2024 Shultz Energy Fellowships: Nevada Clean Energy Fund, Community Engagement Fellow

Regional-, state-, and city-level efforts are essential in our fight against climate change, especially in the field of energy. Stanford University is committed to helping by integrating its students into energy and climate ecosystems in the West through the Shultz Energy Fellowships program, an energy-related summer fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students. 

Named in honor of former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, one of the most widely admired American public servants of the past half-century, the program offers a suite of paid, energy-related public service fellowships for Stanford students in California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii during the summer. 

The fellowships run from Monday, June 24, 2024 to Friday, August 30, 2024.

About the Nevada Clean Energy Fund

The Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports a thriving, affordable, and accessible clean energy economy by providing financial and technical resources to Nevadans. NCEF works with residents, communities, local businesses, schools, Tribes, contractors, governments, utilities, lenders, and others to accelerate clean energy growth, reduce energy costs, create jobs, and address climate change. NCEF supports a wide range of clean energy measures, including efficiency retrofits and electrification in homes and commercial buildings, zero-emissions vehicles, and residential and utility-scale solar and energy storage projects.

NCEF was created in 2017 by Nevada legislation as the state’s “green bank,” an institutional model successfully implemented in over a dozen other US states. Green banks are “mission-driven institutions that use innovative financing to accelerate the transition to clean energy and fight climate change.” Green banks address clean energy market gaps and financial barriers by providing technical assistance and financing. Financing can take a variety of forms, including direct lending and credit enhancements.

NCEF is an early-stage nonprofit organization that is designing and launching its programs. In August 2022, the federal Inflation Reduction Act established the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to deploy $27 billion in competitive grants to entities like green banks to provide financial and technical assistance for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution. NCEF is the state’s designated applicant for accessing GGRF funds and using them to implement a range of clean energy programs across communities in Nevada. GGRF funds are expected to hit the pavement around July 2024, meaning this summer is poised to be an exciting, transformational period for NCEF.

NCEF Team and Culture

At NCEF, we are focused on building a collaborative, equitable, respectful, impact-driven, and innovative culture that acknowledges the importance of work-life balance. We seek individuals who are critical thinkers, driven to take on big challenges, open to introspection, excited to connect with a diverse and inclusive set of stakeholders, and with a high degree of integrity. Importantly, we seek individuals with a shared passion for clean energy, combating climate change, and having a positive impact on the lives of Nevadans. You would be part of a small, entrepreneurial, team that includes:

Kirsten Stasio, CEO: Kirsten joined NCEF in January 2022 as NCEF’s founding Executive Director to lead and launch the organization in collaboration with NCEF’s Board of Directors. She has over a decade of clean energy experience across the investment, policy, and corporate sectors. Kirsten co-teaches Understand Energy at Stanford University and serves as an Adjunct Lecturer. She holds an MBA and MS from Stanford and a BA in international policy from UC Davis.

Greg Zegas, Director of Investments: In 2022, Greg completed his MS and MBA in Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, with an MS concentration in Sustainable Energy Systems and an MBA Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation. Prior to Stanford, Greg worked internationally in climate and energy finance and consulting. He holds a BA in Economics and Environmental Analysis & Policy from Boston University.

Read more about NCEF’s full team here: https://nevadacef.org/about

Community Engagement Fellowship Summary

NCEF is seeking a Community Engagement Fellow. The Fellow’s primary roles will include conducting research and community stakeholder mapping and helping to develop NCEF’s community engagement strategy. Promoting energy equity and justice is core to NCEF and will be central to this role. The Community Engagement Fellow will also have the opportunity to play other roles depending on interest and organizational needs. The Fellow should be comfortable playing a dynamic role in an early-stage, high-impact non-profit organization. The selected fellow will be one of two Stanford Shultz Fellows.

NCEF is currently a hybrid organization that values strategic in-person collaboration. While the Fellow can conduct the bulk of fellowship work remotely, the Fellow should expect regular in-person meetings and working days. NCEF highly encourages the Fellow to be based in Reno, Carson City, or Las Vegas for the duration of the fellowship to enable regular in-person meetings and to get the most out of this fellowship. 

2023 Fellow: 

• Kelsey Freeman, Master's in International Policy
• Learn about Kelsey's experience at NCEF: 
  • Blog post  
  • Final project

Equal Opportunity

NCEF is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment. This includes being intentional in our hiring practices and seeking to overcome systemic biases. If you believe that you have experience and skills that would be valuable to NCEF and this role - even if you do not meet the listed qualifications of the role - please don’t hesitate to apply and we will make sure your application garners the attention it deserves.

NCEF is an equal employment opportunity employer, and provides equal employment opportunity to all candidates and employees without regard to race, color, religion, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, intellectual disability, mental disability, or physical disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law.