Gill found that her Willamette education gave her an edge in complex policy conversations. She learned to consider the broader social and political implications of decisions, a skill she says is crucial to working in a field like energy policy.
“You don’t have to be the analyst, but if you can understand what the analyst is doing, critique it, and be able to put it in context — that’s really helpful,” Gill said.
Gill’s work is constantly putting her in rooms with experts from a variety of technical fields, from material scientists to engineers. Willamette prepared her to navigate those high-stakes conversations with confidence.
“Willamette teaches you to be a chameleon. You can fill a lot of different types of roles,” Gill says. “I feel like I could walk into whatever job and figure out a way to be valuable. You can’t undersell that.”
Now she’s working to implement Solar For All, a $27 billion dollar federal program designed to help put solar power in reach for low-income families. She hopes that Willamette students will continue to choose rewarding career paths in government like she did.
“I still think the smartest, most get-it-done, most entrepreneurial people I’ve ever met were from my time at Willamette,” Gill said. “We need more people like Willamette people out there, doing the good work.”
