Finance with a mission

Q:How did you get into clean energy finance and what's kept you there?

A:The year before I graduated college, I interviewed with Novogradac & Company — a mid-size accounting firm. The thing I really loved about them is that they would allow me to do audit as well as tax, and they were focused on things that I felt good about spending time on — tax-advantaged investments, low-income housing, new market tax credits, and then later, renewable energy tax credits.

From there on out, my journey has largely focused on renewables. It's something I'm highly passionate about, and I think you don't always get the opportunity to spend your career doing things that are also personally motivating. That's really what drew me to it and what's kept me in it.

Q:Besides mission, what else has drawn you to the places you've worked, including Reunion?

A:I'd say the ability to be innovative. I'm one of those people who probably thrives at a startup, where there's a little bit more ambiguity, and where each individual can make an outsized impact. I think it could also be a strong desire to continue learning.

Q:After running your own company (Orka Finance) for a few years, one might expect you'd take a break. You didn't.

A:I wasn't actually sure what I wanted to do next after we sold Orka. I had originally thought I would take some time off — do the gap year thing. I'd basically never taken time off. I had always just been go, go, go.

At a friend's urging, I casually did a networking lunch with [Reunion Cofounder] Billy because he's local in San Francisco, which is where I'm located. And I think what really struck me — about both Billy and Reunion's other founder Andy — was their ability to move quickly to identify potential problems or opportunities.

It was also a space I'm passionate about. The idea that you could sell a clean energy tax credit on the open market was a breakthrough, and Reunion was making it happen at scale. I'd spent a lot of my career telling people, "I know you want to own these assets, but you're not able to use a tax credit, and I just don't know that the tax equity market will help fund your project. There's a lot more supply of credits than there is demand." That's a painful thing to tell someone. So this really changed the game.

As much as I wanted to do more soul-searching or backpack somewhere, I ended up joining Reunion on my very first day that I was no longer bound to another company.

Q:Outside of work, what does life look like for you?

A:I think I generally keep pretty busy. My hobbies aren't unique — I like hiking, spending time in nature. I'm also a consummate bookworm. I'll read pretty much anything: fiction, non-fiction, you name it. I also dabble in arts and crafts.

There's this sketchbook I've been messing with [picks up sketchbook off desk]. I tend to paint random stuff — here's one of my husband's plants that were on his desk. Sometimes it's just things on my desk, like a mug. A lot of nature themes.

I also like playing with my dog, spending time with my husband and kid, and other friends and family. I do try to find some time to unwind and connect on things outside of work that also matter.

Q:You've been working to support the clean energy transition for most of your career. Where are we on that journey?

A:I think we still have a long way to go, but we've made a lot of progress. There's no question that renewable energy technologies make sense economically. And they may also be the only way to support all these data centers and other initiatives that are going to require a lot of energy resources in the U.S.