Insights into LIHEAP: A Policy Analyst’s Journey to New Hampshire My work as a Policy Analyst at APPRISE includes collaboration with state and tribal/territorial offices responsible for administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This program provides grants to improve home heating and cooling affordability for low-income households. I advise LIHEAP coordinators in reporting information on LIHEAP beneficiaries, expenditures, and performance measures. What makes my work exciting is the opportunity to engage with administrators and to learn about how their programs uniquely serve households, and in some cases, to share my insights on how they can use data to better target benefits to vulnerable households with high energy costs. This is a short video [...]

Voices from the Field: Reflecting on OCS’ Latest Site Visit to Alaska Amid rising fuel costs, high cost of living intensified by inflation, a housing shortage, and more, the  Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP) and supported tribal organizations are helping fulfil community needs across the state of Alaska. In mid-September, I traveled along with staff from the Office of Community Services (OCS) at the Department of Health and Human Services for engagement visits with RurAL CAP and native associations in Anchorage and Dillingham. During our trip to RurAL CAP, we visited a permanent supportive service building near downtown Anchorage where we were able to see green housing in action. Community Service Block Grant funds were [...]

Working at APPRISE: My Transformation, Experience, and Advice When I started working with APPRISE, I had just finished my master’s degree in behavioral and computational economics and had a very technical, academic background. I had very recently decided not to do a PhD and most of my coursework focused on very technical programming, mathematics, and statistics courses. I wanted to write this piece to outline what I’ve learned, what my work experience has been, and any advice I have for someone starting their career at APPRISE. Skepticism – When I started, I was hyper-focused on why evidence was imperfect and therefore not useful. At APPRISE, I learned skepticism is fine, but I also need to acknowledge what [...]

Life as a Policy Analyst at APPRISE To start out, I would like to tell you a little bit about how I came to work at APPRISE. I did my bachelors in electric engineering and then moved on to earn a Master of Science in Energy, Science, Technology, and Policy. Based on engineering, this graduate program was aligned with the new discoveries in science, keeping sustainability and the environment at the forefront, and informed by economics and public policy. Graduate school helped me to understand the interdisciplinary challenges of energy and the broad issues of energy generation, storage, transmission, and distribution as well as the issues related to energy policy, sustainability, and the environment. As an example, during [...]

APPRISE Policy Analyst Contributes to a Decarbonizing World The world is rapidly decarbonizing. At APPRISE, I have the opportunity to actively contribute to this transition by conducting research on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy bill assistance programs and policies throughout the United States. I have found my work as a Policy Analyst at APPRISE to be analytically rigorous, thought provoking, and highly impactful. I provide essential support to Project Directors by conducting or contributing to key research tasks, which include quantitative data analysis, in-depth interviews, memo writing, and more. I also have the opportunity to serve and engage with leading stakeholders in the energy sector, who range from major utility companies to state directors of multi-million-dollar energy [...]

A Week in the Life of a Policy Analyst As a Policy Analyst, you occupy a position that requires you to be at times a data scientist and at others an editor. In this role, you have the opportunity to learn and refine many new skills. In my time at APPRISE, I have done statistical analysis, helped with survey designs, designed web icons, and created and edited training videos. Your work also has an immediate practical benefit to people’s lives and wellbeing, as you may be evaluating programs to provide assistance to low-income households or subsidize adoption of clean energy technology. While I cannot cover everything I’ve done as a Policy Analyst, I can provide a brief overlook [...]