Wesley Look
In his words: As a 2011 Vision Fellow, I had the great privilege of contributing to the age-old island work of fostering local sustainable energy practices. From harvesting cordwood and block ice, to plowing with draft horses and shipping freight under sail, the many ways we’ve met our energy needs have been at the core of our island culture for generations. Many of these traditions continue to this day, and to them we have added a new set of technologies and practices that align with the vision of island self-sufficiency. This includes solar panels on rooftops and town dumps, wind turbines standing tall on our farms, and increasing the efficiency of our buildings and vehicles.
The Fellowship gave me the opportunity to work with town governments—in partnership with the Green Communities Division of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources—to advance sustainable energy practices for the island. I conducted an inventory of town energy uses, supported efforts to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy at town facilities, and worked with town leadership to update building codes – thereby deepening our local energy resilience, saving money for town budgets, and demonstrating strong stewardship in the age of climate change.
The Fellowship also supported me in working as a graduate student fellow in the U.S. Senate over three summers – where I helped craft clean energy and climate policies for Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) in 2011, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in 2012, and the Senate Energy Committee under the leadership of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) in 2013.
Furthermore, the Fellowship supported my studies in the Master of Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Master of Science program in environmental policy and planning at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. These programs and my work experience have centered on climate change and energy policy, and have given me the tools to contribute to a sustainable future for the island community and the world at large.
After completing graduate school and the Fellowship, I worked from 2014 – 2017 as Advisor on Energy and Environment in a joint-staff capacity serving the Senate Finance Committee and the personal office of Senator Ron Wyden. I advised Senator Wyden and the Finance Committee on a range of clean energy and climate policies, including approaches for pricing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and unlocking the potential of innovative technologies/systems like energy storage, electric vehicles, the smart grid and wave and wind energy generation.
Since 2017, when I left the Hill, I have been working for various non-profit organizations (primarily based in DC and NY) with a mission to advance climate and clean energy policy at both state and federal levels. Much of my work recently has focused on the question of how to navigate a “just transition” for workers and communities dependent on fossil fuel economies, as we move towards a decarbonized world.
I am deeply grateful to the Vineyard Vision Fellowship for supporting my education and for building community around questions of island sustainability.
