ASC's Intersections Newsletter — September 4, 2026
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Nora's Note
When Workforce Development Works, You'll See it in What Comes Next. For years, NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Internship Program has helped ASC bring emerging professionals into our work and give them meaningful experience at the start of their careers. As this chapter of the program came to a close on August 31, we wanted to look beyond the internships themselves and ask a different question. Where are they now?
We heard back from 14 former ASC interns. Four are now members of the ASC team. Others are working in clean energy, public service, communications, design, architecture, finance, and higher education. One just began law school. Another is pursuing a career in energy equity.
Their paths are different, but their reflections have a lot in common. They remember being trusted with real work. They remember learning how to communicate with colleagues and clients. They remember gaining the confidence to take ownership of a project and understanding that their contributions mattered.
That is also the idea behind ASC Boost, our professional development series for interns. We created Boost to pair hands-on client experience with dedicated time for learning and mentorship. ASC team members share what they have learned about building a career, communicating in the workplace, developing professional relationships, and turning internship experience into a strong resume or portfolio. Recent sessions have also given interns a candid look at leadership and entrepreneurship, including a conversation with me about building and growing a woman-owned business.
An internship should be more than a line on a resume. It should give someone a chance to discover what they are good at, try something they have never done before, and leave better prepared for whatever comes next.
We are grateful to NYSERDA for sponsoring that kind of workforce development in New York State and for giving firms like ASC the opportunity to invest in emerging talent. The program may have ended, but its impact continues. Just ask our former interns:
Lilly Johnsen: Lilly stayed at ASC after her internship and is now an Account Executive. She credits the NYSERDA program with helping her get her start in the field and, from her first day at ASC, giving her the chance to contribute to projects with “real impact across the climate sector.”
Jillian Ledesma: Jillian is now an Associate in Brand Experience at Publicis Collective, where she develops strategic digital and traditional media plans for global brands. She traces her path back to creating static and video content at ASC and learning graphic design skills that she says still help her “shine during presentations.”
Layla Pluhowski: After interning with ASC’s Climate team, Layla joined ASC full time and is now an Account Coordinator on the Civic Planning and Transportation team. The lesson she has carried forward is “the importance of communication,” whether that means asking colleagues for support or working with clients and vendors to clarify expectations.
Allison Eisenberg: Allison is a Product Analyst at JPMorgan. Her time on ASC’s Climate Strategy team taught her how to “break down complex problems and approach them with a structured, strategic mindset,” an approach she now uses working at the intersection of strategy, product and technology.
Suzanna Lloyd: Suzanna started as an intern at ASC, joined the team, and was recently promoted to Senior Account Coordinator. Nearly two years since, an early lesson still holds up. “Always ask questions!”
Sophia Durone: After two and a half years with ASC, Sophia began her J.D. at Berkeley Law, where she joined the Ecology Law Quarterly and is preparing to provide pro bono legal services in the East Bay. One lesson from ASC stayed with her. “ASC taught me the importance of uplifting and codifying community voices.”
Polly Lasch: Polly turned her ASC internship into a full-time role as Production Assistant on the Design and Digital teams. She says the experience taught her about “the creative process of campaigns, public engagement, and business development” while giving her the opportunity to build her skills in a highly collaborative environment.
Esmé Cohen: Esmé is now an Account Coordinator at HAUS, a technology-focused PR firm where some of her clients work in climate and energy. At ASC, she says she was encouraged to “take ownership of the projects that I worked on,” an experience that helped her build confidence early in her career.
Helen Yibrah: Helen is now an Energy Equity Fellow at The Greenlining Institute after graduating from Columbia and pursuing energy policy work with Kinetic Communities Consulting and the Center on Global Energy Policy. Her experience engaging directly with communities at ASC continues to shape her work. “I have learned how to more genuinely engage with community members when researching energy policy solutions.”
Kelly Guo: Kelly is a Junior Designer at Sense of Agency, working across branding, digital marketing and web design. She says ASC taught her how to develop “a sense of agency in a remote workplace while still understanding the larger goals of a team,” including when to take ownership, ask questions and advocate for her ideas.
Alessandro Procaccino: After ASC, Alessandro worked with NYC DOT through AmeriCorps as a Public Engagement Ambassador. He says working alongside colleagues in different departments taught him how to communicate across teams, a skill he considers “critical to being an effective part of any team.”
Sofie Huntington: Sofie is a Learning and Development Coordinator at the New York Botanical Garden while pursuing a master's degree in strategic communications at Fordham. “During my internship at ASC, I was given ownership,” she said, an experience that taught her “confidence and independence in the workplace.”
Aidan Brogan: Aidan is now a Marketing Coordinator at Dattner Architects, where he works on proposals, business development and marketing. His experience at ASC solidified his interest in the industry and left him with an appreciation for “the feeling of being on a team that completes work that affects real lives.”
Destiny Falls: Destiny is a Tutor Supervisor at BMCC, where she oversees tutors and develops marketing campaigns, workshops and student projects. She has also earned her master’s degree in Book Publishing from NYU. Looking back, she remembers working on events including Car Free Day and a CDC workshop because they helped her realize “how much I enjoyed events and curating experiences for people.”
The strongest workforce development programs do more than help someone land an internship. They open the door to what's possible.
Thank you to NYSERDA for this important program, and to every intern who has brought their ideas, questions, and talents to our team. We are proud of where they have gone, and especially proud that for some of them, ASC became what came next.
Transportation
This summer, the concrete jungle was noticeably greener, with more plants growing within the concrete sidewalks, tree beds, and crevices between buildings. New York City experienced the highest levels of rainfall this August in the past five years, and paired with an increasingly warmer climate, more plants have blossomed across the city. New York City agencies are learning how to manage the plant growth by equipping Department of Sanitation street cleaning crews with weed whackers, while the Parks Department has encouraged New Yorkers to be mindful of toxic nightshade plants growing in tree beds. Read more on the botanical boom, here. (Source: Gothamist)
AMNY: New Yorkers turn Lower Manhattan subway stop into sweet tribute to Dolly Parton
Streetsblog: Mamdani BQE plan teases Brooklyn Third Ave redesign stalled by Adams
Mass Transit Magazine: Amtrak begins construction on Sunnyside Yard to support new Airo train-sets
Climate
As data centers continue to gain momentum, developers are casting an eye to a new energy source to power them: small nuclear reactors. With their smaller size, they take up a smaller footprint, can be more reliable, and generate much cleaner energy. It will be a little while before these are available through with a multi-year wait as they advance through a regulatory process, just as demand for them continues to increase, so the developers are going to need to be patient. Learn more about the reactors here. (Source: Inside Climate News)
Canary Media: Virginia to cut rooftop solar costs with nation-first bulk-buy program
Grist: Manhattan’s flood walls are almost done. What will Mamdani do next?
Happy Eco News: Bristol Bay Pebble Mine victory wins Goldman Prize for Yup’ik leader
Economic Development
The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing to streamline use of land along highways, railroads and utility tunnels for electric transmission, fiber-optic networks, water pipelines and other infrastructure. Dubbed “corridors of commerce,” the initiative could reduce costs and permitting hurdles by locating infrastructure within existing transportation rights-of-way, while generating revenue for transportation improvements. Public-private partnerships could help meet growing infrastructure needs associated with the electric grid, data centers and AI. The approach could also complement renewable energy development, as highway rights-of-way are already being used for solar generation in some states. Read more on the corridors of commerce here. (Source: Smart Cities Dive)
The City Reporter: Mamdani touts speedy parks repair crews
NYC.gov: Mamdani Administration applauds launch of housing court fast track to get tenants urgent relief faster
Federal News Network: SBA wants to give 114,000 more companies access to small business contracts
Digital
New York State has appointed Meghan Cook as its next Chief Cyber Officer(CCO). A CCO’s role within governments—federal, state, and local—has exponentially expanded throughout the twenty-first century. Tasked with developing and executing cybersecurity strategy, safeguarding digital assets, and instilling a safety culture, the rapid digitization of all government systems necessities a well-seasoned professional at the helm. Cook most recently served as the Director of the Cyber Incident Response Team at the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). She was previously the Assistant Director of the DHSES’ Office of Counter Terrorism. In this decade, NYS has issued 942 advisories regarding cybersecurity threats. Cook’s counterterrorism background has prepared her to take on this ever-important role. Read more on the CCO announcement, here. (Source: GovTech)
Entrepreneur: Most small businesses are using AI. The real challenge is learning how to use it well
Route Fifty: Many localities have tried data center moratoriums, tracker finds
Tech Crunch: How AI could make it harder for governments to use hacking tools
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