This article is part of ISEN's series highlighting alumni in sustainability and energy. MORE PROFILES
Journey from history major to policy strategist
Casey Kuklick is no stranger to multitasking. As a senior policy advisor in the Office of Energy and Finance at the New York State Office of the Governor, Kuklick might meet with stakeholders, review a press release for a major program launch, and then turn to strategic analysis of issues related to New York’s clean energy plan — all in a day’s work. Kuklick and his team are busy working to meet the goals laid out in the 2016 Clean Energy Standard (CES) by the New York Public Service Commission.
“New York is a leader in how it’s taking a hard look at the power sector and modernizing utilities in an age when constituents are putting solar panels on their roofs, not just because it’s good for the environment, but because it’s a wise move from an economics standpoint,” says Kuklick.
The CES calls for utilities to procure 50 percent of the state’s electricity from eligible clean energy sources by 2030. “Along with California, that’s the most ambitious renewable energy target in the US,” says Kuklick.
New York is also a member of the US Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of states committed to reducing greenhouse gases according to the goals set in the Paris climate accord. “We’re on track not only to uphold the Paris goals, but to surpass them by accelerating our statewide targets,” says Kuklick.
He is currently helping coordinate two major requests for proposals from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York Power Authority that call for large-scale renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind projects, biomass projects, and digesters. “Sustainability will play a huge role in the future of New York, it’s just a matter of how quickly we move,” says Kuklick.
"[In New York,] we’re on track not only to uphold the Paris goals, but to surpass them by accelerating our statewide targets," — Casey Kuklick (WCAS '08), Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Energy and Finance, New York State Office of the Governor
Kuklick’s interest in urban and public policy took shape during his time as a history major at Northwestern. He enrolled in several urban policy and politics classes, and co-taught a peer-to-peer seminar on health, education, and social equity. These experiences would influence his decision to work on Scott Stringer’s 2008 campaign for borough president of Manhattan (Stringer is now New York City Comptroller) immediately after graduating from Northwestern, and then to continue working for Stringer after he won the election. Kuklick zeroed in on his interest in public policy, working within the urban and regional policy program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, before enrolling in Columbia University’s Masters of International Affairs program in 2014. While in school, Kuklick started working as an infrastructure and urban policy analyst at the governor’s office, where he worked for three years, leading up to his position as senior policy advisor this past year.
Kuklick has accepted a new position as director of strategic planning for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a nonprofit dedicated to community development.
This article is part of ISEN's series highlighting alumni in sustainability and energy. MORE PROFILES
