Elizabeth Wallace

Elizabeth Wallace (MS/MBA ’22)

By Nayiri Mullinix

Growing up, Elizabeth Wallace (MS/MBA ’22) watched as her mom ran an environmental education nonprofit in her free time. Her mom’s passion made it clear to Wallace that this work was important, but since it was on a volunteer basis, what was less clear was that working in nonprofits could be her career path. It wasn’t until her senior year in high school and a defining trip to Chile that her view shifted after a powerful earthquake struck. The town Wallace lived in was hit hard, and she says the experience of meeting people from various nonprofits working around the clock in the emergency opened her eyes to the fact that this was the type of work she wanted to do. 

“I realized there was no shortage of talent, passion and vision in the nonprofit sector, but sometimes there was a gap in financial resources and operational processes that could bring long-term stability,” says Wallace. “It was inspiring, and as a quantitative and process-oriented person, I realized I could build skills to support nonprofits operationally to set their teams up for success so that they could better serve more people through their mission.” 

She went on to study business and Spanish as an undergraduate student at U-M with the intention of working in the private sector to build these strategic and operational skills, then return to grad school and transition to the nonprofit sector. When Wallace started studying at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) she knew she wanted to work on issues that impacted people’s day-to-day lives in her community in Detroit, and she found a way to focus on energy equity.

I feel strongly that everyone should have access to clean and affordable power, heat and water, and the opportunity to be a part of combating climate change."

“Through my coursework, research and hands-on projects with Detroit-based organizations, I saw there was an intersection where I could work on energy and building decarbonization, and still be focused on equity and environmental justice work,” says Wallace. 

Since graduating last year, this is exactly what she has done in her role with Elevate, a nonprofit focused on climate and energy equity. Wallace, who is associate director of community programs in Michigan, leads a team that has doubled in size in a year. The team’s priority is to partner with municipalities and community-based organizations on projects related to utility affordability, building decarbonization, climate planning and renewable energy access. 

“I feel strongly that everyone should have access to clean and affordable power, heat and water, and the opportunity to be a part of combating climate change—this shouldn’t be a luxury available only to those with significant financial resources,” says Wallace. “This work fills my heart both intellectually and emotionally, and coming to SEAS was the catalyst to find this career path. My professors, peers and experiences made it clear that I was in the right place to explore many possibilities, and then get focused on what is really important to me.”

More Stories from the Magazine

Table of Contents
Tao Zhang laying in a field

Tao Zhang (MS/MLA ’08)

U-M is planning for the future of the Ann Arbor campus, with plans to reimagine the physical environment in ways that manifest the university’s strategic vision. Campus Plan 2050 has six focus areas, and Tao Zhang (MS/MLA ’08) is leading the effort for one devoted to Landscape + Open Space.

Hayley Currier

Hayley Currier (MS ’18)

Hayley Currier (MS ’18) says it’s meaningful working on big-picture environmental issues, even if the results aren’t immediately noticeable. Currier is a policy manager at Save the Bay, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore the San Francisco Bay through political advocacy, habitat restoration and education.

Eshanthi Ranasinghe

Eshanthi Ranasinghe (MS/MBA ’12)

When Eshanthi Ranasinghe (MS/MBA ’12) worked at Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, it awakened in her a realization that the unique blend of business know-how and systems thinking she gained at SEAS could be used for meaningful social change. Now, she is using her skill set to make an even bigger impact at The Audacious Project.