Born and raised in West Virginia coal country, Katherine Moses 鈥�12 witnessed the fossil fuel industry鈥檚 impact not just on the land, but also on the people who worked in the mines.
鈥淭he coal companies were not always necessarily good stewards. They鈥檇 file for bankruptcy and聽 workers would lose pensions,鈥� Moses says. 鈥淚 always thought that was very sad. West Virginia is a beautiful place with hardworking people. So I鈥檝e always had this drive to make a difference in the natural environment 鈥� to find ways that people can have good lives and good jobs while making the planet a better place.鈥�
She鈥檚 doing so through her work as energy manager for the City of Lowell, a position she landed in 2014 鈥� shortly after earning a master鈥檚 degree in energy engineering (with a solar concentration) from UML鈥檚 Francis College of Engineering.
In her role, Moses oversees the city鈥檚 energy budgets and renewable energy portfolio. She鈥檚 also responsible for energy-efficiency projects like the installation of LED streetlights and gas boiler monitoring systems in public buildings, as well as overseeing Lowell鈥檚 Strategic Energy Management Partnership聽 with National Grid.
聽鈥淢y job combines two things I love and am passionate about: the City of Lowell and energy,鈥� she says.
Moses, who majored in chemistry at Denison University in Ohio, came to Lowell by way of Atlanta, where she worked for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority鈥檚 weatherization program.
鈥淲hen I was 33 years old, I had what I call a third-of-life crisis,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was just processing a lot of paperwork, and I wanted to do something a little more tangible. I wanted to learn more about renewable energy.鈥�
She researched graduate programs around the country and found that UML had just what she was looking for. She especially appreciated the engineering school鈥檚 emphasis on service-learning projects in developing communities around the world 鈥� an appreciation that only grew under the tutelage of her advisor, Prof. Emeritus John Duffy.
鈥淗e was a big influence on me. From the first day of our Intro to Solar class, he got you thinking about what you can do about these challenges in the world,鈥� she says.
As the city鈥檚 energy manager, Moses finds that her work increasingly overlaps with the university. She is part of the Lowell Green Community Partnership, a collaboration between UML and the city that funds sustainability projects, and she recently spoke to students in a聽 climate change class about their projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檝e always appreciated about UMass Lowell is how it applies what you learn in a real-world project,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t makes me proud to be an alum.鈥�
She鈥檚 also proud to call herself a resident of Lowell.
鈥淥ne of the first things I saw downtown was someone riding a unicycle to an organic cafe. I just thought, 鈥楾his is an interesting place to be,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淎s I got to know Lowell better through various festivals and the different arts scenes, and through all the interesting things going on at the university, I realized I have a heart for this city. I鈥檝e come to think of Lowell as my adopted hometown.鈥�