Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy Summer Fellow Spotlight: Leo Levitt, CESA

The Yale Center for Business and the Environment's Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy Fellowship (PSiCE) matches 11 undergraduate and graduate students with non-profit, startup, and governmental organizations committed to energy equity and the deployment of clean energy. The program provides summer research and internship opportunities to students at Yale who are committed to advancing energy equity and pursuing a career in the clean energy field. 

Yale undergraduate Leo Levitt '28 reflects on his summer internship with the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) through the Yale Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy Summer Internship Program. CESA is a nonprofit organization that supports state energy offices across the country by advancing clean energy policy and developing practical solutions to emerging energy challenges. During his internship, Leo explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can strengthen the clean energy transition—from improving internal operations at state energy agencies to supporting innovative grid management strategies. Leo discusses his interest in the intersection of AI, energy, and public policy, while sharing his experience with the value of independent learning in preparation for a career in climate and technology.

Describe the internship that you're doing. What is your day-to-day like? What projects are you working on?

I'm working for the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), which is a nonprofit that works with state energy offices across the country on things like affordability messaging, program implementation, managing interconnection queues, and a range of other challenges that state energy agencies face.

CESA's role is really about sharing resources, publishing memos, and creating working groups that bring state energy offices together so they can make better decisions and develop shared strategies across their programs.

My specific role focuses on AI and clean energy—but not the typical story around data center demand or load growth. Instead, I'm looking at ways AI can help clean energy development, whether that's improving the internal operations of energy offices or helping manage the grid through technologies like grid enhancing technologies (GETs) and virtual power plants (VPPs).

I'm also helping CESA with internal operations, including research and workflow management. So my time is spread across a few different areas, and I'm learning about AI as I go while figuring out where it can be most useful for CESA.

Have you ever worked in the non-profit or think tank space before? 

A little bit. I did some volunteering with nonprofits in high school and have been more on the grant-making side, but I hadn't worked with a think tank or policy organization before this.

I also have some experience studying environmental policy at Yale. I worked on a project through the School of Management focused on EPA Brownfield grants from the Inflation Reduction Act and how those grants have incentivized environmental cleanup. But overall, I didn't have much policy experience before this internship.

What drew you to CESA or environmental policy more generally? 

One thing that really excited me about CESA was the opportunity to work with energy agencies across different regions, each operating under different grids and regulatory frameworks. I thought it would be a great way to learn how different parts of the country approach similar challenges.

The AI aspect also really appealed to me. Last summer I spent a lot of time building my own AI agents, researching the technology, and trying to understand what AI actually does — where it's genuinely useful, where the risks are, and where it's just hype or a waste of time. The opportunity to apply that personal learning to something with real-world impact sounded exciting, and that's what ultimately motivated me to apply to CESA.

Had you worked with CBEY or Yale Planetary Solutions before? How did you first hear about the fellowship?

I had heard about CBEY through a few career panels, especially some geared toward graduate students, but I hadn't really been involved with the organization before.

The first time I actually heard about the PSiCE Program was while filling out my Yale application. I remember researching different programs, and it ended up being one of the first things I mentioned in my "Why Yale?" essay.

Then, when I started looking for internships, I thought, "Wait, whatever happened to that program I wrote about?" I looked it up, realized it was still around, and applied. I really didn't know much about CBEY beforehand, but it's been great getting to know everyone and becoming part of that community.

It sounds like you already had a strong interest in environmental policy and sustainability before coming to Yale. Is that true? If so, where did that interest come from?

That's true, although I didn't have much hands-on experience in high school; this was more of an idea than something I'd really pursued. I did Model Congress in high school, which gave me some exposure to environmental policy—although I wouldn't exactly count that as real policy experience. It was mostly a bunch of students debating ideas and pretending to make legislation. 

Though even then I knew I wanted to work at the intersection of technology and the environment and that's still what I'm interested in today. I just didn't expect it would lead me toward policy internships or organizations like CESA. I'm really glad it did.

How does this internship fit into your broader interests and where you think you might want to take your career?

I'm really interested in clean technologies and the startup world, so getting to explore the newest AI tools and think about how they can support energy agencies and public policy is incredibly exciting.

Long term, I could see myself helping bring these kinds of technologies to market or helping organizations adopt and implement them effectively.

I'm about to go into my junior year, so I don't have everything concrete yet, but I definitely see the intersection of energy and technology as the space where I want to build my career. I'm just not sure yet what path within that ecosystem I'll ultimately take.

What resources at Yale have helped you get to this point?

A few classes have been especially influential, like “Renewable Energy” with Professor Mike Oristaglio. It’s a classic! I also loved “Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable” with Scott Denning and “Managing the Global Energy Transition” with Ambassador Paul Simons.

["Managing the Global Energy Transition"] really got me excited about energy technologies. We evaluated different technologies using technology readiness levels and explored the geopolitical dimensions of the energy transition. It was a fantastic introduction to the field. It was a mix of graduate students and undergraduates at the Jackson School, and it became a really foundational class for me.

One topic that especially grabbed my attention was virtual power plants. I ended up doing a project on them, and it made me realize how exciting demand management is. I think technologies like that are only going to become more integrated into grid operations over time.

Those classes really set me on the path toward this internship.

If you could give advice either to your younger self or to another student who's interested in the intersection of energy and technology, what would you tell them?

I'd say that personal learning goes a long way. The resources at Yale have been fantastic, but a lot of what prepared me for this internship came from the time I spent on my own reading articles, watching video essays, and diving into topics that interested me.

If there's a field you want to work in or an internship you hope to land, investing your own free time in learning about it is one of the best things you can do.

I'd also say: don't be afraid to cold email people. It can go much further than you think.

Looking back, I'd tell myself to just go for opportunities, even without feeling like I had all the experience or qualifications. You learn so much by putting yourself out there.

Finally, CBEY has a tremendous number of resources. The career panels were incredibly helpful, and they gave you lots of opportunities to ask questions, meet people, and figure out how to prepare for opportunities like this. I'd definitely encourage students to take advantage of everything that's available.