other partners, conducting policy analysis and development, and doing legislative and regulatory research and drafting.

Qualifications:

You must be a current Stanford student to apply. Eligible candidates include those with undergraduate or graduate level experience in energy, science, engineering, economics, public policy and/or law, including candidates with multi-disciplinary experience and/or joint degrees. We particularly encourage candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement. You should apply if you are eager to be part of a cross-cutting team; learn about clean energy and equity; gain valuable policy, writing, speaking, and analytic skills; and to be an active team member tackling climate, equity, and policy issues.

Compensation will be based on a nonprofit scale and will include consideration of degrees held, professional training, and years of relevant experience.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming a diversity of voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. No phone calls, please.

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