Years ago, as a recent college graduate interested in fashion advertising, Paula Glover had two job offers on the table: One was in the payroll department at the fashion company Escada; the other was a temp job at a gas company.

Glover, now 53, took the gig at the gas company, since it paid about $2,000 more per year. It turned out to be the first of many positions in the energy business.

Since having “fallen into” the energy industry, she has worked for electricity and gas providers, led a nonprofit supporting Black Americans in the energy sector and served on a Department of Energy advisory group. Earlier this month, she became the new president — and the first Black president — of the energy efficiency nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy (ASE).

Like many people starting a new position now, Glover says the transition was challenging at first. During quarantine, she’s been going on plenty of walks, picked up some new hobbies — horticulture and cooking are chief among them — and even started her own podcast where she interviews African-American energy leaders. But she hasn’t been able to meet co-workers face to face.

Nonetheless, as she takes the helm at ASE, Glover brings an appreciation for how her organization’s mission can help achieve climate justice — a message she believes will resonate with the new Biden administration and the Democratic-led Congress.

A nonprofit coalition active since 1977 in advancing and strengthening energy efficiency measures, ASE last week released its 2021 federal policy agenda, which calls for the reinstatement of Obama-era corporate average fuel economy standards for motor vehicles, a reversal of the Trump administration’s rollbacks on appliance standards, and a funding boost for EPA’s Energy Star efficiency program.

The full story can be read here.