Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers

Shannon Houde is the multi-lingual International Coaching Federation (ICF)-certified coach and talent strategist behind Walk of Life Coaching, where she has mentored and trained 1000+ change leaders to maximize their personal brands to advance their impact careers. After working as a financial analyst, eco-tour guide, recruiter, and then ESG consultant for clients like Adobe, BlackRock, and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Shannon has learned all the ins and outs of the green job search. She’s also the author of a step-by-step book called Good Work: How to Build a Career that Makes a Difference in the World.

Resources from this episode:

• Book a trial coaching session with Shannon Houde of Walk of Life Coaching
• Follow Shannon’s step-by-step guide, Good Work: How to Build a Career that Makes a Difference in the World
• Visit Walk of Life’s “hot jobs” board listing openings in the impact careers
• Read Shannon’s six tips to making your LinkedIn Profile stand out

Related episodes:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion in the climate job hunt with Kristy Drutman
• Yes, you can turn your climate anxiety into meaningful action
• Land a Green Job 101 - Five key questions to turbocharge your job hunt

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on X (Twitter)
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Ayo Oti is our researcher. Engineering by Kevin Kline. Editing assistance from executive producer Elaine Appleton Grant. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Other music in this episode is from Epidemic Sound.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scott Z. Burns is a screenwriter, director, producer and playwright. His film writing credits include “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Informant!," "Contagion,” “Side Effects,” and “The Laundromat.” As a director, his work includes “Pu-239” and “The Report.” He also was a producer for the Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and served as an executive producer of the film’s sequel as well as “Sea of Shadows.” Most recently, he’s the writer, director, executive producer and creator of the Apple TV+ series “Extrapolations,” which features eight interconnected stories exploring how climate change will affect all aspects of our lives.

Resources from this episode:

• Read the media impact report from USC Norman Lear Center.
• Learn about Good Energies Stories, a nonprofit consulting firm focused on climate storytelling.
• Listen to Scott Z. Burns’ interview on the Climate One podcast.
• Check out EDF’s Green Jobs Hub.

Related episodes:

• Transfer your skills to a green job with Work on Climate’s Eugene Kirpichov
• How to green any job with Project Drawdown's Jamie Beck Alexander
• The future of climate-smart ag and the hot politics of your dinner plate
• Lake Street Dive on music, activism, and bravery

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on X
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Stephanie Wolf produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Ayo Oti is our researcher. Engineering by Matthew Simonson. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pooja Tilvawala is an Indian-American climate justice advocate, opportunity curator, and youth engagement expert with five years of experience in the global climate movement. Since 2020, she has served as the founder and executive director of Youth Climate Collaborative (YCC), which is creating a more just, inclusive, and intergenerational climate movement that sustains youth and their initiatives for meaningful climate action. She is a current recipient of the Walking Softer Award for young climate leaders, and an Advisor to Rivet, which intends to create the world’s largest micro-grant fund for youth-led action.

Resources from this episode:

• Learn about the work of Youth Climate Collaborative. 
• Listen to another interview with Pooja about how to make climate justice work accessible.
• Network with Pooja by following her on LinkedIn.
• Check out this climate comedy recommendation: Climate Town with Rollie Williams

Related episodes:

• How to network for a green job with purpose-driven LinkedIn expert Nick@Noon
• Learn how to build your climate experience with Terra.do founder Anshuman Bapna

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund X (formerly Twitter)
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Credits:

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Ayo Oti produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Engineering by Kevin Kline. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rebecca Weston, LCSW and JD is a metro-New York psychotherapist and co-president of the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America. She supports climate-aware mental health practitioners and professionals on the front lines of climate work. She’s also written multiple pieces and spoken on the mental health impacts of the climate crisis, and how other systems of inequity affect climate mental issues. 

Resources from this episode:

• What is climate psychology?
• Visit Rebecca Weston’s website.
• Learn more about the work of Climate Psychology Alliance of North America
• Find more information on Climate Cafes.
• Watch Renee Lertzman’s TED Talk.
• Read more of Renee Lertzman’s work. 
• For those dealing with burnout, Weston recommends reading the work of Rebecca Solnit. 
• Read the Newsweek piece that Weston co-authored on “climate silence.” 
• Check out EDF’s Green Jobs Hub.

Related episodes:

• Yes, you can turn your climate anxiety into meaningful action
• How to green any job with Project Drawdown's Jamie Beck Alexander
• How a psychology major is on the frontlines of decarbonizing a global industry

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on Twitter
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Stephanie Wolf produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Ayo Oti is our researcher. Engineering by Kevin Kline. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ciara Imani May is the founder of Rebundle, the first U.S.-made, plant-based hair extensions brand on a mission to provide more comfort and less waste through eco-friendly and non-toxic hair extensions. The idea for Rebundle sparked in 2019 when Ciara suffered from one too many itchy scalps from wearing braids made from plastic synthetic hair. In researching alternatives, Ciara came to understand that banana fibers could provide a sustainable option. That breakthrough led to Rebundle’s first product, braidbetter.

Resources from this episode:

• Check out the Rebundle website to learn more about the ReGen Hair Fiber™ that May’s company created.
• Follow Rebundle on social media: Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter)
• Learn about Rebundle’s recycling partner Terracycle, a company helping Rebundle customer’s recycle their old plastic-based hair extensions.
• Read this article for more about Ciara’s venture capital funding journey.
• Learn about the USDA’s BioPreferred program. Rebundle’s braidBetter is the first hair extensions product to receive the certification.

If you liked this episode, you’ll love these:

• The woman greening the golden arches
• Building a Black community for green jobseekers

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on X (formerly Twitter)
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Ayo Oti researched and produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Production manager Andrew Parrella edited this episode. Editing assistance on this episode from executive producer Elaine Appleton Grant. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Drew Wilkinson is a climate activist and co-founder of Microsoft’s 10,000-member employee sustainability community, which has pushed the company to protect natural resources and operate with more sustainable practices. Now, as founder of Climate Leadership Collective, he helps organizations on the people side of sustainability: employee engagement, culture and change management, community building, green skilling, and leadership development. His mission is to make sustainability part of everybody’s job.

Resources from this episode:

• Check out recent reports on sustainability job growth:
  • The Deloitte Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey
  • Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap (microsoft.com)
  • The Future of Jobs Report 2023 | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
• Check out Drew’s website to learn more about his consulting work with Climate Leadership Collective. Learn about his punk rock, sea pirate, and DIY background.
• Read Drew’s blog on how to Make Sustainability Part of Everybody's Job. 
• Learn more about Microsoft’s Sustainability Connected Community:
  • Read Drew’s article on How to Build Your Own Employee Sustainability Community.
  • Listen to Powered by the People, a Microsoft podcast that tells the community’s origin story.
  • Watch Climate at Work’s panel about building grassroots sustainability movements within companies, featuring Sustainability Connected at Microsoft and Anthroprocene at Google. 
• Check out how Drew used the Microsoft Hackathon to help clean up the ocean. 
• Listen to the music of Drew’s hardcore punk band, Run with the Hunted, and the song you heard in this episode, Destroy All Calendars.

If you liked this episode, you’ll love these related Degrees episodes:

• How to green any job with Project Drawdown's Jamie Beck Alexander
• How Heather McTeer Toney is redefining climate action for the next generation of leaders
• The fastest electric vehicle fleet makeover in the west

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on X
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg produced this episode. Mia Lobel is our story editor. Ayo Oti is our researcher and Audrey Nelson provided fact checking. Engineering by Kevin Kline. Editing assistance on this episode from executive producer Elaine Appleton Grant. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Yesh Pavlik Slenk on LinkedIn

👉 Follow up on social media:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on Twitter
• @EnvDefenseFund on TikTok
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Yesh Pavlik Slenk is our host.  Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. The Degrees production team includes story editor Mia Lobel; producers Tressa Versteeg, Stephanie Wolf, and Ayo Oti; audio engineers Kevin Kline, Matthew Simonson, and Daniel Chavez Crook; production manager Andrew Parrella; podcast manager Tina Bassir, and executive producer Elaine Appleton Grant. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jamie Beck Alexander is the director of Drawdown Labs, a division of the climate nonprofit Project Drawdown. In 202, Alexander developed and launched Drawdown Labs, which works with the private sector to accelerate their adoption of climate solutions. She’s been heralded for her TEDx Talk about empowering workers to be the driving change for the climate crisis within companies. Prior to Project Drawdown, Alexander worked for Ceres, which also encourages companies to establish ambitious climate goals and reduce emissions. 

Read the transcript of this episode.

Resources from this episode:

• Check out the Drawdown Labs Job Function Action Guides:
  • Finance Job Function Action Guide
  • Government Relations and Public Policy Job Function Action Guide
  • Human Resources and Operations Job Function Action Guide
  • Legal Job Function Action Guide
  • Marketing Job Function Action Guide
  • Procurement Job Function Action Guide
  • Sales and Client-Facing Roles Job Function Action Guide
• Learn about The Drawdown Roadmap: Using Science to Guide Climate Action
• Follow the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group and read Amazon’s Climate Pledge.
• If you don’t see your profession in Drawdown Labs’ Job Function Action Guides, try other resources on how to green your job, like the Climate Action Resource Library.
• Join climate-specific communities:
  • Terra Do
  • Women in Climate
  • Climatebase
  • Climate Draft
  • MCJ Collective
  • Greenbiz Sustainability Conference
  • Work on Climate
• Browse other climate-related job boards:
  • GreenBiz Sustainability Jobs
  • Green Jobs Network
  • Climate People
• To find people to follow on LinkedIn, visit LinkedIn’s Top Voices in the Green Economy list.
• Search the hashtag #OpenDoorClimate on LinkedIn to find climate professionals who are willing to chat with you. This is the movement founded by Daniel Hill, Year of the Climate Job host and director of Environmental Defense Fund’s Innovation Fund.
• Sign up for the Degrees newsletter.
• Here are some articles we love:
  • protocol: “The Inflation Reduction Act is testing Big Tech’s climate resolve”
  • Greenbiz: “Solving the sustainability careers and connection crisis”
  • NBC News: “Amazon workers press company on climate change response after Pakistan floods”

Related episodes:

• How to network for a green job with purpose-driven LinkedIn expert Nick@Noon
• Browngirl Green’s Kristy Drutman: Taking the mystery out of finding a green job
• Transfer your skills to a green job with Work on Climate’s Eugene Kirpichov
• Learn how to build your climate experience with Terra.do founder Anshuman Bapna
• The fastest electric vehicle fleet makeover in the west
• How to solve the EV problem and a jobs problem at the same time
• Why employees are key for a hopeful future

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Daniel Hill on LinkedIn

👉 Stay up to date by following us at:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on Twitter
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Daniel Hill hosts The Year of the Climate Job. Yesh Pavlik Slenk hosts Degrees. Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Stephanie Wolf is senior producer; Kevin Kline is our audio editor; Andrew Parrella is our production manager; Elaine Appleton Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is podcast manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

In a special collaboration with Grist, reporter Emily Pontecorvo discusses where to find all the electricians we need to electrify everything and how we can train enough new entrants to the field to meet our climate goal. Read Emily’s feature article.

Read a transcript of this episode: The great electrician shortage.

***

Related episodes from the Year of the Climate Job - a Degrees miniseries: 

• How to network for a green job with purpose-driven LinkedIn expert Nick@Noon
• Browngirl Green’s Kristy Drutman: Taking the mystery out of finding a green job
• Transfer your skills to a green job with Work on Climate’s Eugene Kirpichov
• Learn how to build your climate experience with Terra.do founder Anshuman Bapna

***

Resources:

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Daniel Hill on LinkedIn

👉 Stay up to date by following us at:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on Twitter
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Daniel Hill hosts The Year of the Climate Job. Yesh Pavlik Slenk hosts Degrees. Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Stephanie Wolf is senior producer; Andrew Parrella is our production manager; Elaine Appleton Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is podcast manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anshuman Bapna is CEO and founder of Terra.do, an international platform with educational opportunities designed to help people get jobs working on climate. The aspiration is to get 100 million more people working in the climate economy in the next decade. Bapna is a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded and launched several startups. He’s also worked with Deloitte, Google, and MakeMyTrip. He says he gets his best career and life advice from his children. 

Read the transcript of this episode

***
Resources from this episode:

• Check out Terra.do’s different courses.
• Find other climate learning and training platforms:
  • UN SDG: Learn platform
  • Harvard Business School Online - Sustainable Business Strategy
• Join climate-specific communities:
  • Work on Climate
  • Women in Climate
  • Climatebase
  • Climate Draft
  • MCJ Collective
  • My Climate Journey podcast
  • Greenbiz Sustainability Conference
• Browse climate-related job boards:
  • GreenBiz Sustainability Jobs
  • Green Jobs Board
  • Green Jobs Network
  • Climate People
• To find people to follow on LinkedIn, visit LinkedIn’s Top Voices in the Green Economy list.
• Find nonprofits, public service organizations or higher education programs doing interesting climate-related work:
  • Rewiring America
  • Project Drawdown
  • UC Berkeley Opportunity Lab’s Climate and Society Initiative
  • Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
• Search the hashtag #OpenDoorClimate on LinkedIn to find climate professionals who are willing to chat with you. (This is the movement founded by Year of the Climate Job Host Daniel Hill. 
• Here are some articles we love::
  • GQ: How an online school is working towards a climate-smart future
  • Bloomberg: 100,000 Green Jobs Announced Since US Adopted Climate Law, Study Finds
  • Greebiz: How will the Inflation Reduction Act spur job creation for the climate tech sector?
  • The Hechinger Report: COLUMN: New climate legislation could create 9 million jobs. Who will fill them?

Related episodes:

• How to network for a green job with purpose-driven LinkedIn expert Nick@Noon
• Browngirl Green’s Kristy Drutman: Taking the mystery out of finding a green job
• Transfer your skills to a green job with Work on Climate’s Eugene Kirpichov

***

🌎 Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.

💚 Follow and rate Degrees on Apple, Spotify, CastBox, or your favorite listening app. 

📧 Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.

🔗 Connect with Daniel Hill on LinkedIn

👉 Stay up to date by following us at:

• @environmental_defense_fund on Instagram
• @EnvDefenseFund on Twitter
• Environmental Defense Fund on LinkedIn

***

Who makes Degrees?

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Daniel Hill hosts The Year of the Climate Job. Yesh Pavlik Slenk hosts Degrees. Amy Morse is EDF’s producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Stephanie Wolf is senior producer; Eric Aaron is our audio editor; Andrew Parrella is our production manager; Elaine Appleton Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is podcast manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.