News Stories

We always love to hear back from recent alumni who have realized their dreams for an exciting new career propelled by the training and education they received at MIIS. Amer Barghouth (MAIPS ’09, MAIEP ’13) received his job offer from the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), less than three weeks after graduating with a master’s degree in International Environmental Policy in 2013. While acknowledging that the job is demanding, he says happily, “I have always felt up to the task. My education at MIIS has prepared me well for this job.”

Amer first heard about the organization through Dr. Tareq Emtairah, executive director of RCREEE, who taught a workshop on sustainable urban transformation at MIIS. RCREEE is a regional nonprofit organization that provides policy advice, as well as technical and institutional support to 13 Arab governments. “My first assignment at RCREEE was to co-author a study commissioned by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the League of Arab States,” says Amer. The findings were presented at the World Future Energy Summit in January, and will guide IRENA’s future interventions in the region. Currently Amer is leading the Private Investment Promotion Program, which aims to identify and scale up profitable business models in sustainable energy in the Arab region. Furthermore, he will be the co-author of the Arab Future Energy Index (AFEX) report, an annual assessment of progress made by Arab countries in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Four people report directly to Amer and he has to manage multiple budgets amounting to a hundred  thousand euros. In addition, he spends about one week per month on the road promoting energy efficiency and working with various governments and companies to increase the share of sustainable energy in the region. “Professor Zarsky’s and Shrimali’s classes in particular equipped me with the right mix of policy and business skills,” says Amer. He really enjoys his new career, especially “working with different stakeholders from young entrepreneurs to senior-level policymakers to create the right environment for rapid deployment of sustainable energy technologies and practices.”

For More Information

Jason Warburg
jwarburg@middlebury.edu
831.647.3156

Eva Gudbergsdottir
eva@middlebury.edu
831.647.6606