Meet The Forum Team: Isabel Schreur

Isabel is a first-year Masters in Environmental Management at Yale School of the Environment (YSE). She is coming from working for three years in DC at a consulting company doing a range of environmental work. She went to undergrad at William and Mary in Virginia. She studied environmental science and art history because of her fascination with built environments and the interdisciplinary nature of art with environmental activism and justice: how art can be a great communicator of environmental issues?

What was your academic and professional background prior to coming to YSE? 

I was working for a company called Guidehouse. I started my first project with the Department of Agriculture, where I made event flyers and PowerPoints for agency-wide events. I wanted to pivot into more environmentally-focused work, so I got on a project for the EPA’s office of environmental justice, where I did technical grant assistance for community change grants. I helped communities experiencing environmental injustice implement solutions like planting greenery to address urban heat island affect. Once that agency's office was DOGE-ed, I switched over to working with energy providers, doing energy efficiency evaluation for utilities in Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

How did your interest in clean energy develop? 

I was writing reports on energy efficiency studies for the state of Massachusetts in my job, looking specifically at heat pump implementation in low-income households and at the barriers to electrification. I found that research very interesting but very technical and wanted to translate those reports to a more accessible format. I’m excited for the opportunity to hone my writing skills. I’m a bit of a generalist in the environmental world, so it was interesting to get that insight into the energy world, and the Forum is a great way to keep my foot in the door there. I think the ethos of clean energy of work relates to people and quality of life and to solving global poverty which is very powerful. My historical ethos for environmental work is rooted more closely in protecting nature, so I’m interested in clean energy’s relationship to fostering ecosystem management. 

I wanted to switch to working with energy providers in my job because I saw them having the largest impact. With the community change grants, it was awesome to help with that implementation, but I felt less connected to a mission. While with energy efficiency, we were aiming to actively reduce pollutants. It was a clear, precise way to have a positive impact. I wanted to gain technical understanding and experience in the energy field because it’s such a predominant way to reach decarbonization goals. 

What are you most excited about this year with the Forum?

I’m really excited to get environmental journalism experience. I think the ability to communicate problems effectively to a diverse audience and avoid technical jargon is an invaluable skill in any environmental space. I’m excited to think about unique issues in the energy space; for example, I’d love to look at barriers to entry for electrification, and also at clean energy technology that may also net positives to the environment like habitat creation or ecosystem management. I’m also excited to explore the ways in which humans in today’s built environment are existing as energy consumers, rooted in my environmental ethics around nature. 

What are your favorite forms of journalism or ways in which you’re looking to engage as a journalist? 

With so much reading in school, I love listening, so podcasts are a really accessible form of media consumption. It could be cool to record myself reading my articles so that it’s an option for people to listen. I’m excited to explore other energy journalism that’s out there. I’d love to replicate aspects of the environmental journalism space in Grift specifically. I’m excited to reach out to interviewees and hone my interview skills and grow my network. The access that this Forum gives to the broader energy space is really exciting, and my goal is to translate that access into deliverables that create conversation and share news. And I’m excited to be on a team of writers.