Designing a Transformative Energy Program with Booth MBA Skills

As Vice President Kamala Harris announced the selections for $20 billion in grant awards under an Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) program to finance climate and clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, Asher Mayerson, MBA ’21, MPP ’21, was by her side. It was a momentous day for Mayerson, who led the effort at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to design and implement the historic program. “Business fundamentals can be leveraged for an incredible amount of impact in government,” he said.

Mayerson’s interest in the public sector was sparked both by his mother, an attorney dedicated to public interest, and the large role of government institutions in everyone’s lives. After interning at the Obama White House, he decided to focus on the intersection of policy and finance. After a stint at the City of Chicago Treasurer’s Office and graduating with his dual degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Harris School of Public Policy, Mayerson joined the Boston Consulting Group and worked on climate finance. That’s when his unique set of skills led to a call from the EPA, which was looking for someone who could lead the initiative to create a national clean-financing network. Mayerson didn’t hesitate.

Mayerson spoke about his interest in the public sector, working on a groundbreaking government program, and the opportunities for Booth alumni to create impact in the sector.

What was it like to build a $20 billion program from scratch?

The IRA passed with a couple of hundred words directing the EPA to implement this $20 billion pot of funding. We had to get the program design right in a very fast timeline. We had to think through how to get the right engagement and the right feedback from the right stakeholders at the right time, whether the general public or our expert counterparts across the federal government. It was incredibly fast-paced work. We made an immense number of decisions, drawing on the expertise of my colleagues at the EPA, and also across the federal government from the Department of Treasury, Department of Energy, and other agencies, to get this program right.

What does it mean to see it being implemented?

It is incredibly fulfilling to be able to design a transformative program and to watch the vice president of the United States and the EPA administrator announce the selections for $20 billion in grant awards under that program. This summer, we’re likely to start seeing the selected applicants begin executing the programs. The impact is going to be transformational—from  reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants to delivering benefits like high-quality jobs and cost savings on energy bills to communities that most need those benefits to mobilizing private-sector investment alongside the public funds. It’s exciting.

What have you learned in the process?

We’ve run the program with transparency and high standards of ethics. Honesty is a really good policy. It’s been core to how we run the program and one of the lessons that I’ll take to future work.

How did Chicago Booth help shape your career?

Booth prepared me to lead this $20 billion program. I focused on finance at Booth. It led me to BCG’s climate and sustainable finance practice, working with US and global banks. Booth helped me speak their language and understand the business and the decision-making of financial market participants. Booth taught me the importance of organizational design; for example, being a Net Impact Board Fellow through the Rustandy Center was a valuable education in nonprofit governance, which was quite relevant in this EPA program as we are making some of the largest federal awards in history to nonprofits.

What’s the best way to find the right job in the public sector?

There are two steps that I would think about. First, figure out what contribution you want to make. I’m always looking for one of two things: either an opportunity to build my capability to make an impact, or an opportunity to deploy my unique set of capabilities to make an impact. Second, find people who are connected to the work that you want to do and who understand the value that you bring. Maybe you’re coming from finance, or maybe you have experience in local government and business and now you want to go to the federal government. Find someone who understands and supports the path that you want to take.

Reflecting on your own career, what’s your advice for Booth students and alumni?

Focus on the work that you want to do, not on the title you want to have or the organization that you want to work for. There are so many opportunities for people from Booth to do important work in government and more broadly in the public and social sector. We need Booth talent in some of the largest institutions that shape our lives.

A modified version of this story appeared in the Fall 2024 print issue of Chicago Booth Magazine as “A Path to Washington.”