Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Deb Harris

Deb Harris is a rising star not only at ICF, but across the energy and climate sectors at large. With more than 10 years of experience consulting public sector agencies and utilities, she is a well-known energy industry expert that leads teams developing climate action and energy plans, greenhouse gas inventories, and decarbonization scenarios analyses. Deb leads and manages stakeholder and public engagements across clients, such as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York City, the City of Philadelphia, and various utilities. Her work has also supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, among others.

Most recently, Deb led ICF's work to support the development of "Pathways to Carbon-Neural NYC: Modernize, Reimagine, Reach"—the most comprehensive scenario analysis to date for how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The study is a first-of-its-kind collaboration among the NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability and the city's largest utilities: Con Edison and National Grid. Deb's leadership was instrumental in uniting three different stakeholders to design and execute a comprehensive, cross-sector decarbonization pathway analysis.

Deb also became a founding member of the ICF Climate Center, a new platform for original data and insights on the latest climate trends. Deb and her team have brought these initiatives to life, incorporating new ideas into climate planning efforts and providing realistic pathways to put utilities and public agencies on a path toward a more sustainable future.

"One of, if not the biggest factor, for my success has been a supportive and collaborative environment at ICF," says Harris. "I'm fortunate to work alongside a team of experts who are passionate about making a positive impact in the energy and climate spaces, and to have the opportunity to collaborate with smart and innovative coworkers and clients that drive me toward achieving excellence with my work. I also attribute my success to my willingness to seek and say yes to new opportunities, understanding that the key to growth and impact is to challenge myself and pull from a diverse set of experiences."

On the advice received that has impacted her most, Deb points up, "Never say no to new opportunities, even when they are out of your comfort zone; everything you do in your career can be a learning opportunity and likely will be useful and applicable down the road. Also, be humble and always recognize the limits of your own knowledge and expertise, and complement those with your team—just because you are the consultant doesn't mean you know absolutely everything."

What does she enjoy most about her consulting career? "I enjoy having the ability to see the immediate impact of my work across the energy and climate sectors. ICF values of interacting with integrity, embracing differences, and challenging assumptions align with all of the work we do, and it's been great to think through tough problems that if solutions are found will really drive change. Not only has it been rewarding to navigate my own path, but it has also been gratifying to mentor others to navigate their own paths of growth as well."

What is your proudest achievement to date?

"While I'm proud of all of the work I've been a part of, one of the highlights of my career so far has been launching CO2Sight, ICF's proprietary decarbonization analytics platform. This launch was a culmination of decades of ICF's expertise working with utilities and public stakeholders to understand where they are versus where they're going, and it was inspiring to be able to tap into the work I've done to help influence its creation. Project-wise, I'm proud of my team's recent work with New York City and the work we're finishing on the Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment and Climate Action Plan. Across both projects, we brought multiple key stakeholders together to collaboratively address tough issues and align on a shared vision for lowering carbon emissions and adapting to a changing climate. It takes a lot of patience, knowledge, and expertise, and I'm proud to have led my team to help break down barriers for our clients."