Melina Acevedo, Solar, New York
Melina Acevedo, who has been in the industry for over 4 years, is currently an Associate on the Project Management and Development team at D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and is a Leadership Team Member at Latinxs in Sustainability (LiS). Melina lives in New York.
Why is clean energy important to you? Clean energy is important to me because it is an opportunity to advance environmental justice and create sustainable economic wealth, particularly for communities that have traditionally been excluded from environmental policies. I was raised in a frontline community myself, growing up a few miles away from a Chevron refinery in the Bay Area, so I am very intentional about centering equity and inclusion in my work and encouraging others to do the same. While I do think we have ways to go, I am proud of the progress we have made so far as an industry, particularly in development, where frontline communities are more and more being engaged as active members and beneficiaries in the development process.
What’s your proudest accomplishment in clean energy? It’s hard to rank them, but definitely a handful come to mind. As a Board Member of Young Professionals in Energy SF Bay Area from 2021 through 2022, I founded and led a Scholarship Program for college students seeking careers in clean energy. Through the Scholarship Program, I supported 4 students with awards of $2,500 each to further their educational journeys. All 4 students were first-generation college students. I also connected them with members of the YPE community to facilitate mentorship and introductions to employment opportunities. As a part of Latinxs in Sustainability, I am currently leading partnership and fundraising efforts as we work to become our own non-profit this year and amplify our professional and workforce development efforts. I am currently leading a workforce development program for Fall 2023 with the City College of New York for engineering students seeking careers in sustainability. This work is especially important considering that a majority of these students identify as BIPOC, receive financial aid, and are first-generation college students. My specific role is to work with employers to partner on internship and job opportunities for CCNY students.
What did you do before entering clean energy? I worked in fin-tech startups after graduating from Princeton University in 2016 and was actively looking to transition into clean energy for about two years.
When were you first introduced to clean energy? I first learned about clean energy at Princeton, where I studied Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering. I conducted renewable energy engineering research for over three years, and first discovered the space from a technical lens. As a first-generation college graduate and immigrant from Peru, my journey into clean energy was non-linear. I struggled to land an entry level analyst role after graduation because I did not have direct industry experience nor could I rely on my family for advice in navigating my job hunt. I had to pivot a few times before finally making my move into utility-scale solar at Nextracker. In a lot of ways, my professional journey has motivated a lot of my leadership efforts. I recognize that if I faced these struggles even with the resources and network of an institution like Princeton, students like myself, who come from similar disadvantaged backgrounds and do not have the resources of a university, must face even higher barriers to entry.
What should more people know about your role? Solar development is such a unique space and can be a good entry point for folks of various backgrounds. There is no one major that can prepare you for the day to day responsibilities of a Project Manager or Developer. Within my company and others, I have friends who have studied everything from Construction Management, Engineering, Sustainability, Policy, Economics, and much more. Within the role itself, it is very multifaceted and encompasses technical, interpersonal, commercial, and legal aspects.
What does your job mean to you and your family? My job represents an opportunity to engage communities that have long been excluded from environmental policies. It is an opportunity to ensure that all communities can reap the benefits of a just green economy. On a more personal level, I also feel like the more visibility there is around my work and that of peers from similar upbrings, the more impact we can have in reaching students and young professionals from marginalized backgrounds. By showing them that a career in clean energy is tangible and a means to create and drive solutions that benefit their local communities, the more impact we can have.
Why should Congress invest in clean energy jobs, not fossil fuel jobs? Beyond the economics of energy itself, clean energy jobs can be a framework for generational wealth creation and upward long-lasting economic mobility for groups that have been historically disenfranchised from our current energy system.