Member Spotlight: Esther Morales
I spoke with Esther Morales, Executive Director at Clean Energy Leadership Institute. CELI is building a multiracial, diverse, and inclusive community of changemakers working across sectors and disciplines to lead an equitable, decarbonized, and resilient energy ecosystem. We discussed CELI’s strategy and building confidence in leadership within climate.
What do CELI fellows and EDICT interns have in common?
Esther Morales: CELI fellows and EDICT interns are both ambitious in their commitment to having as big of an impact on the climate crisis as possible through a career in the climate and clean energy ecosystem. They're curious and see the value in non-academic, continuing education and training. They recognize that the space is dynamic—it changes really quickly, and they know that they don't know everything to know. CELI works with Fellows and Interns at different levels in their careers. CELI fellows are three plus years in; EDICT interns are sophomores, juniors, seniors in college, or recent college graduates. On the older side, the more experienced side, the fellows really value networks. They understand that part of education is having relationships that you can draw on to ask questions. I think that EDICT interns are still learning about the power of networks and about what kind of clean energy community or climate community they might want, or why it would be useful to them.
What advice would you give to a changemaker struggling with their confidence as a leader?
Esther Morales: Don't be afraid to do things differently than the models that you've been exposed to. Don't be afraid to question what your instincts tell you could be changed, or could be better, or could be different. You don't have to do it the same way as people who either were in your position prior, or models that are given to you by our society. It's okay to bring something totally new to a position of authority, or to push for change when you aren't necessarily in a position of authority. It's okay to do it in your own way. When your intentions are to have a positive impact on the world around you, you'll find that you can't really say or do the wrong thing, as long as you're engaging in a humble, respectful, kind way. I think that other people will take you seriously because of your commitment, and that you should have confidence that you can make mistakes, and you can learn and grow. You should absolutely hold the people around you to that same bar. Nobody is perfect, and it's okay to learn through doing and through practice.
How did your work in DC influence your leadership style? How has your work at CELI changed or added to that?
Esther Morales: The government, especially the federal government, is extremely hierarchical. So, the hammer of the White House, the top-down approach, is what drives a lot of the high level policy efforts and initiatives. Because we often have a very short amount of time, leadership is connected more to how we use our time most efficiently to get the most done. As a political appointee, your time is the most important resource you have when you're trying to bring about major change. Post-DC, when you're really talking about supporting emerging leaders, and how everyone can lead, and that there's a role for everybody in the climate crisis, the idea of leadership changes. The most important part of leading from a position where you don't have that direct power that we had as a governing administration in Washington DC is that you have to develop relationships horizontally, and move together with other people in a slower way, and actually create space for other people to step into what we at CELI call: the leadership moment. We employ an approach to leadership at CELI called adaptive leadership. Adaptive leadership seeks to open up spaces where more people can actually join together to lead something forward. In DC, leadership was very much embodied by individuals. Post-DC, and with CELI, I employ an approach to leadership where a lot of people can step in to share the accountability and the responsibility for problem solving – where leadership is not embodied by one individual.
I think that's awesome, because it helps prevent burnout.
Esther Morales: Yes, definitely. It helped me a lot when I became the executive director of CELI and felt so responsible for every single thing. The deeper I got into adaptive leadership, the more that I wanted to transfer that ownership to a much larger group of people, so that it wasn't just about what I could do. It's about what we can all do together. I started as an organizer, a political organizer, a grassroots organizer, and then moved into working on campaigns. It was great to come full circle and come back to that approach that, collectively, we all have to share leadership to move something big forward, something as big as addressing the climate crisis.
What can we at 9Zero learn from CELI in terms of building a climate community?
Esther Morales: Well, you all have an incredible start. It was so fun to be in your offices and just see that energy. I love meeting people, and I'm always very curious about how people found their way. Careers can be very straight and narrow, if you go into law or medicine, and they can be really difficult to find your way if you come through an energy resources program, or an environmental science program. How do you actually get to the kind of organization, and to the specific team, that gets you committed for a lifetime to a particular area, your niche or expertise? I'm really excited for 9Zero to bring us all together. You have such a huge ecosystem of people and organizations that are participating. It's really exciting that you are already beginning to break down silos. CELI is really excited to be part of that work, to bring people together across different verticals, industries, and sectors, from nonprofit, to government, to industry. I know that you are all very focused on sparking innovation, and creating the opportunity to inspire and deepen relationships. I think that is what CELI is really committed to. When you have relationships of mutual commitment, mutual curiosity, mutual respect for learning and growth, there's a lot that can come out of that.
Why did you choose to join 9Zero?
Esther Morales: We at CELI have very much needed what you all are bringing to the table as a physical space. Your team, including Matthew and Laura, have been so welcoming and so open to developing a real partnership with CELI to make this space a physical home for CELIons. I'm really excited about that piece of it. We have a shared alignment around what impact we can make when we bring people together, spark new innovation, and potentially see solutions emerge from those new relationships. I’m excited for CELI to contribute to bringing people together to move us forward on climate goals!
