§ About

The longer answer to “so what do you do?”

A few paragraphs in plain English about how I got here, what keeps me showing up to the work, and the things outside it that make the work possible.

Written November 2026 From Oakland, CA Reading time ~3 minutes

[Open with something specific and concrete — not "I've always loved the environment." Try: a moment, a place, a problem that first made you pay attention. Maybe a summer spent somewhere, a class that broke something open, a particular blackout or wildfire that made the abstract suddenly real.]

[Bridge into your trajectory — what your bachelor's gave you, what work afterward taught you, what made you go back for the master's. The shape I'd aim for: not a résumé in prose, but the reasoning behind the moves.]

[A pull quote here — one sentence that captures what you actually believe about the work. Could be a line from above, could be its own thought.]

[What you care about right now. The questions you wake up thinking about. Why California's grid in particular, or why energy systems more broadly. Specific is better than grand — "I want to understand why DER programs underperform their targeting" lands harder than "I want to fight climate change."]

[The personal layer. What you do when you're not in front of a model — the photography, the trail running, the sourdough, the long drives, whatever it is. This is where the page earns its "earnest and personal" register. Two or three sentences. Specific details, not categories.]

[Optional close — what you're trying to do next, who you'd love to hear from, what kind of conversation you're hoping this site starts. Generous, not pleading.]

With genuine warmth, Parker

Things I keep coming back to

A working list, updated when I notice it's gone stale

Books
  • The Grid Gretchen Bakke The book that made me want to do this work in the first place.
  • Power Metal Vince Beiser Currently reading. Required for anyone working in clean tech.
  • [Book three] [Author] [Why it stuck.]
People I learn from
  • Jesse Jenkins Princeton ZERO Lab Energy systems modeling done in public.
  • [Person] [Where] [For what.]
  • [Person] [Where] [For what.]
Trails
  • [Trail name] [Where] [Why.]
  • [Trail name] [Where] [Why.]
Albums for thinking
  • [Album] [Artist] [For what kind of work.]
  • [Album] [Artist] [For what kind of work.]

What I'm doing now

Inspired by Derek Sivers' /now page convention

Updated Nov 2026
Working on
[Current project or focus] [One line of context.]
Reading
Power Metal — Vince Beiser [A line on what’s standing out.]
Learning
[A skill, a tool, a topic] [Why now.]
Planning
[Trip, talk, event] [When.]
§ Get in touch

If any of this resonates, I'd love to hear from you.