Kerry Judge

Degree & graduation year: Master of Public Policy and Administration, 2022

What I do: I work to develop and implement the state’s renewable energy incentive programs, including the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART), Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and the upcoming federally-funded Solar for All program.  

How I ended up working there: I worked as an intern on my current team during my time at SPP. As graduation approached, I reached out to my internship supervisor to request a reference and ask if she knew of any positions available, and it worked out perfectly because a position had just opened up on the team. This is your sign to keep in touch with former internships and supervisors!    

The best part of my job: Decarbonization and the energy transition are extremely complex issues balancing so many different stakeholder interests, including equity, cost, and land use and conservation just to name a few. While this work is very challenging, it is extremely gratifying for people with a problem-solving oriented mindset. Additionally, this field attracts some of the smartest and most passionate people who are all eager to play their role in solving these huge problems, and I’m very lucky to work with and learn from them.  

Lessons learned from the program I use often: I remember doing a lot of discussion in SPP courses on the importance of balancing different stakeholder interests and perspectives. While this is the most challenging and sometimes frustrating part of my job, I have been able to draw on the frameworks that I learned about in SPP while navigating these challenges.  

How the School of Public Policy prepared me for my career: SPP helped me get comfortable with thinking through complex problems that don’t have perfect answers, and recognizing that you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Working in public service, especially in a contentious field like solar energy, you have to accept that you are never going to make every stakeholder happy. SPP gave me the analytical skills I need to find reasonable solutions and compromises to complex problems.