Jared Pruzan

How did being in New York impact your professional journey?

I work for C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of megacities committed to addressing climate change in order to improve the health of our people, our cities, and our planet. While I was at Wagner, C40 was chaired by New York City Mayor R. Michael Bloomberg. Being in the chair's host city (and C40's US headquarters) was tremendously beneficial for forming close relationships with city staff and seeing work develop on the ground. 

How would you describe your experience as a Wagner student? 

I was deeply impressed by the creativity of the student body; I came to Wagner with a fairly well-defined view of public service -- one which prioritized government and large-scale philanthropy. But rather than reinforce that viewpoint, I was exposed to truly innovative thinking, both from the faculty and from my peers. From mural installations as a mechanism for sparking needed conversations to high-tech, app-driven community development, I have borrowed techniques and tools from a wide variety of approaches and integrated those in my own work.

Describe your current job.

I am currently a Senior Manager for Special Projects at C40 Cities. Policy levers for combating climate change continue to evolve rapidly, and policy makers have an incredible opportunity to harness the power of new technologies -- autonomous vehicles to air quality sensors -- in order to drive a more resilient, safer, and sustainable future. Those may sound like buzz words, but C40's Special Projects team helps make them real. We scan the landscape for unique, unexplored opportunities, help forge new programmes, and incubate pilot efforts, so that successful initiatives can be brought to scale within our broader network. That kind of strategic, analytical work requires a generalist skill set and an ability to execute to tight deadlines. Wagner helped me be prepared for this kind of dynamic, fast-paced role.