In this episode of the Green Collar Careerspodcast, I sit down with Robyn Rehak, Chief Advancement Officer at the New YorkRestoration Project, the organization founded by Bette Midler in 1995 to clean,green, and restore New York City’s parks and public spaces.

Robyn started her environmental career as astudent activist at the University of Vermont, spent 15 years at The NatureConservancy across multiple roles and geographies, and has built one of themost compelling non-linear career paths in the environmental nonprofit world.

Her background is not science. It is passion,philanthropy, and strategic leadership, and it has taken her everywhere.

We dive deep into:

-The Origin Story: How a trip to Yosemite at13 years old sparked a lifelong commitment to conservation, and what happenednext when Robyn followed that pull all the way to Ecuador, the RainforestAction Network, and eventually The Nature Conservancy.

-What a Chief Advancement Officer ActuallyDoes: Robyn breaks down a role most people have never heard of, and explainswhy passion for the mission is the most important skill you can bring to it.

-Fifteen Years at TNC: What Robyn learnedabout building a career inside one of the world’s largest conservationorganizations, and why she eventually left to take on something new.

-The Skills the Field Is Missing: Robyn hasspent her career on the funding and partnership side of environmentalorganizations. She knows what skills organizations desperately need and can’tfind. Her answer may surprise you.

-What the Field Actually Needs From You: Robynis clear that environmental organizations need people from every backgroundimaginable: communicators, fundraisers, strategists, relationship builders. Thescience degree is not the door.

-The Relay Race: A beautiful framework Robynoffers for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the environmental crisis.We’re not here to solve everything. We’re here to carry the baton.

If you have ever wondered whether a career inenvironmental nonprofits requires a science background, Robyn Rehak is youranswer. It doesn’t. It requires passion, relationships, and the willingness toshow up for the work.

00:00 — Introduction02:38 — Where Robyn grew up and how nature became her playground

03:43 — The Yosemite moment at 13 that started it all11:33 — What is NYRP and how Bette Midler started it

09:24 — What does a Chief Advancement Officer actually do

20:08 — The skills that make the role work

24:47 — 15 years at The Nature Conservancy

31:42 — "I don't want to count frogs every day" — knowing your strengths

37:13 — The informational interview that landed Robyn her first job

41:05 — Advice for mid-career professionals looking to pivot

46:32 — "We need you. We need everybody."

47:36 — Why every sector needs environmental voices51:07 — Final words for anyone sitting on the sidelines

Get the free Green Pivot Map (90-DayFramework) at josealmanzaresq.com.

#environmentalcareers #greenjobs #careerpivot#conservation #environmentalnonprofit #urbanforestry #nycparks #climateaction#greencareers #sustainability

🎙️ Connect with Robyn Rehak

LinkedIn: in/robynrehak

NY Restoration Project: nyrp.org/en

🎙️ Connect with Jose:

Website: josealmanzaresq.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq

Substack: substack.com/@josealmanzar

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:

📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:

📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar Careers

Green Collar Careers is a podcast andnewsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climatework but aren’t sure how to make the move. Each episode features honestconversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space andthe practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar,environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter atjosealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

In this episode ofthe Green Collar Careers podcast, I sit down with Sam Kay, Chief of the AirQuality Planning Branch at the DC Department of Energy and Environment. Sam'spath is anything but linear. He earned a PhD in geography, held assistantprofessor positions at the University of Minnesota Duluth and the University ofWashington, then left academia entirely to join the EPA as an AAAS Science andTechnology Policy Fellow. From there he became an Environmental ProtectionSpecialist and Scientist at EPA, co-founded the Environmental and Health DataAnalysis Trust, and is now four months into running air quality policy for thenation's capital.

We dive deep into:

• From theClassroom to the Air We Breathe: Why Sam walked away from a tenure-trackacademic career to join the EPA, and what that decision actually required.

• The AAASFellowship:What the Science and Technology Policy Fellowship is and why it's one of themost underrated entry points into federal environmental work.

• Moving TowardGovernment, Not Away From It: While many people are leaving federal andcity environmental roles right now, Sam moved deeper into public service. Why.

• Put Yourself inthe Way of Surprise: The advice from Sam's graduate mentor that has shapedhow he thinks about career decisions ever since.

• ImposterSyndrome as a Feature, Not a Bug: Sam's honest take on what it means tofeel like an imposter in this work and why that feeling might be the mostreliable sign you're exactly where you should be.

• Advice forMid-Career Pivoters: What someone with a background in finance, healthcare,or any other field should actually do if they feel pulled toward environmentalor public health work.

If you've everwondered whether a non-linear path, academia to government to data to policy,can lead somewhere meaningful, Sam Kay is proof that it can.

Get the free GreenPivot Map (90-Day Framework) at josealmanzaresq.com and via this link.

#EnvironmentalCareers#GreenCollarCareers #AirQuality #PublicHealth #CareerPivot #ClimateJobs#Sustainability #EnvironmentalJustice #CareerAdvice #ClimateWork

________________________________________

🎙️Connect with Sam Kay:

LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/samueljkay

🎙️Connect with Jose:

Website:josealmanzaresq.com

LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq

Substack:substack.com/@josealmanzar

________________________________________

Subscribe to GreenCollar Careers Podcast:

🎧Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

📩Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

🎵Music Credit

Kwae: 📷Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨Logo Credit

Leo: 📷Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️About Green Collar Careers

Green Collar Careersis a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled towardenvironmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Eachepisode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningfulcareers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way.Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmentalscientist.

📢DISCLAIMER

Nothing in thispodcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising.Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, ortheir employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests aretheir own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening tothis podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationshipor any other relationship with the host or their guests.

In this episode of the Green Collar Careers Podcast, I sit down with Adam Flint, Director of Clean Energy Programs at the Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow (NeST) in Binghamton, New York.

Adam has two sociology degrees from Binghamton University, no engineering background, and co-led the design of a $52 million statewide clean energy program in New York. His story is proof that the biggest barrier to clean energy careers is not credentials. It is that most people have never heard these jobs exist.

We dive deep into:

• The Sociology to Clean Energy Pipeline: How two sociology degrees and a mid-career pivot from academia became the foundation for over a decade of directing clean energy programs, workforce development, and statewide policy work.

• The Energy Corps Internship: How NeST has placed over 130 interns from every major into meaningful clean energy careers and what Adam actually looks for when he hires.

• The Resume That Wasn't Written for the Job: Adam was hiring the morning of a panel we did together at Binghamton University. The resumes weren't written for the position. The interviews revealed everything.

• The Visibility Problem: Why the biggest barrier to filling clean energy jobs is not a shortage of qualified people. It is that most people have never heard of these careers and what we need to do about it.

• Advice for Mid-Career Pivoters: What someone 10 or 15 years into finance, communications, or tech should actually do to break into clean energy. Adam's advice maps almost exactly onto the Green Pivot Method.

• Stubborn Hope: Adam's closing message for anyone who feels paralyzed by the state of the planet. Why doing something, anything, with someone else is the answer.

If you have ever wondered whether your non-traditional background can translate into a meaningful clean energy career, Adam Flint is your proof that it can.

Get the free Green Pivot Map (90-Day Framework) at josealmanzaresq.com.

#CleanEnergy #GreenCollarCareers #EnvironmentalCareers #GreenJobs #CareerPivot #Sustainability #ClimateJobs #CleanEnergyJobs #EnvironmentalJustice #CareerAdvice

Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction2:02 - What is NeST and what they do9:22 - The Energy Corps internship program20:18 - Two sociology degrees to directing a $52 million clean energy program24:45 - Where Adam's passion for justice comes from30:08 - Solving the visibility problem for clean energy careers36:15 - The resume story from the Binghamton panel45:15 - Advice for mid-career professionals wanting to pivot53:57 - Final words for people sitting on the sidelines57:01 - How to connect with Adam

🎙️ Connect with Adam Flint:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adamsflintNeST: nynest.org

🎙️ Connect with Jose:Website: josealmanzaresq.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresqSubstack: substack.com/@josealmanzar

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersGreen Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

Keith Brodock, Principal and Senior Engineer at LaBella Associates, told me that in his entire 25-year career, most of his job opportunities came from direct relationships.

He's had one of the most decorated careers in environmental engineering. Three patents. Seventeen PE licenses across the country. A canoe guide in Minnesota. A production line worker at IBM. And somehow, all of it led to remediating contaminated sites, designing cleanup systems, and helping the next generation of environmental professionals find their footing.

In this episode of the Green Collar Careers podcast, Keith breaks down the unconventional path that took him from chemical engineering at Clarkson University to becoming one of the most sought-after environmental engineers on the East Coast.

If you have ever wondered whether your non-traditional background can translate into a meaningful environmental career, Keith Brodock is your proof that it can.

Get the free Green Pivot Map (90-Day Framework) at josealmanzaresq.com

#GreenCareers #EnvironmentalEngineering #CareerPivot #GreenCollarCareers #EnvironmentalCareers #Networking #CareerAdvice #Sustainability #LaBellaAssociates #ClimateWork

Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction2:28 - What LaBella Associates does5:24 - Geothermal energy: why hasn't it taken off?6:37 - Keith's role as an environmental engineer11:53 - Growing up in the IBM era & early influences17:26 - Chemical engineering at Clarkson University25:01 - How Keith accidentally landed in environmental work26:27 - The Green Pivot Map28:24 - The black hole of online job applications41:00 - How to stand out in the environmental job market45:27 - Networking: the real way careers get built47:36 - Introverts vs. extroverts at conferences53:05 - Advice for mid-career professionals wanting to pivot56:37 - Final words for anyone sitting on the sidelines

🎙️ Connect with Keith Brodock:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/keithbrodock

🎙️ Connect with Jose:Website: josealmanzaresq.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresqSubstack: substack.com/@josealmanzar

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:🎧 ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersGreen Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

"I kept looking over my shoulder thinking, surely they're looking for someone else."

That is how Dana Geller felt when she first applied to The Nature Conservancy. After years of leading high-stakes communications in global pharma and humanitarian aid, she felt an internal "compass" pulling her toward climate work—but she didn't think her corporate background would translate to the world of PhDs and conservation scientists.

She was wrong.

In this episode, Dana Geller, the New York Director of Marketing and Communications at The Nature Conservancy, breaks down exactly how she transitioned from the corporate world to one of the most prestigious environmental organizations in the world.

We dive deep into:

• The “Slow Burn” Pivot: How childhood memories and an orange sky over Brooklyn turned a lifelong passion into a professional mission.

• The Secret to Translating Skills: Why her "storytelling muscles" from pharma were exactly what the climate movement needed to make invisible systems visible.

• Replacing Anxiety with Agency: How Dana shifts the conversation from "doom and gloom" to actionable progress.

• The “Outsider” Advantage: Why being the person without the PhD is your greatest asset in reaching the public.

• The LinkedIn Success Story: How Dana landed a senior role at TNC through a cold application by stacking her credentials and trusting her experience.

If you feel stuck in a corporate role and wonder if you have anything to offer the environmental movement, this conversation is your proof that you do.

Get the free Green Pivot Map (90-Day Framework) at JoseAlmanzarEsq.com.

#GreenCareers #ClimateAction #Sustainability #CareerPivot #NatureConservancy #Storytelling #ClimateJobs #GreenCollarCareers #EnvironmentalLaw #MarketingStrategy

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

02:42 - The Childhood Spark

08:44 - The Orange Sky Moment

09:36 - The LinkedIn "Home Run"

13:12 - The Extroverted Search

16:24 - The Outsider Advantage

21:26 - Nature is Not an Escape

25:16 - Anxiety vs. Agency

37:15 - Leading Experts

45:15 - Final Advice

🎙️ Connect with Dana Geller:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danazgeller

🎙️ Connect with Jose:

Website: josealmanzaresq.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq

Substack: substack.com/@josealmanzar

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:

📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:

📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar Careers

Green Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

What does 40+ years of placing people in environmental careers teach you? Everything.

Kevin Doyle has spent more than four decades at the intersection of environmental work and careers.

As Executive Director of Career and Professional Development at the Yale School of the Environment, and before that, two decades at the Environmental Careers Organization placing students in federal agencies and nonprofits nationwide, Kevin has seen more environmental career pivots succeed and fail than almost anyone alive.

In this conversation, we cover everything:

• The Funding Shift: How the drivers of environmental jobs have fundamentally shifted away from the federal government toward corporate sustainability, impact investing, and state-level policy.

• The Yale Framework: The four-part Community of Practice framework Yale uses to help students find their path.

• The #1 Skill: Why project management is the single most important skill for every environmental professional in 2026.

• The Differentiator: What separates the people who thrive from those who struggle, even with identical degrees.

• The Education Debate: The honest truth about graduate school vs. certification programs.

• Market Realities: And what to do when the job market feels impossible.

We also get into philosophy—Alan Watts, Krishnamurti, meditation, and why the thinking brain gets in the way of finding your path. This one goes deep.

If you've ever wondered where you fit in the environmental and climate space (or whether you're too late to make a move), this is the episode.

Get the free Green Pivot Map --> josealmanzaresq.com

#GreenCareers #EnvironmentalCareers #ClimateJobs #Sustainability #CareerPivot #GreenCollarCareers #YaleSchoolOfTheEnvironment #EnvironmentalLaw #CareerAdvice #GreenJobs

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction & Kevin's background

06:00 - His first job in local government

11:00 - How the environmental careers field has changed

18:00 - Stop thinking about job titles and start here instead

22:00 - How to find your path when you don't know what you want

28:00 - What environmental employers are actually looking for in 2026

31:00 - Why project management is the #1 skill every environmental professional needs

34:00 - The portfolio vs. the resume + employers don't fill jobs, they acquire talent

39:00 - What separates people who thrive from those who struggle

45:00 - Build your personal advisory board

47:00 - Graduate school vs. certification programs

51:00 - Three pieces of advice for mid-career professionals making the pivot right now

58:00 - Final message: "We need you."

🎙️ Connect with Kevin Doyle:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevin-doyle-98aa4820

Yale School of the Environment: environment.yale.edu

🎙️ Connect with Jose:

Website: josealmanzaresq.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq

Substack: substack.com/@josealmanzar

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:

📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:

📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar Careers

Green Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

What does it actually look like to build a career around environmental work when you're 19 years old, hosting a podcast, attending college, interning at NASA, and still figuring it out?

In this episode, I sit down with Heidi Pan - host of the 1.5 Degrees podcast and environmental studies student at UPenn - for an honest conversation about climate anxiety, career uncertainty, and what it means to take action when the problem feels too big for any one person to solve.

Heidi started her podcast at 16. She's been interviewed by the BBC. And she still doesn't have it all figured out, which is exactly what makes this conversation worth your time. We get into the job market realities facing Gen Z, why your degree doesn't guarantee a career path anymore, how to break into environmental work without a science background, and the simple networking move that gets responses from people you'd never expect to hear back from.

If you've ever felt like you're not doing enough, or that the problem is too big for your small corner of the world, this one's for you.

🗺️ Get the Green Pivot Map - FreeFeeling pulled toward environmental or climate work but not sure where to start? I created a simple 90-day framework to help you reposition your existing skills and take intentional steps toward a career that actually fits.

Grab your free copy at josealmanzaresq.com or message me "PIVOT" on LinkedIn.

Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction00:40 - Meet Heidi Pan07:28 - What is the 1.5 Degrees Podcast actually about?10:44 - Where is this all leading? Heidi's career prospects13:45 - Leaning into communications and storytelling18:09 - Climate anxiety: how Gen Z is actually talking about it23:41 - Green Pivot Map (free resource - link in show notes)24:18 - What Gen Z is saying about the job market right now27:03 - Practical advice for students entering environmental careers29:02 - How to put yourself out there on social media (even when it's terrifying)35:20 - You don't need a STEM background to work in environmental37:36 - The exact cold email strategy that gets responses40:47 - Jose's inbox playbook: how to get anyone's attention44:45 - Final words of advice: "Just do it"

🔗 Connect with Heidi & Jose!

Connect with Heidi on LinkedIn:💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/heidi-pan-037257219/🔗 Website: sites.google.com/view/heidipan/

Connect with Jose:💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq🔗 Substack: josealmanzar.substack.com🔗 Website: josealmanzaresq.com

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersGreen Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com and Substack.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

In this episode of the Green Collar Careers Podcast, I sit down with Stacy Savage, founder of Zero Waste Strategies and the self-proclaimed “Texas Trash Talker.”

Stacy’s career path is a masterclass in transferable skills.

She went from slinging fajitas and margaritas in Austin to knocking on doors across legislative districts in Texas as a grassroots organizer. Over nine years, she learned how to handle rejection, regulate her emotions, communicate across political divides, and qualify conversations quickly… skills that would later shape her work in policy, consulting, and entrepreneurship.

Today, she advises companies on a “zero waste” strategy and helps them see sustainability not just as compliance, but as a competitive advantage.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How door-to-door organizing builds elite communication skills

• Handling rejection and staying mission-focused

• Transitioning from nonprofit work to entrepreneurship

• Building a memorable personal brand

• Turning advocacy experience into business value

• And how to carve out your niche in the environmental field

If you’re a student, career changer, or early professional wondering how your current skills translate into environmental work, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more stories from people building meaningful careers in environmental, climate, and sustainability work.

#GreenCareers #SustainabilityCareers #EnvironmentalPodcast #CareerAdvice

Timestamps:00:00 – Introduction00:51 – Introducing Stacy Savage01:29 – The “Texas Trash Talker” Origin Story03:55 – Growing Up in Southeast Texas Oil & Gas Country06:00 – From Biology Major to Bartender08:50 – Getting Paid for Grassroots Organizing10:30 – 9 Years of Door-to-Door Environmental Organizing12:45 – Organizing Across All Texas Legislative Districts13:30 – Handling Rejection & Emotional Regulation15:00 – Sales Skills, Qualification & Finding Supporters31:24 – Breaking Into Sustainability & Business Skillsets45:29 – Final Career Advice: Trust the Nudge & Take Action

🔗 Connect with Stacy & Jose!

Connect with Stacy on LinkedIn:💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stacysavage🔗 Consulting for Women in Waste: 0waste.org/consulting-for-women-in-waste/

Connect with Jose:💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq🔗 Substack: josealmanzar.substack.com🔗 Linktree: linktr.ee/jalmanzar

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

Subscribe to Green Collar Careers Podcast:

🎧 ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersThe Green Collar Careers Podcast explores the many paths into environmental and sustainability work, what those careers actually look like, how people get started, and how they grow over time.

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

What does it take to build a career that doesn't just advance your life, but changes the conditions of an entire community?

In this episode, I sit down with Aaron Mair, the 57th President of the Sierra Club and the first Black person to lead the organization in its history. Aaron's path is one of the most genuinely non-linear on this show: Navy veteran, Binghamton University alum, data systems analyst for the New York State Department of Health, GIS pioneer, environmental justice founder, Sierra Club president, and now a builder of career pathways for youth of color into the green economy.

Aaron also talks about how he helped build the Champlain Hudson Power Express, how he developed the Ebola screening protocol for New York State, and why he thinks the most important career move a young person can make right now is getting into the water and environmental protection sector—where civil service jobs are available, pay well, and desperately need the next generation.

This one goes deep. We cover intergenerational wealth, agency, the role of ethics in career decision-making, and why Aaron believes you cannot eat dollars. If you've ever felt like your background didn't fit the environmental space, this episode will reframe that entirely.

🗺️ Get the Green Pivot Map - Free:Feeling pulled toward environmental or climate work but not sure where to start? I created a simple 90-day framework to help you reposition your existing skills and take intentional steps toward a career that actually fits.

Grab your free copy at josealmanzaresq.com or message me "PIVOT" on LinkedIn.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Introduction00:55 - Meet Aaron Mair01:41 - First Black president of the Sierra Club — what that means06:35 - World systems theory, sociology, and learning how to think09:32 - Getting into state service — internships, access, and the civil service gap12:23 - Data, public health, and connecting science to society33:40 - What employers in the green economy actually need36:10 - DEP water jobs — a wide open door most youth of color don't know about37:50 - Timbuktu Summer Science and Career Program and building new pathways39:04 - The broader awakening — treating Earth as more than a resource basin46:40 - Advice to young Aaron — trust yourself, ask for help, get applied experience55:38 - Final words and closing

🔗 Connect with Aaron!💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aaron-mair-554508a/

🔗 Connect with Jose!💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josealmanzaresq📷 Instagram: @jose_environmental_attorney🔗 Website: josealmanzaresq.com

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersGreen Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

🔎 Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.

What does it actually take to reinvent yourself - not once, but multiple times - and build real credibility each time you start over?

In this episode I sit down with my old friend Pablo Segarra, a Bronx-born, Brooklyn-raised attorney who's been living and practicing law in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for nearly a decade. Pablo's path is genuinely unlike anyone else I've had on this show: NYPD officer, law school student working nights while injured, solo practitioner serving entrepreneurs, Web3 legal advisor, and now IP and trademark attorney with over 1,400 clients under his belt.

We get into what happened after a serious car accident cut his police career short and sent him toward law school - a move he literally described as a "crazy idea" because he didn't believe he was worthy of applying. We talk about how he built credibility in the crypto space almost overnight, why he credits cutting the time between thought and action as his single biggest career accelerator, and the mistake he kept making even after he'd made it, taking every speaking gig and platform opportunity without asking whether it actually served his goals.

This one is not an environmental episode in the traditional sense. Pablo is an IP attorney, not an environmentalist. But his playbook for pivoting, building visibility from scratch, and deciding when to say no is one of the most practical and transferable conversations I've had on this show. If you're sitting on a move you haven't made yet, this episode will push you.

🗺️ Get the Green Pivot Map - FreeFeeling pulled toward environmental or climate work but not sure where to start? I created a simple 90-day framework to help you reposition your existing skills and take intentional steps toward a career that actually fits.

Grab your free copy at josealmanzaresq.com or message me "PIVOT" on LinkedIn.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

01:12 Meet Pablo Segarra and a career that isn't linear

02:43 Why Pablo moved from New York to the Dominican Republic

07:22 Leaving the NYPD after a life-changing injury

11:41 The "crazy idea" of going to law school

15:15 Overcoming self-doubt and finally applying

22:00 Building a law practice for solopreneurs

25:30 Getting into Web3 and the crypto space

27:40 How to build credibility in a new field fast

32:00 The formula: research, identify players, act fast

36:00 Advice for young professionals entering a brutal job market

40:00 Build your own table if there's no seat for you

48:00 Everything is a "no" unless it's an obvious "yes"

51:00 What Pablo would tell his younger self

55:35 If it keeps you up at night, you care about it

57:50 Final reflections

🔗 Connect with Pablo!💼 LinkedIn: /pablo-segarra-esq/

🔗 Connect with Jose!💼 LinkedIn: /jose-almanzar-esq📷 Instagram: @jose_environmental_attorney🔗 Website: josealmanzaresq.com

🎵 Music Credit - Kwae:📷 Instagram: @kwaemusic

🎨 Logo Credit - Leo:📷 Instagram: @logic9uy_art

🎙️ About Green Collar CareersGreen Collar Careers is a podcast and newsletter for professionals who feel pulled toward environmental or climate work but aren't sure how to make the move. Each episode features honest conversations with people who have built meaningful careers in this space and the practical lessons they learned along the way. Hosted by Jose Almanzar, environmental attorney and former environmental scientist.

🔎 Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter at josealmanzaresq.com

📢 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. This podcast is not attorney advertising. Nothing said in this podcast is endorsed by the podcast host, their guests, or their employers. The views expressed by the podcast host and their guests are their own and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. By listening to this podcast, the listener is not entering into an attorney-client relationship or any other relationship with the host or their guests.