Significant Career Lesson From An Equitable Decarbonization Advocate At Natural Resources Defense Council
Olivia, an Equitable Decarbonization Advocate, learned that in advocacy, "the outcome isn't necessarily in your hands," requiring acceptance of setbacks and focusing on the valuable lessons and partnerships gained during the process, even without achieving a desired policy win, as illustrated by their experience with the LA building decarbonization project. This resilience is crucial, as "any public policy fight" involves opposing forces.
Advocacy, Public Policy, Environmental Policy, Resilience, Partnership Building
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Olivia Walker
Equitable Decarbonization Advocate
Natural Resources Defense Council
Yale University, 2016
UCLA FEMBA
Environmental & Related Sciences
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Developing strong partnerships is crucial for future policy success.
2. Resilience is key; setbacks are common in advocacy, and it's important to learn from the process even without achieving the desired outcome.
3. Deeply understanding specific subjects makes you a valuable expert within your organization.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
This question is tough because it gets back to what I've been saying about listening and being open-minded. In the advocacy and nonprofit spaces, when the outcome isn't necessarily in your hands, you have to be okay with failure.
Sometimes, you do everything you can: you prep all the fact sheets, run social media campaigns, and talk to every council member. Yet, a policy or program you were fighting for doesn't get passed. It might not even be introduced to council or might die in committee.
This is a difficult pill to swallow, especially when you've been working on something for weeks, months, or even years. I've been working on LA Building Decarbonization for over a year and a half.
You have to learn to appreciate the lessons gleaned from the process, even without the desired outcome. There's often incredibly valuable information gained during the process.
You might make important partnerships for future policy or connections with the council office. You might also do a deep dive into a subject matter, making your organization an expert. There's so much value outside of a policy win.
You just have to avoid getting discouraged, because this happens all the time. In any public policy fight, there's always someone who doesn't want that thing passed. Sometimes you are that person. It just depends.