PrintMeet your instructor: Matt Howard
Hello! And Welcome to Energy in a Changing World. My name is Matt Howard, and I will be the instructor for the course. I look forward to working with all of you on this timely and relevant topic.
As an introduction to myself, I have a BA and MA in International Economics and Affairs and while my career started in the economics space I quickly transitioned into the emergent sustainability field in the early 2000's. For nearly the past 20 years I have been developing and running sustainability programs at the federal and local levels as well as in my current role in the nonprofit sector. I started my career at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC and through encouragement from leadership developed the department's first sustainable manufacturing initiative which focused on incentivizing energy efficiency and waste reduction in small and medium sized business across the U.S. During my time at Commerce I also helped publish the federal government's first green jobs report and helped to implement one of the first Executive Order's on federal leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance.
I left Commerce to focus on all aspects of sustainability at the community level and was appointed Sustainability Director for the City of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. There I developed the city's first sustainability report and goals, the country's first municipal sustainable manufacturing program and an award winning program that converted vacant city lots into public spaces containing green infrastrcuture and urban foodscapes. Importantly for this class, I also managed the city's energy efficiency incentive program for home and building owners as well as managed the city's energy portfolio (municipal buildings, public works fleet and traffic/street lights). In that roll I intervened in energy rate cases on behalf of the city, installed renewables on city buildings including the first wind turbine on the shores of Lake Michigan, and shaved nearly $1 million off of city budgets with smart energy management policies.
Looking for a change, I moved over to the nonprofit sector and currently work with businesses to addres their water quality and quantity challenges at The Water Council based in Milwaukee. While water is certainly my focus, as you will see in this class, water and energy are inextricably linked. Many businesses struggle with balancing competing sustainability priorities with limited resources. However, conserving water decreases energy consumption which reminds us that smart policies can lead to win-wins with multiple sustainability outcomes acheived. When food production is added to the mix, this energy-water-food nexus is perhaps one of the most important issues we must tackle as a society with major implication for our energy grid, food system and freshwater resources.
I am excited to be your instructor and learn from your experiences as well. In a sense, I've come full circle as "sustainability" was not an area of study when I was an undergraduate. I believe my mix of public and nonprofit sector work with businesses and communities grounds my teaching in a pragmatic application of how energy impacts our lives and society and the difficult choices and trade-offs we must make as we transition to a cleaner energy future. I trust you will walk away from this course with the knowledge to advocate for and to apply your sustainable energy knowledge at home and work.