David Nicholson
Senior Director of the Environment, Energy & Climate Change Technical Support Team (TSU)
Mercy Corps
Education
University of Southampton
Bachelor's, Business Management and Economics
2003The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
M.A., Sustainable International Development
2009Podcasts
41:0536: What It’s Like To Work in Climate Change & Energy With David Nicholson, Mercy Corps [Main T4C Episode]
David Nicholson is the Senior Director of the Environment, Energy & Climate Change Technical Support Team* (TSU) at Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development organization. This team is responsible for honing Mercy Corps’ technical sector approaches and enhancing uptake across a global portfolio of development programs. Prior to joining..
Career Path
Interview Highlights
“We’re focused on clean energy. How do we harness this huge new industry to create jobs and help get people access to energy?”
Best Career Advice
“Avoid the generic, boring questions that people tend to ask, and go into something interesting straight away.”
Career Challenge
After spending almost a year in Argentina, David realized he was interested in international development aid.
“I went back home and was flat broke, so I decided I need a job that enables me to earn money and develop some professional skills before applying to grad school. And I ended up responding to these adverts that you might see in London…And I really developed a lot of great skills from that. And it feels random in where I’ve ended up. But I credit that with a lot of the skills that I bring to my job now.”
Skills
International Development, sustainable Development, Proposal Writing, Program Management, Project Planning, Sustainability, Nonprofits, Climate Change, Economic Development, Renewable Energy, Spanish, Carbon Finance
Professional Interests
University of Southampton, Department for International Development (DFID), Winrock International, BEAM Exchange Forum, Asia Clean Energy, HEDON Household Energy Network,The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
