Tannis Williamson Thomas

The one thing that really stuck with me was that if you want to succeed, especially when it came to my business, people need to know who you are. So constantly find opportunities in which you can show your work and show what you're capable of doing. I've taken that advice and always found opportunities where I could be present, especially with regards to sustainability, because it's such a vast topic. I try to get an understanding of what the conversations are happening in different sectors. That was the one thing - just being present, being visible for things that you know that you're interested in.

Because this is such a hot button industry right now, whether it's talking about climate or social impact, do not let that distract you from achieving your goals. Right now, the federal government has kind of weaponized or demonized environmental, social, and governance practices, but that does not mean that you need to stop in your goals in trying to find careers in dealing with environmental issues or social issues, because those things will not go away. Flooding is still happening, regardless of whatever the federal government is saying. That doesn't mean that the efforts that you can bring to the table to prevent that from happening should stop. This is only a snapshot in time. This will pass, and the work in this space will still need to be done. So continue your education, continue volunteering, continue to be engaged.

The government and their lack of supporting and funding a lot of projects to move us towards being climate resilient is a major challenge. Not just here in Chicago or the state of Illinois, but throughout the country, there were plans in place because of the Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure law that was put in place during the previous administration. There was a whole lot of money that many cities and states were counting on, and now that money is not available. Because of that, a lot of job opportunities have gone away, a lot of opportunities for investments and entrepreneurship have kind of stopped. That's been very challenging, especially for people coming out of college in this space trying to look for jobs. However, on the flip side, the successes are that there are still organizations that are still moving this work forward. There are still local and state governments that are still moving this work forward. Whereas we may not have the large amount of funding that a lot of people were counting on, there's still work that is being done. There are still opportunities, like Chicago Climate Week and Workforce Development Day, to articulate that there are still opportunities in this space. It may not be the plethora of things that we thought were going to happen now, but there are still opportunities that are available in this space.

Definitely, I would say my moral values, understanding what's right and wrong. Being fair when making decisions, whether it's within my workplace or just being at home. Those are the values I would say are most important to me.