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EGR 100 Guest Speaker Series, Oct 26, 2026, Michael Ihesiaba — Transcript

by Chris Athanassopoulos · 7,372 words · 1,191 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00All right, well, give me a chance to uh
0:02introduce you. And so, our next speaker
0:04is uh is Michael Ehasz Ehasz Ehasz
0:07He is the uh senior director of
0:08engineering at Elevate. Elevate is a
0:11it's a non-profit organization, so the
0:13first of our non-profits are being
0:15represented here.
0:16They uh design and implement programs
0:18that reduce costs, protect people and
0:21the environment, and ensures that the
0:22benefits of the clean energy economy
0:24reach those who need them most.
0:27In this role, Michael leads Elevate's
0:29engineering team in supporting the
0:31organization's engineering and technical
0:33expertise needs.
0:35Uh the engineering team conducts energy
0:36assessments, energy modeling, provides
0:39technical consulting to Elevate's
0:40programs, projects, and utility programs
0:42that deliver services to a wide range of
0:45buildings, including commercial,
0:47non-profit, multi-family, and public
0:50buildings. Um before he started at
0:52Elevate, Michael worked with ICF
0:55uh overseeing the Commonwealth Edison's
0:57street lighting and custom energy
0:59efficiency programs. Prior to that, held
1:02positions at Con Ed in New York and the
1:04National Grid in New York.
1:07And in his free time, Michael enjoys
1:10the all-important three W's:
1:12woodworking, weightlifting, and watching
1:14movies. And with that,
1:16Michael, thank you so much.
1:18>> All right, thank you so much. I
1:19appreciate it. Um again, like um like
1:22was mentioned, my name is Michael Ehasz.
1:24I'm the senior director of engineering
1:25at Elevate. Um thanks again for having
1:28me back to speak at um the Students at
1:31Harper. Um today, I'm going to walk you
1:35through my career as a mechanical
1:37engineer, uh where I started,
1:39where I've uh found myself ended up, and
1:43uh
1:44what I picked up along the way. Uh my
1:46goal today is to show you what engineers
1:49actually do once they eventually leave
1:52the classroom. Um although, I will say
1:55the the uh um um trying to become an
1:58engineer is a is a is a lifetime of of
2:01progressive learning. So, you you never
2:03actually leave the classroom, but you do
2:06progress from it.
2:07Um
2:09and a huge spoiler, um it's it's a lot
2:12more than solving equations uh once you
2:15start working
2:16as an engineer.
2:18Um so, a little about a little bit about
2:20me and it was already sort of mentioned
2:23in in the bio. Um I've led the
2:26engineering team at Elevate for about 5
2:28and 1/2 years.
2:29Um as mentioned, Elevate is a nonprofit
2:32based in Chicago.
2:34Um in plain terms, we we help families
2:37and communities that are often left out
2:40get lower energy bills, healthier homes,
2:42clean water, and access to solar.
2:46My team does a few main things. Energy
2:50audits, which are basically a checkup
2:52for building to to find out um where
2:55it's wasting um energy.
2:57Um consulting, where organizations hire
3:00us to solve technical problems.
3:03And then uh program implementation and
3:05verification, uh where we help uh run
3:08energy programs and then prove that they
3:11actually worked.
3:13Um one idea I I want you to leave with
3:17today um
3:19is is this.
3:21A successful engineering career means
3:24growing two kinds of skills at the same
3:27time.
3:28Um technical skills, which is what you
3:31know and what you're trying to develop
3:34right now that you're in school and you
3:36develop across your whole career.
3:38But the other skill is the soft skills,
3:41which is how you work with people.
3:44Um and this you also should be learning
3:47as you're going through your collegiate
3:48career, right? Um you're you're you'll
3:50be meeting people from different parts
3:53of the country, different backgrounds,
3:56and you have to make it a point to
3:58understand how to work with different
4:00people. That's what will make you
4:02successful as an engineer once you
4:04graduate.
4:07So, today's journey, um, a quick roadmap
4:10uh for what we plan to discuss. Uh, a
4:13quick look at my career timeline, um,
4:15six roles over 19 years.
4:17Um, how my technical and soft skills
4:21grew at each stop from intern to senior
4:24director.
4:25Um, the big lessons I've learned um,
4:28along the way. Um, a few of them I will
4:30admit I had to learn them the hard way.
4:32Um, and practical advice um,
4:35that you can use right now um, while
4:38you're still in school.
4:40I I want to also sort of point that is
4:43just notice on on the left of the
4:45screen. That that arrow is not is not
4:48straight up.
4:49Um,
4:50you know, I wish it was,
4:51uh, but it zigzags. And um,
4:54that's that's what real careers look
4:56like, uh, except for the very very lucky
4:59few unfortunate. Um, it's a zigzag
5:02pattern, uh, but you do want the overall
5:05trajectory to be upwards.
5:07Um, at least depending on what your
5:10goals are for your career.
5:15So, here is my whole journey on one
5:18page. Um, it starts in 2006 with an
5:22internship.
5:24Uh, then my first real engineering job
5:26at Lair. Um, then I moved into energy
5:29efficiency at National Grid and the Long
5:31Island Power Authority in New York.
5:33Um, next came six years at Con Edison,
5:36again in New York. Um, that's the
5:38biggest utility in New York, pretty much
5:40the Con Ed equivalent for New York City.
5:43Um, then consultant at ICF, and And
5:45since 2021 I've been at Elevate here in
5:47Chicago.
5:49Um two things to notice, um you know,
5:52first, obviously, it should be obvious,
5:54no one starts at the top of anything.
5:57Um I started as an intern and that was a
6:00a
6:00a a position that I
6:03I was so happy to get um when when I got
6:06it uh because internships were extremely
6:09competitive in New York at the time.
6:11Um
6:12second is uh every one of these jobs
6:16taught me something I needed for the
6:18next one.
6:19Um none of them were wasted. Uh even the
6:22ones that didn't feel um glamorous uh at
6:26the time.
6:27Um the bottom line is uh early on, uh
6:31your job is mostly about your technical
6:35work.
6:36Later, it becomes more about strategy,
6:40people, and helping a whole team
6:42succeed.
6:43Um so as I go into the these next
6:46slides, let's let's look at how that
6:48happened one one stop at a time.
6:54So we'll start at the beginning as I
6:55mentioned, um I started doing an
6:58internship. It was um at the Mandarin
7:00Oriental Hotel in New York City. It's a
7:03very um luxurious hotel.
7:06Um if you ever go to New York City uh
7:10and go around Columbus Circle um in New
7:13York City, you'll see it as massive,
7:15well-known.
7:16Um
7:17and and I knew the basics of HVAC, uh H
7:21vac, which stands for heating,
7:22ventilation, and air conditioning.
7:24Um I could do simple um building
7:27walk-throughs um and some drafting. Um
7:31but what I will say is the one thing
7:32that helped uh while I was in college to
7:35land this internship was that I was the
7:37treasurer
7:38of our ASHRAE, A S H R A E, student
7:42chapter. And ASHRAE is pretty much the
7:45professional group for engineers who
7:47work on heating and cooling.
7:49Um so, my advice to you folks listening
7:52is if your school has a student chapter
7:55of any engineering societies,
7:57join it. Um
7:59and there might be days, there might be
8:01times where it seems like you're wasting
8:02your time, but you're not. Um you're
8:04meeting people, you're getting your name
8:06out there, you're learning things that
8:08you wouldn't learn from just going to
8:11class, you're learning real-world
8:13applications a lot of times. Um you're
8:15getting the chance to meet professionals
8:17in the business.
8:19Um so, I I highly recommend that you
8:21join um a student chapter of an
8:24engineering society.
8:26Uh it's an easy way to meet people and
8:28also practice leading um especially if
8:31you join, you know, any one of their
8:33leadership um positions.
8:37My best friend in college was the
8:38president, I was the treasurer, and one
8:40of our good friends was the vice
8:42president.
8:43So, you know, it was a way for us to
8:45really sort of hone in what we wanted to
8:47do with our careers. And all three of us
8:50ended up pretty much in the same
8:51industry um as a result of that.
8:55Um now, after after the internship, I
8:57graduated and I went to go work for
8:59Layer. Um and Layer is a consulting
9:01company that has since uh gone bankrupt.
9:04Um I'm sure if you folks talk to your
9:06parents, they will tell you about the
9:09Great Recession of 2008. Uh it was it
9:13was a huge uh economic um
9:16recession economic issue
9:19um and it hit um that industry extremely
9:22hard. Um and
9:25that company tried their best to
9:26survive, but they eventually went under,
9:29which is you know, which was not unique
9:31to them um from what happened during
9:33that time.
9:35Um [snorts]
9:35and at at Layer uh when I started
9:38working there, things things got real
9:41very fast. I did mechanical and
9:43electrical design and a lot of technical
9:46writing.
9:47Yes, yes, engineers do have to write.
9:52Something that I also want to stress to
9:54all of you folks. It is not just
9:55equations and working in labs. You might
9:59find yourself in a position like mine
10:02where a lot of what you do is technical
10:05writing. Um, I also worked as what what
10:08is called in that business an owner's
10:11representative. So, it's pretty much
10:13someone
10:14that represents the building owner and
10:17make sure designers and contractors
10:19deliver everything that they've
10:21promised. So, it gives you a chance to
10:23lead multi-disciplinary teams
10:27and and really puts you at the forefront
10:29of the construction and engineering of a
10:31building.
10:35Um, I even got to work a little fun fact
10:39for this role
10:40on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It's the
10:43tallest building in the world. Um, Leo
10:46was hired at the time because they had
10:49an original design for the Burj Khalifa
10:52where
10:53the top penthouse levels would rotate
10:57and you know, depending on what they
10:59wished, you know, you can sort of wake
11:01up
11:02east facing and then by the time you've
11:05gone to bed, you're west facing. It was
11:08a it was a real big thing they wanted.
11:10So, our job was to figure out well, if
11:12you have a bunch of floors that can
11:14rotate, how do you design the HVAC
11:17system? Um, so it you know, we we
11:22we pretty much planned this out for
11:24about 6 months to 9 months.
11:27Ended up not being used, but we were
11:30quite happy with the solutions that we
11:31came up with.
11:34Um on the soft skill side, I learned to
11:37talk to clients um and earned the trust
11:41of senior engineers, which is huge,
11:43right? When you guys um and gals
11:45graduate,
11:47you're going to be working with folks um
11:50as old as me, uh very very
11:52most likely even older.
11:54And uh believe it or not, uh
11:57folks as old as me uh probably don't
12:00think that that folks coming out of
12:02college are all that bright. So, so
12:05you're going to have to figure out how
12:06to earn their trust. This is just how
12:08the the
12:10the world works once you come out of
12:12college. I had to I had to fight fight
12:15that and and and work work with that. Um
12:17and it really was me showing up, right?
12:22Um it was whatever I said I was going to
12:25do,
12:26I made sure, no matter what happened, I
12:29did it. That's how you earn trust,
12:31right? Um and if you don't know
12:34something, you don't claim that you know
12:35it, but you make sure that you learn it.
12:38And the next time you face it again,
12:40then you know it fully, right? So, these
12:42are all things um um getting that trust
12:45once you come out of college, uh
12:47especially with some of the seasoned
12:49folks in the company that you're working
12:52for,
12:52is critical for your career. Um I cannot
12:55stress that enough.
13:00And then due to the recession that I
13:01mentioned, um the next step, I ended up
13:04switching into energy efficiency and uh
13:07with National Grid, and I've never
13:09looked back.
13:10The funny thing is, if it wasn't for
13:12that recession, chances are I'm still
13:14probably at Leo. That's how much I love
13:16that company, love the work, love the
13:18people.
13:19Um but, you know, you're going to find
13:22um you know, once you start your career,
13:25life is just going to happen, right? And
13:27you're going to be forced to pivot when
13:29you when you probably not ready to
13:31pivot. But you know, if you
13:34you know, if you as they say stay ready,
13:37you don't have to worry about getting
13:39ready. So
13:40I always stay ready to do new things. I
13:43was always interested in energy
13:44efficiency. So when this opportunity
13:46came, I took it in the National Grid.
13:49Um working on the Long Island Power
13:51Authority programs, I helped design
13:54incentive programs.
13:55Um and just to explain what that means,
13:58a utility pays part of the cost when a
14:01homeowner or business buys more
14:04efficient equipment like a better air
14:06conditioner or LED lighting through
14:08something called
14:10a rebate or an incentive.
14:12So everybody wins. Now what most people
14:14don't know is that
14:17as part of your energy bills, there's a
14:20small portion of it and if you look at
14:21your at your at your energy bills,
14:24there's a small portion of it that you
14:25pay that funds all these programs. So it
14:28is in everyone's best interest to go
14:31after these programs, right? You're
14:32paying for it. You're pretty much
14:33getting some of your money back.
14:35>> [snorts]
14:35>> My job was to figure out how those
14:38programs should work, do energy
14:41assessments and present our plans to
14:44regulators
14:46and government folks who make sure
14:48utilities spend the money wisely.
14:50The soft skill that I really built here
14:53was
14:55talking to all kinds of people. So I
14:57went from speaking with building owners
15:00and architects and
15:03you know, contractors
15:05to now I'm speaking to small business
15:07owners. I'm speaking to
15:09you know, homeowners in in Long Island.
15:12I'm speaking to people who you know,
15:15they don't really care about what's on
15:17my spreadsheet
15:19or be talking about what I've
15:21calculated. They want to know, "Hey,
15:23I'm about to drop $10,000 on all this
15:27equipment. Am I going to save money
15:30on my bills after I've made this
15:32investment?" And you you better you
15:35better make sure that what you're
15:37telling that homeowner is accurate.
15:39Um because, you know, um I I you're
15:42going to find this out. And I'm sure a
15:43lot of you know this from your personal
15:45lives. Um you know, when things work
15:48well,
15:50they are hardly ever publicized. Uh but
15:53it's when things go badly, yes, that is
15:55when that's when it gets fully
15:58publicized. So, you you want to always
16:00make sure that you're speaking
16:02truthfully to um your customers.
16:06Okay.
16:10Um after some years at National Grid
16:12Long Island Power Authority, I then
16:14transitioned to Edison, as I mentioned.
16:17Um um Con Ed is the common equivalent in
16:20New York. And and Con Edison, um um this
16:24is really where I first became, you
16:26know, um a leader, um a people leader.
16:29Um on the technical side, I got deep
16:32into something called um measurement and
16:34verification, M&V. Um think of it like a
16:38fitness tracker. Um it a program I
16:42promised to save energy, but measurement
16:45and verification uses real meters um
16:48and and real meter data to prove it
16:50actually did or did not. Um I also
16:53helped manage budgets for large
16:55programs,
16:57um including very large initiatives, um
17:00and and and handled the compliance
17:02reporting that goes with them to the
17:04state. Um on the leadership uh side, my
17:07team grew from three people reporting to
17:11me to eight.
17:12Um and here's here's kind of what
17:14surprised me about that. Uh managing
17:17people is completely different skill
17:19sets from managing projects.
17:21Um
17:23a project doesn't really have a bad day
17:26uh or
17:27or isn't
17:28or is having a crappy mood. Uh people
17:31do.
17:32Um and you had better figure out how you
17:35how you manage your team, um how you
17:38manage people when they are not, you
17:40know, feeling or acting their best.
17:43Um I had to learn to resolve conflicts,
17:46build trust, give honest feedback, um
17:48and also mentor.
17:50Um the the big lesson here
17:54um is that
17:56once you make that decision and and and
17:58each of you
17:59um will probably find this out as you if
18:03you go into an engineering career.
18:06You'll most likely have the chance to go
18:08into two pathways. Uh an individual
18:11contributor, so that's someone that
18:12doesn't manage people,
18:14but you uh you are uh highly capable,
18:18you are very very effective at your job,
18:20at finding solutions.
18:23Um you know, um
18:25um a role that you might think of in a
18:27company that is an individual
18:29contributor, but at a very high level in
18:32the company is a chief engineer. Um so
18:35um I have a chief engineer that reports
18:37to me on my team. Individual
18:38contributor, extremely knowledgeable,
18:41way smaller than me uh when it comes to
18:43um you know, all the tech technical
18:45engineering stuff that we do.
18:47Um so that's that's one avenue.
18:49Uh other avenue is is managing people,
18:52right? And and
18:54the big thing with that is your success
18:57depends on helping
18:59other people succeed. When you choose to
19:01manage people, when you choose to be a
19:03team leader. Uh and it's something that
19:05you have to keep in mind, right? You
19:07could be the best individual contributor
19:11in the world, but if you choose to
19:12manage people,
19:14your success is no longer on what you
19:16do. It's on what your team does. And
19:18I've found in my career that a lot of
19:21engineering team leaders fail to
19:24comprehend this aspect of being a team
19:27leader.
19:30All right. Um next after about 5
19:355 years, 5 and 1/2 years at
19:38at
19:39Con Ed,
19:40a big opportunity came
19:42open for me at ICF.
19:45Um and I'll
19:47I'll be I'll be quite transparent. Um I
19:51didn't want to leave
19:53Con Ed when I left Con Ed.
19:55But I believed that I was that I was
19:59ready for a promotion.
20:01Um
20:03and
20:05the the people that I reported to felt
20:08otherwise. And this is this is something
20:11that a lot of you are going to
20:14come across.
20:15Um when you have this button of
20:18um sort of ideas for your career, right?
20:22And I know I'm pleased. Like don't don't
20:25misunderstand me. The people I reported
20:26to at Con Ed, I still consider them
20:29friends to this day. I still talk to
20:31them. Um I actually just um messaged one
20:35about a month ago for something, right?
20:36These are people that I have continued
20:39to have a relationship with. But they
20:42wanted to go a different path that I
20:45wanted to go at that time of my career.
20:47Um now, you know, one could say that
20:50maybe I was being a bit too um you know,
20:54um
20:54that I didn't have enough patience,
20:56right? Um but I felt in my bones that I
20:59was ready for something bigger.
21:01And again, you're going to have this in
21:03your career where you come at a
21:04crossroads where you feel something, but
21:07those who you respect feel differently.
21:09And then it's kind of up to you, right?
21:11You can then go the route that they
21:13choose or you can prove to yourself and
21:15prove to them, no, I know I'm ready and
21:18I can prove that maybe someplace else.
21:20And the someplace else was ICF.
21:23Um and I was brought in to uh manage a
21:27number of Commonwealth Edison ComEd
21:30programs here in Chicago. So it meant a
21:31big relocation.
21:33That's also something for you guys to
21:35know. You will have way more options if
21:38you are open to relocate, right? Um if
21:41you're open to move anywhere, anywhere
21:44where the job is. Um
21:46you're going to find yourself rising up
21:49very quickly.
21:50Um the people that keep themselves
21:52locked to one region, they grow a lot
21:55slower. They grow a lot slower. Um but
21:58if you're willing to relocate, um you
21:59could you could jump around and move up
22:01pretty quickly.
22:03Um so I worked on public sector
22:04programs, street lighting projects,
22:06custom engineering solutions. I also
22:09learned business development, uh which
22:11means helping win new work for ICF.
22:15Um that meant writing proposals again.
22:18Engineers write. Uh so your your English
22:22class, it matters way more than you
22:24think. Um
22:26my team got bigger, too. Um five direct
22:28reports and about 20 indirect reports.
22:31And what indirect means is that these
22:33are people that work on my projects, but
22:36they report to someone else. So instead
22:38of me being able to just be like, "Hey,
22:40I need you to do X Y Z." I had to
22:42persuade them, explain, then delegate
22:45well.
22:46Um so it takes a bit of, you know, um
22:49um finesse
22:51um to do that type of that type of work
22:53and leadership structure.
22:55Um consultant is also fast-paced and
22:57full of ambiguity. Um ambiguity meaning
23:01that nobody hands you the full
23:02instructions. You figure it out as you
23:04go, but but, you know, it's
23:06uncomfortable, but it's also a position
23:10and an opportunity to grow.
23:12Um the lesson is senior engineers have
23:15to be just as comfortable taking, you
23:18know, talking about business strategy as
23:22they are talking technical details. Um
23:25and I see that all the time. I see the
23:27engineers that can that can talk the
23:29technical stuff with you
23:31for hours and hours.
23:33Um but then once it gets down to, okay,
23:36um
23:37business strategy, right? Um
23:39all this equipment you're telling me is
23:41fantastic. When should I get them? How
23:43should I stagger them? Um what's my
23:45payback looking like?
23:47Um things of that nature, right? Um so,
23:50to be a to be a real uh um
23:53respected, well-rounded engineer, you
23:55have to be comfortable speaking both
23:57types of, you know, talk with clients um
24:01and customers.
24:05And by the way, I think I saw a question
24:07pop up in the chat. I'll I'll I'll
24:08answer questions at the end uh if you
24:10don't mind. So, please uh if if you have
24:12any questions while I'm talking, just
24:14write it down.
24:15And um I should be done in the next 5-10
24:17minutes.
24:19All right. And then uh which brings us
24:21to today. Um at Elevate, I lead a
24:2316-person engineering organization, and
24:26uh everything from the earliest slide
24:29that I talked about, they pretty much
24:31come
24:32in this role.
24:34Um so, things like technical innovation,
24:37um
24:37we we work on decarbonization and
24:40electrification.
24:41Um in plain English, uh that's helping
24:43homes and and buildings switch from
24:46burning gas to run on clean electricity.
24:49Um for example, replacing a gas furnace
24:52uh with a heat pump.
24:53My team also provides technical support
24:56uh for Illinois Solar for All, a state
24:58program that helps uh bring solar to
25:01income-eligible households and
25:03communities.
25:04Um and there's also organizational
25:07leadership. Um
25:09I use what's called um a service
25:12leadership model.
25:13Um so, my job isn't to be the boss um
25:16who knows everything.
25:18Um it is to pretty much clear the
25:20pathway so that my team can do great
25:22work. So, you know,
25:24um what I see as my role here at Elevate
25:26is to make sure that I set my team up um
25:29to succeed, right? Uh again, like I said
25:31before, um my success doesn't lie in
25:34what I know or what I can do. My success
25:37in this role lies in what my team knows
25:39and what my team can do. So, I make sure
25:41to always um give them the best
25:43opportunities to do that work well.
25:46Um and then, you know, other other roles
25:49here is the strategic vision.
25:52Um I plan where our team is headed over
25:54the next few years and how it should be
25:56organized while making sure the work
25:58stays financially sustainable. And I'll
26:01give you a good example for that. About
26:023 4 years ago,
26:04um we we realized, uh 3 5 years ago now,
26:07we realized that um decarbonization um
26:11there's going to be tons of programs
26:13around decarbonization. And a huge
26:16aspect of decarbonization is heat pumps,
26:18what I mentioned. Um now, within the
26:21heat pump uh technology, there are
26:23things called cold climate heat pump.
26:26And they are specialized heat pumps made
26:27to work in cold climates like Illinois,
26:30um you know, Wisconsin, Minnesota.
26:33>> [snorts]
26:34>> Um
26:34>> [clears throat]
26:35>> and and I made it a point to set our
26:38engineers up to be the leading
26:40professionals in the Midwest on how cold
26:42climate heat pumps work.
26:44Um and right now, uh today, I can very
26:47proudly say that Elevate Engineering,
26:50and we are the leading voice in how cold
26:53climate heat pumps work in the Midwest.
26:56Um now
26:58there will be others that will that will
26:59want to argue that
27:01but but I
27:03but I stand firm on that. We are the
27:05leading voice on this technology in the
27:07Midwest. Um so that's part of that
27:09strategic vision. Lastly is mission
27:12driven impact and this is my favorite
27:15part of it. At this point in my career
27:17you know, I wanted I want to I want to
27:20do work that matters.
27:22I want to be involved in things that
27:25help
27:26my community and help the community that
27:28I'm a part of.
27:29Um so our engineering directly helps
27:32people who need it most. Um like
27:35lowering energy bills for families that
27:37struggle to pay them.
27:38Um so it's something that makes me proud
27:40and and I'm happy to wake up every day
27:43doing this work.
27:44Um so to sum it up, technical skill,
27:47people skills, strategy and and purpose
27:51all in one job. Um
27:54that's what 19 years of building both
27:56sets of skills
27:58will eventually get you. Um but you
28:01know, um
28:03my path is just is just one path. Clean
28:07energy and energy efficiency have room
28:09for lots of different kinds of
28:11engineers. Um so just here's a quick
28:14tour of the ones that I've come across
28:17and worked with and some of these roles
28:19I also had. But believe me,
28:22within my industry you would find like
28:25you will find engineers
28:26everywhere
28:28in every kind of role.
28:29Um you can go into the finance
28:31department and lo and behold there's an
28:33engineer there. So engineers have found
28:36ways to
28:37squirrel ourselves into every cavity of
28:40this industry. But these are the ones
28:42that I think you can sort of really take
28:44on as an introduction to the energy
28:47efficiency and and sustainability
28:50industry. So, you have your general
28:52energy engineer,
28:53um a building detective really.
28:55Um you find where the energy is being
28:57wasted and recommend fixes.
29:00Then you have your program or technical
29:02review engineer, and this is sort of
29:04your fact checker.
29:06Um you make sure the savings people
29:08claim are real before money gets paid
29:10out. Um measurement and verification or
29:13M&V engineer, the one I told you about.
29:15You use real data to prove savings
29:18actually happened.
29:20Electrification or HVAC engineer, um you
29:23design systems like heat pumps that move
29:25buildings off fossil fuel.
29:28Um solar engineer, um you design and
29:30review solar systems to make sure
29:32they're safe and up to code.
29:34Building science engineer, um you make
29:37buildings more comfortable and healthy
29:39through better insulation, air sealing,
29:41and ventilation. This also involves
29:43things like clean water, removing lead
29:45from homes, which we also do at Elevate.
29:48Um commissioning engineer, um you test a
29:51building's system after they are
29:53installed to make sure they work as
29:54designed. This is huge.
29:56Um you have some capital projects that
29:58invest millions of dollars in and
30:00equipment uh to upgrade buildings.
30:03Um usually those types of commissioning
30:05projects have
30:07um have commissioning engineers um who
30:09then come in and make sure, "Hey, this
30:12$10 million we just dropped on on our
30:14campus to to upgrade all our cooling
30:17um is it actually working uh as we were
30:20promised by the contractors?" Um so so
30:23that's a that's a big area.
30:25And then lastly, program planning
30:27engineer, um again a a role that I've
30:29had, uh which is you look ahead and you
30:31design the energy programs utilities
30:35offer customers.
30:37Um so, I'm sure as you guys are looking
30:39at this, um there there might be some
30:41that sound interesting to you. Um, but
30:44the good news is you don't have to pick
30:45today. Um, many of these roles share the
30:47same foundation.
30:49Um, so skills from one carry over to the
30:52next. And like I said, I've I've done
30:55um,
30:55um,
30:56I've I've held many of these roles um,
30:58in the past.
31:00And this is my last slide. Um,
31:02and I want to really leave leave all of
31:05all of you students with with three big
31:07lessons. Um,
31:08one, technical foundation uh, matters.
31:12Um, your math, physics, and engineering
31:14basics are what make people trust you.
31:17Um, but the field keeps changing. Um,
31:21the work that that I do today looks very
31:23different
31:25from when I started in in '06.
31:27Um, so like I said, um, you may
31:30quote-unquote leave the classroom, but
31:32uh, it's
31:33it's a lifetime of learning
31:35if you choose to do this work. Um,
31:37because things are always improving,
31:40always changing, and there's always
31:42competition, right? Um, there's there's
31:45there's other companies, other
31:46engineers, so you have to stay on top of
31:48your game
31:50um,
31:50for as long as you are in this career.
31:53Um, leadership is service. Um,
31:57the best leaders um, I've I've had made
32:00me a better engineer and and again, I've
32:04been quite privileged because those same
32:07leaders I believe made me a better
32:08person.
32:09Um, and that's the goal. Um, build
32:12trust, then help people do more than
32:15they thought they could do. Um, which is
32:17how you lead.
32:19Um, professional excellence. Um, take
32:21your work seriously, stay curious about
32:23new technologies, own your mistakes. Um,
32:27that's huge. Um, and invest in
32:29relationships. Like I said, um, even
32:32though I disagreed with my old
32:34um, you know, uh, Con Edison bosses,
32:37um, I'm still friends with them. I still
32:39meet up with them whenever I go back
32:41home to New York to visit. Um,
32:44for for National Grid, I'm still in a
32:46fantasy football league
32:48with
32:49the folks I work with
32:51at National Grid. I actually met them
32:53for a draft
32:54um, during Labor Day. Um, so these are
32:57things that that may seem superficial,
33:00but but they're massive when you're
33:01trying to build your career. Um, and and
33:04and want them as well.
33:06People remember how you treated them,
33:09how you made them feel
33:11um,
33:12long after they've forgotten something
33:15technical you told them or something
33:17technical you showed them, right? Um,
33:20it's about how you make people feel
33:23when they're around you.
33:25Some practical advice for right now
33:28um, for for all of you students,
33:30treat every internship like a lab.
33:33Ask questions, try things, and learn
33:36what you like and what you don't. That's
33:38what an internship is, right? At my
33:41internship, I learned that I really
33:43didn't want to work for hotels,
33:45which which was a huge thing to learn
33:47because there were so many jobs coming
33:49out of college
33:50being a building engineer at a hotel.
33:53Um, but as much as I love my internship,
33:56I knew that this is
33:58this isn't where I want to spend my
34:01career.
34:04And also
34:06another advice for you folks is use
34:08LinkedIn on purpose.
34:11You folks are at the age where you you
34:14all grew up with social media, right?
34:16People my age did not. We had to really
34:18learn how to use it.
34:20Um, so there's really no excuse for for
34:23for you folks. LinkedIn is a tool that
34:26you must use. Connect with people you
34:29meet professionally,
34:31including speakers like me if you are
34:33interested.
34:34Um build technical and soft skills
34:37together.
34:39Join a club.
34:40Give a presentation. Lead a group
34:42project.
34:44Believe it or not, when I was young, I
34:47used to have a terrible stutter.
34:49Um which made me incredibly afraid to
34:53present publicly.
34:56This is something that I had to fix if I
34:58wanted to progress. So it took a lot of
35:02practice, a lot of, you know, different
35:04things like joining a club called
35:06Toastmasters, which some of you may know
35:09or may not know. Um practicing all the
35:12time.
35:13Choosing, raising my hand to go present
35:16even though I was terrified of it.
35:18Standing in a room full of, you know,
35:21200 engineers, you know, looking to poke
35:25holes in everything that I was saying
35:26and speaking confidently and presenting.
35:29That's how you get over, you know,
35:31deficiencies and get over um struggles,
35:33right? You have to attack it fully.
35:37Um notice whether you like working on
35:40people or on products.
35:43This is huge.
35:45Uh because not every engineer is a
35:47people person. So you might be a
35:49products person, which is probably
35:51something you should know fairly
35:53quickly. Um some roles are mostly about
35:56managing people, others are about
35:58building things. Both are great. Um
36:00there is no you know, um
36:03more than or lesser than. It's just what
36:05works for you.
36:06Um think early about whether you want to
36:09stay hands-on or move into management,
36:12like I already mentioned, right? Neither
36:14path is better, it's just they're just
36:16different and it's it's pretty much what
36:18is your what is your skill level and
36:20what are your strengths.
36:22Um find mentors.
36:25Who have the kind of career you want. Go
36:28on LinkedIn. If you if you have a a
36:31career that you have in mind and you
36:33know,
36:34you can look at
36:36recent college graduates in that career.
36:38You can look at season professionals in
36:40that career. Just on LinkedIn.
36:42>> [snorts]
36:42>> Reach out. Do not be afraid to put
36:45yourself out there.
36:46Send someone a message. Hey, I'm I'm at
36:48this school. I'm I want to be in this
36:51industry. I would like to learn more.
36:55Come up like have questions ready,
36:57right? So if that person is so gracious
36:59to be like sure, give me a call.
37:02Be ready for that, you know, right? Have
37:04the questions to to to ask that person
37:07so you get something from it. You get
37:09insight. But but don't take
37:12don't take it as if I'm telling you that
37:15making these connections will get you a
37:16job. No. Making these connections gets
37:19your name out there, gets you more
37:21information and yeah, there might be
37:22instances where it might land you a job,
37:24but it's more to educate yourself more
37:26than anything else.
37:28And then last then I'm sure you're going
37:30to hear this. So I won't beat you over
37:32the head with it. Um
37:35Your career is is a marathon, really.
37:39Believe me, someone just like me said
37:40this to me when I was your age and I
37:42rolled my eyes.
37:43But it really is.
37:45Right now, 19 years in, almost 20 years
37:47in,
37:48I realized that it's a marathon and and
37:52and not a sprint. Every role builds on
37:55the one before it. And over time you end
37:58up with a mix of skills nobody else has.
38:02And that's the point. You want to be a
38:03unique professional because of all your
38:05skills and and and and and and
38:08background.
38:10So with that, I will say thank you so
38:13much for having me and I'm happy to take
38:16any questions.
38:19>> All right, Michael, thank you so much.
38:22We're going to give you a big round of
38:23applause.
38:30I'm just going to plug Elevate here.
38:32Elevate has been a great friend to
38:34Harper College, and Michael has been a
38:36great friend to Harper College. This is
38:38his third time speaking, and I think I
38:40think Michael I I I was counting the
38:42speakers from Elevate that came. I think
38:43there I think we have had nine or 10
38:46different speakers over the years from
38:47Elevate. A great, great organization.
38:49But, I think we do have some questions.
38:51There was one question on the chat to
38:54kick things off.
38:55Um,
38:56where somebody asked, "How did you know
38:58which engineering major was right for
39:00you?"
39:01>> That's a That's a good question.
39:03Um, I When I When I started uh my
39:07undergrad, I was actually an electrical
39:10engineer.
39:11Uh uh uh
39:13electrical engineering um um major. Um,
39:16and I absolutely hated the intro to
39:21electrical engineering class that I
39:24took. I despised it. I
39:26I don't know what it was. I I feel that
39:30the the the No offense to the professors
39:32in the room. I feel that the professor
39:34we had did a horrible job um introducing
39:38electrical engineering to us. Um,
39:41and for some reason,
39:43I couldn't understand capacitors in a
39:46way that would get me to pass tests.
39:49It was a It was a mental block. Uh for
39:51some reason, I just Each time Each time
39:54there was a a a damn capacitor in the
39:57equation, it would mess me up.
39:59Um, so anyway, um
40:01uh uh after that class, I was like, "Why
40:04did I even pick this major? I
40:07>> [laughter]
40:07>> I like to build things. I like to work
40:09with my hands. I like to, you know, um
40:11uh take apart gadgets and and put things
40:13together. That's That's mechanical.
40:16Really, I was just trying to run away
40:18from electrical engineering. So, I
40:19picked mechanical, never never looked
40:21back. And
40:23I'm actually quite happy that I that I
40:25switched.
40:29>> All right, thank you.
40:31All right. See if we have any questions
40:33in the room.
40:35Had a question coming up.
40:42>> Hello. My question was, what were some
40:45experiences that you think really helped
40:47you to learn how to lead other people?
40:51>> Good question. Thank thank you for it.
40:54I will say it is seeing when it's done
40:57right and also seeing when it's done
40:59wrong.
41:01Um I had two different quote unquote
41:05bosses right off the bat when I was at
41:09the lab.
41:10One was one of the partners and the
41:13other one was one of the junior
41:16partners.
41:17Um the main partner, who I love, was not
41:21a good people leader. Just just was not.
41:25But the junior partner was.
41:28And and he was amazing. Took me under
41:30his wing and really mentored me.
41:34He he was not easy on me.
41:37You know, when I when I made mistakes,
41:39he would let me know and I would have to
41:42fix them. Um but but he he believed in
41:45me and
41:47really
41:48you know, sort of laid the foundation to
41:51what my career eventually became. And
41:55having that experience of, you know, one
41:59I wouldn't I wouldn't I wouldn't say it
42:00was negative but not so positive
42:02experience with a manager and one you
42:05know, where I'm like, yes, this is if I
42:08ever became a manager, this is what I
42:10would like to give somebody.
42:12Um, that was very, very helpful right
42:15off the bat. Um, so, you know, I I and
42:18since then, like I've said, I've been
42:19quite privileged. I've had awesome
42:22managers. Um, just really awesome
42:24managers. Even if I disagree with them,
42:26um, the way that they approached, um,
42:29leading teams is pretty much my same
42:32ideology about leading teams, which is
42:35you're trying your best as a leader, as
42:37a manager, to make life as easy as
42:40possible for your team because they're
42:42the ones doing the work. They're the
42:43ones, you know, um, who are holding up
42:46the company, right? Um, so, like
42:49they're the they're
42:50they're the base of the company, and and
42:52you're there to make things as easy as
42:54possible for them to get that done.
43:01>> All right, thank you.
43:03You know, um,
43:05I'm going to ask a question.
43:08Last time, I think it was last time you
43:10were here, um, you know, you have unique
43:12experience having worked in private
43:14industry,
43:15working for energy providers, and now
43:17working for a not-for-profit. And last
43:18time you spoke about the differences and
43:20what it was like to work for a
43:21not-for-profit. I think that insight
43:23could be really valuable to these guys.
43:26>> Yeah, and and thank you for that. Yeah,
43:28um, you know, when you're working for a
43:30a a a for-profit,
43:33especially depending on on the level
43:35that you are at,
43:37um,
43:38you have to be
43:40uh very cognizant of,
43:43you know, specific things like revenue.
43:46Uh, you know, if if you're if you're if
43:48you're if you're fairly young in your
43:51career, you may not have to, um, but I
43:53but speaking, you know, from
43:56from being a a a senior manager director
43:59to now a senior director, um, the
44:02difference is in a for in a for-profit,
44:05um, revenue is king. Um, you know,
44:08margins is king.
44:11Um, so what does that mean? Um, that
44:14means that there there are instances
44:17where you may think something should be
44:19one way,
44:21but the revenue and the margins dictate
44:24that they are a different way.
44:26Um, and this is just how the world
44:29works, right? Um, and you just have to
44:32be okay with that.
44:33Now, nonprofits, at least the ones that
44:36do it correctly, their mission is king,
44:41not revenue, not margins. It's the
44:43mission. It's what they are trying to
44:46accomplish. So, I'll give you a good
44:49example. Um, part of my role here at
44:52Elevate is doing something called go no
44:55go exercises. And a go no go exercise is
44:58we have an opportunity to take on new
45:00business, and we all meet as a team, and
45:03we discuss, "Hey, should we go after
45:06this business or not?"
45:08The very first question that we ask is,
45:11"Is this in line with the mission?"
45:14Now, if this was a for-profit company,
45:18the very first question is, "What are
45:20our margins?" Now, I'm not trying to
45:23demonize one over, you know, over the
45:25other. It's These are all different
45:27types of work, right? Um, and it's up to
45:30you which ones you want to do, right?
45:33Um, and I'll be quite transparent. Um,
45:37my same role in a for-profit company,
45:41chances are, and I'm not exaggerating, I
45:44am making about $100,000 more than what
45:47I'm making now.
45:49Uh,
45:50let that sink in, right? Those are real
45:52numbers.
45:54Um, so and again, like don't I don't
45:58want to make it I don't want to make
46:00myself seem like
46:02like I'm giving up money to work for
46:04Elevate, right? It's just it's what you
46:07value, right? Um the the the value of
46:12working for Elevate and doing what I'm
46:14doing and the the mission-driven aspect
46:16of it, it adds something to my life that
46:21the additional um salary would not. Not
46:25to say
46:27Again, like I said it before in my, you
46:29know, when I was speaking, life will
46:31life, right? Not to say that life won't
46:34life and now I need to make more money.
46:37And yeah, then I would definitely go
46:39over um go over to the private sector.
46:42Um but if you find yourself fortunate
46:44enough where the money you're making can
46:47preferably table, pay your bills, but
46:50you're getting something from that job
46:52that fulfills your soul and on a
46:55spiritual level,
46:56then it's kind of like a win-win, right?
46:59Um you can then afford to leave some
47:01things behind so that you get that other
47:03aspect of it, um you know, for your for
47:06your career.
47:10>> All right. Thank you. Thank you,
47:12Michael. Thank you so much and for that
47:14with that, I think um
47:16I think we've taken enough of your time.
47:18So, we'll give you another round of
47:19applause.
47:28And thank you again to you and everybody
47:30over there at Elevate.
47:31>> Thank you. You have a good one. Bye-bye.
47:33>> Bye-bye.

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