John Rooney, Duke University MEM/MBA Candidate, Class of 2025
During the summer of 2024, the NC Clean Energy Fund was fortunate to have graduate student John Rooney join the team as a Strategic Finance Summer Intern.
John brings a rich background in environmental advocacy and nonprofit management, rooted in his experience in the communities of Austin, Texas. From 2016 to 2019 he spent time working with the Austin Parks Foundation to collaborate closely with and advocate for neighborhood groups to enhance local parks and trails, reflecting his commitment to community-driven conservation efforts. He then joined the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network to forge partnerships that would advance shared goals for conservation in the Texas Hill Country and scale impact in one of the fastest growing regions in the country.
John came to North Carolina in August 2022 to pursue a Master of Environmental Management degree at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment and deepen his understanding of climate change, the clean energy transition, and policy levers for change. Guided by a curiosity to understand the motivations of the private sector in tackling climate challenges, his academic journey expanded further with the addition of a Master of Business Administration at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He expects to graduate with a joint MEM/MBA degree in the Spring of 2025.
As a Strategic Finance Summer Intern at the NC Clean Energy Fund, he worked closely with Co-Director, Jennifer Weiss, to lay the foundation for administering a State Energy Financing Institution (SEFI) program. SEFIs are a new carve out in the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office (LPO) Title 17 program that allows states to leverage the LPO’s new ability to provide loans and loan guarantees for mainstream, proven technologies to advance their decarbonization goals. John worked at the intersection of strategy, policy, and finance with partners at the state and federal level and the private sector to understand different stakeholder’s needs and capabilities and prepare partners to implement a SEFI project in North Carolina.
Looking ahead, John is enthusiastic about advancing clean energy development, particularly in wind, solar, and battery technologies. His interests also extend to impact investing and the evolving landscape of green banks, aligning with his dedication to fostering a just transition to clean energy. Ultimately, John’s hope is to play his part in making sure that those who are impacted the most by climate change, and who often contribute the least, benefit from the clean energy transition with access to the tools they need to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.