138. Sandi DuBowski, Documentary Director/Producer of Sabbath Queen and Trembling Before G-d
The 92 Report
Sandi DuBowski discusses the one-year anniversary of his film Sabbath Queen, which he spent 21 years making. He reflects on the journey of the 21st-century radical rabbi and how it has shaped their life. He discusses the inspiration behind his film, Tomboychik, the concept of which was developed after conversations with his grandmother. The film is a living video memorial to her spirit; it won several awards, including the Golden Gate award at the San Francisco Film Festival and the Whitney Museum program, and launched Sandi into the film world. Documentary Films and Festivals ...
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137. Lili Barouch, Sports Cardiologist and Triathlete
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Lili Barouch, a cardiologist, went to medical school at Johns Hopkins. After moving to Baltimore, she became a cardiologist specializing in heart failure and transplant. She joined the faculty in 2003 and worked on basic science research, research lab, and inpatient and outpatient care for heart failure and transplant patients. Lili stayed in this role for about 10 years before transitioning to outpatient cardiology. She moved to Howard County, Maryland, where her children have grown up. Founding the Sports Cardiology Program Lili started becoming more athletic around 20...
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136. Tanya Selvaratnam, Multimedia Storyteller and Advocate
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Tanya Selvaratnam shares her journey from high school to present day. She moved to New York after graduating and worked at Columbia Law School’s Center for Chinese Legal Studies. She also assisted Anna Deavere Smith on her show “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” about the LA riots. Tanya went back to Harvard for graduate school, studying Chinese language and the history of law. An Adventure in Theatre After her father passed away, she returned to New York, where she was working on the Beijing Women's Conference. Wandering the streets one day, she came across The Performing...
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135. Bo Rutledge, The Transformative Power of Higher Ed
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Bo Rutledge, a professor and dean at the University of Georgia Law School, opens the conversation by talking about his parents, who made sacrifices to support their children's education, and how he felt called to serve and worked for the governor in California where he met many inspiring civil servants. A Graduate Degree and Long-Distance Relationship In Scotland, he obtained a graduate degree and met his wife Birgit, who is Austrian. They had a wonderful year together overseas and then spent three years in a long-distance relationship while Bo attended law school and...
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134. Dan Tabak, Litigation Partner and Treasurer at Harvard Hillel
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Dan Tabak, a lawyer and treasurer of Harvard Hillel, spent three years at Columbia Law School, he then worked as a litigator at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, but took a year off to clerk for a federal judge in Brooklyn. He went back to work at Simpson Thacher before moving on to his current firm, Cohen & Gresser which operates primarily in New York City but has offices in London, Paris, Dubai, and Washington, D.C. He currently lives in Scarsdale, New York with his wife and two kids. On the Board of Harvard Hillel Dan joined the board of Harvard Hillel during the...
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133. Kirsten Dirksen, From TV Producer to Unexpected YouTube Success
The 92 Report
Kirsten Dirksen, An Unexpected Career as a YouTube Home & Lifestyle Content Creator Show Notes: Kirsten Dirksen majored in economics and math, but found creative writing to be her passion. She decided to become a magazine writer and interned at the NBC affiliate in San Francisco, where she worked for free for about nine months. Working at NBC and Moving a Women's Network After her internship, she went to work with the NBC elite, which was the old chronicle enterprise. Kirsten became the music person, interviewing bands and creating unique stories for interviews. She eventually moved to New...
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132. Bonni (Grant) Theriault, Supporting 130K Adult Learners into Employment
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Bonni Theriault initially went to business school and worked as a business analyst at McKinsey for a few years, where she worked with consumer products for companies and marketing. After working at Pepperidge Farm for a couple of years, she decided to build her own company and joined forces with a woman who was the head of advertising at Campbell Soup, and together they launched a brand strategy company where they worked for companies like Cadbury Schweppes, Johnson and Johnson, and Stryker. From Marketing to Coaching to Global Emergency Care After 13 years at the company, Bonni...
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131. Gideon Yaffe, Brain Injury Survivor
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Gideon Yaffe and his then girlfriend-now wife, Sue Chan, drove across the country after graduation to San Francisco, where they had no jobs or prospects. Gideon had applied to graduate school in philosophy but didn't get in anywhere. They got married and his first job was at a pet store, Gideon worked there for a while, then at a computer magazine. Studying Philosophy at Stanford While hanging out in San Francisco, he started reading Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, which he loved and found to be hugely rewarding. This inspired him to apply to grad school again and this...
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130. Steven Chao, Lucking into Building a Great Healthcare Consulting Firm
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Steven Chao, a US-born second-generation college student, shares his experiences growing up in South Carolina and feeling overwhelmed upon arriving at Harvard in 1988. He found solace in joining the Collegium Musicum, a classical musical singing group at Harvard, which helped him find his footing and connect with people from his class. From Biochem to Game Design to Consulting Steven majored in biochemistry, which expanded his social circle and helped him find happiness. Steven's parents were both PhDs and pushed him into the MD PhD program. However, he faced challenges in...
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129. Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff, Law Professor and Adventurous Baker
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff shares her journey from college to law school. After deferring her law school for a year, she spent a year in Spain to gain language and cultural experience. She then went to law school in Cambridge and clerked for a federal judge in New York before going into practice. Rebecca was initially interested in becoming a federal prosecutor but realized she first had to go into practice. She worked for a small boutique litigation firm that did about 60% white collar criminal defense and about 40% civil litigation. While she loved being a counselor to her...
info_outlineShow Notes:
Seth Hilton graduated from Harvard and later went on to law school at UC Davis, started working as a litigation associate at a law firm before joining a large firm in the Bay Area. During the California energy crisis, he was tasked with monitoring regulatory developments and participating at regulatory agencies when needed. He eventually shifted his practice from energy litigation and energy-regulated regulatory work to almost exclusively regulatory work, although occasionally doing a little bit of litigation.
Seth's interest in law stemmed from his father's law practice and his father's enjoyment of the law practice. He took a constitutional law course at Harvard, which inspired him to explore the field further.
Seth is currently a partner in the law firm of Stole Rives, focusing on California energy regulatory work. He works with companies in the energy sector in California, many of which are regulated by various state agencies or entities. He advises them on current regulations and assists them in adapting or changing those regulations to better suit their clients or their customers. Seth's clients range from electric to natural gas, oil and gas, and more recently, hydrogen.
Seth talks about how the California Public Utilities Commission regulates utilities and other entities providing electric and natural gas service to retail customers. They dictate what resources and types of energy are procured to serve retail customers. The commission is concerned about the near term, the next five years, and the transition to more electrification. They have directed utilities and other load-serving entities to procure renewable resources, such as solar or wind, and sometimes specify energy storage that might assist with bringing in more renewable sources of energy.
Blending Hydrogen and Natural Gas
Seth talks about exploring the potential of blending hydrogen with natural gas to reduce carbon intensity. This could involve blending hydrogen with natural gas or using hydrogen instead of natural gas. The California Public Utilities Commission is currently evaluating the role of hydrogen in its overall GHG reduction strategy. They are considering whether to use pure hydrogen or blend it with natural gas for retail customers, or if to use pure hydrogen and convert retail appliances to use blended hydrogen.
Seth explains what the two flavors of hydrogen are and the challenges in determining the appropriate regulations for hydrogen use, such as whether to require it to be solely produced by renewable energy or if to relax regulations to make hydrogen more cost-effective. He also mentions the debates around the methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, including accounting for the entire lifecycle of energy sources.
Seth talks about how he originally wanted to study engineering but decided it wasn’t for him. He explains why enjoys working in the energy sector, particularly in response to climate change, which has had significant impacts on California, such as heat, wildfires, drought, and increased rainfall. He believes that a specific regulation or detail would be beneficial in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the existing challenges faced by California.
Nuclear Power in California
Seth discusses the problems with the California grid, which is outdated and requires upgrading. The grid's old distribution system has caused wildfires and caused significant damage. The state is also trying to connect new generation resources, such as solar and offshore wind, to the grid, which requires planning and upgrading the transmission system. However, concerns about timing, cost, and retail customer satisfaction arise.
Seth explains that the future of nuclear power in California is uncertain, despite the significant advantages to nuclear power, such as GHG emission-free generation and the ability to provide consistent power. However, there are also concerns about waste management and waste disposal.
Currently, there is little hope for nuclear power in California, but there are potential technical developments that could change the situation, such as smaller generators. However, it would require significant technical breakthroughs to see nuclear power again in California.
Stability of the Grid and Energy Storage Facilities
Seth talks about the stability of a grid, and how, in California, a grid with a high percentage of solar and wind power can be unstable due to technical challenges. He explains that regulatory agencies are aware of these challenges and are creating regulations to address them, such as requiring procurement of additional energy storage. California has procured a vast amount of energy storage, primarily lithium ion batteries, which are large utility-scale batteries that store energy and discharge it when needed. Most of the storage resources in California consist of battery storage facilities, which can be either out in the field or in a large warehouse. Seth talks about storage facilities and how many homes can be served by one megawatt.
The Development of Charging Stations for EV's
Seth discusses the development of charging stations for electric and hydrogen vehicles, as well as the need for them in the transportation sector. The California Energy Commission is working towards creating additional hydrogen fueling stations across the state, which will provide the fueling stations for fuel cell hydrogen fuel cell cars. Hydrogen is also a good solution for larger vehicles like truck transport, as it provides the energy infrastructure to provide the energy for those vehicles.
His contact information is available on his website, and he would be happy to hear from people interested in his work.
Influential Courses at Harvard
Seth took a Constitutional Law course which interested him as a potential profession and led him to law school.
Timestamps:
05:50 How you create a market for renewable energy
11:22 The difference between clean good hydrogen and dirty hydrogen
14:16 Why Seth likes working in the energy sector
18:17 Information about the grid in California
22:26 Nuclear Power in California
24:22 How energy storage works at utility scale
29:51 How many homes could be served by a megawatt battery
33:59 How Seth ended up in the world of energy regulatory policy
Links:
CONTACT:
Email: [email protected]