BE-Ex welcomes new Education & Engagement Associate, Kaylee McGowan, and Educational Resources Senior Associate, Hailey Moll, to the team!
Kaylee McGowan
Kaylee was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She has always felt a deep concern for the state of her environment and the planet as a whole which prompted her to pursue work in the sustainability realm — along with an M.S. in Urban Sustainability at the City College of New York — following her B.A. in Political Science, Public Policy & Public Affairs. Throughout her college career, Kaylee took part in the university’s Habitat for Humanity club and spent four years interning at CUNY Building Performance Lab’s NYC Sustainability Help Center. In her spare time, she loves to go out and enjoy the City’s many parks and restaurants and spend time at home with her dogs.
1. Share your favorite energy factoid
Together, standby power loss, inefficient appliances, thermostat oversetting and the heating and cooling of unoccupied homes and rooms account for at least 43% of total energy use in the U.S. residential sector.
2. What are you currently reading?
- The Carbon Almanac: It’s Not Too Late — a collaborative work by hundreds of writers, researchers, designers, leaders and illustrators
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants — Robin Wall Kimmerer
3. What are some ways you reduce your carbon footprint at home?
- Walking everywhere within reason and otherwise using public transportation
- Buying as many things secondhand — and locally — as possible (clothes, books, furniture, etc.)
- Supporting sustainable, carbon-neutral businesses
- Unplugging appliances when not in use
- Recycling and composting
Hailey Moll
Hailey (she/her) grew up in New England, fostering a lifelong love for woods, wildlife, and water. After earning her B.S. in Zoology and Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, she held various positions in grassroots climate advocacy, environmental education, and the clean tech start up space in both Boston and Princeton, New Jersey. With shifting interests towards urban sustainability and policy, she recently earned her MPA in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Hailey enjoys cycling, cooking, performing arts, and hiking.
1. Share your favorite energy factoid.
Of the roughly 140 million acres of land in the U.S. occupied by homes and cities, we would only need to use 7% of it to power our entire, current electricity needs with solar PV, by utilizing roofs, parking lots, highway walls, and other dual-use scenarios.
3. What are you currently reading?
Naked by David Sedaris.
4. What are some ways you reduce your carbon footprint at home?
I have eaten vegetarian for nearly 17 years and vegan for three, I compost all my organic waste, and I use public transit as often as possible.