ThisQ&A serieshighlights McKinney Climate Fellows alumni and their professional journeys within Indiana and beyond. TheMcKinney Climate Fellows program, administered by Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute and Integrated Program in the Environment, connects IU undergraduate and graduate students interested in climate, sustainability, and community resilience with career experiences.
As a policy planner for Carmel, Ind.-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the organization responsible for operating the power grid across 15 US states and the Canadian province of Manitoba, Logan Pollander works at the heart of the US energy transition.
But before he was planning the grid of the future, Pollander was a graduate student at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. While at IU Bloomington, he joined McKinney Climate Fellows to help his hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind. create a climate action plan, benchmark local greenhouse gas emissions, and establish long-term sustainability goals. The experience gave him insight into how to effectively work with a broad group of stakeholders toward a common goal.
The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What did you learn as a McKinney Climate Fellow in Fort Wayne?
I learned about the ins and outs of what net zero means from the standpoint of a local government. We often talk about the concept of net zero or reducing carbon emissions, but I think from our standpoint as citizens, community members, or consumers, that looks very different from what it looks like when you're working in government as a planner. It was also a lot of soft skills, especially involving communication, outreach, and networking both internally and externally.
What experiences did you get out of being a fellow that made you a competitive candidate for your current position?
As a fellow, I got a lot of experience with long-term planning and understanding the concept of decarbonization from a macro level. I also got the chance to work with different stakeholders to better understand what their needs, goals, and perspectives are. I learned to incorporate those different perspectives all into one plan. I think that was a very important and very easily transferable skill for where I am today.
What do you like about your current position?
I feel that I'm in a very advantageous and exciting position right now as we are going through the midst of the energy transition. Ten years ago, what we thought the energy sector and power grid would look like now is completely different from what it actually looks like, and that difference is only widening. The grid we're planning for in the next 20 years was a pipe dream as little as a decade ago. The transition is happening faster and faster.
It’s fulfilling to ensure we maintain reliability and continue to provide power to our entire footprint. We are the ones who get to facilitate this energy transition and ensure that it can actually last. If this were something that we jumped headfirst into, there would be a lot of knock-on effects, and I think that overambition would make a lot of people much too hesitant to envision a more environmentally sustainable power sector in the first place. We're the ones who get to make sure that it works in a way that can be sustained, not just for the next 5 to 10 years, but indefinitely.
What called you to pursue a career based on climate and sustainability?
It's always been something that's important to me. I was raised as an outdoor kid since I was very young. I think getting into college, understanding climate change and the human impact on the environment from a broader scope showed me the importance of sustainability from the societal level. It also showed me the power and ability that we have as individuals working together to protect our environment and our communities.
That's one thing that drew me towards an organization like McKinney Climate Fellows. It focused on not just the natural aspects of the environment and of energy, but the human aspects of it as well. I learned a lot about the concept of triple-bottom line sustainability—environment, economy, and community. I think that really led me to where I am today.
Why did you decide to build your climate career in Indiana?
There's a lot of work to be done here, and I think there's a lot of work that's already being done.
MISO is one of the most forward-facing ISOs in the field of long-term planning. I think we are in a position, for as many customers as we serve, to really make a difference and transform what the power grid looks like. A lot of the states on our footprint, Indiana specifically, are very reliant on fossil fuels and the power grid in its traditional form. That might sound pessimistic, but I see it as an area of low-hanging fruit, where I think we can make a lot of progress.
What would be your advice to any young professionals who are looking to join the sustainability industry?
A quote that has always stuck with me from one of my previous professors at IU, Professor John Rupp, is, “There is no silver bullet.” There is no one single approach to sustainability that is going to make America and the world a perfectly sustainable society. To that end, I think it's valuable to keep an open mind and recognize that there's more than one way to achieve a more sustainable society. There's no single tool in the tool kit that's available to us that's going to solve everything singlehandedly. An idea that doesn’t seem to work in one scenario might be incredibly useful in a different context, and some of the most valuable tools may not even exist yet.
One other thing that I think is worth highlighting is that progress isn't always going to be linear. Sometimes you make a lot of progress, but it doesn't end up lasting; other times, it feels like you’re going backwards. Instead of calling it a wash, it's important to still get what you can out of a situation. Learn from every experience. There's a lot that you can gain from being successful in something, but there's also a lot that you can gain in failure.
