Alumni Spotlight: Hunter Blas (MPA-PNP 2023)

Alumni Spotlight: Hunter Blas (MPA-PNP 2023), development manager, Elemental Impact

Can you share your journey into climate technology? What initially drew you to this field, and how did your time at NYU Wagner shape your goals?
My journey into climate technology was very recent! The initial start to my career was working in electoral politics. I started working at a youth voter mobilization organization and eventually joined Tom Steyer, a climate activist and climate investor's presidential campaign. Tom ran in 2020 on climate change being the biggest fight of our lifetime, and I really took that to heart. After his campaign, I began my time at Wagner where my classes shaped my journey into the climate technology field through courses specializing in climate adaptation and resilience. I took Planning for Emergencies and Disasters and did my Capstone researching NYC's coastal storm evacuation plans, both of which emphasized the ways climate change impacts frontline communities the most. These classes, while they may be about planning for natural disasters and emergencies, are increasingly bringing into the fold how climate change impacts the way we, as public servants, must adapt for these events. I soon realized that we need to decarbonize everything to avoid the worst of climate change, and we need real innovative technological solutions to get there. That ultimately marked the beginning of my interest in climate technology solutions, especially solutions that center frontline communities. 

As a development manager at Elemental Impact, can you share insights into your role and key responsibilities in day-to-day operations?
Elemental Impact is a nonprofit investor in climate technology that brings deep local impact to communities. Since we are a nonprofit, we use philanthropic dollars to invest in early climate technology companies that are deploying climate projects into communities. We use the returns from these investments and recycle them back into investing in even more innovative climate technology solutions. As a development manager, I work on our philanthropic and government fundraising, where I specifically steward our current philanthropic and government funders. This looks like presenting to our funders the impact of their charitable giving by highlighting the ways our companies are bringing climate solutions and economic benefits to communities around the U.S. and the globe. I spend a lot of time with our Innovation team, bringing our funders on a learning journey about all the different innovative climate solutions that need flexible catalytic capital to scale and how impactful their dollars are. It's really a treat; I've learned so much about different climate technology solutions, from energy, transportation, and nature-based solutions to food and agriculture through this work, and it's given me so much optimism about how we can save our planet and bring deep impact to frontline communities.

For current NYU Wagner students interested in working in environmental sustainability, what advice would you give them about entering the field and making an impact?
I would advise them to try and make connections within the industry! NYC Climate Week is literally the biggest gathering outside of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) for folks interested in climate. I highly recommend looking at different events and networking there. NYC Climate Week runs the gamut of policy, business, community organizing, and international affairs. I also really appreciated the range of classes I took at Wagner. Working in climate investing demands a scrappiness, so having diverse skills in data analysis, writing, presentations, and other types of multimedia is a huge asset. Also, every job is a climate job. Find ways at your workplace you can incorporate a climate lens and upskill to make that transition to more climate-focused roles.

Looking ahead, what broader impact do you hope to achieve through your role at Elemental Impact?
I hope to be part of a group that pushes forward momentum in investing and scaling climate technology solutions! It's a challenging time and these companies working on these solutions cannot fail because they are key to decarbonizing our society as a whole and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. I also hope that even during this challenging time, we can deploy more and more climate projects that bring real economic benefits to frontline communities and we're able to move closer to a clean energy transition.