• Working as a staffer in a political organization is a good place to get into environmental politics.

• All members of congress employ an environmental legislative assistant.

• You can work on sustainability inside corporations. Look for positions as Corporate Responsibility Officers or Sustainability Officers.

Republicans for Environmental Protection is an organization dedicate to restoring the GOP's great conservation legacy. Rob cites several environmental Republican presidents who established milestones in our nation. Abraham Lincoln protected Yosemite. Ulysses S. Grant created Yellowstone, the first national park. Theodore Roosevelt championed conservation by designating 150 National Forests and five national parks. Even conservative icon Ronald Reagan ratified the Montreal Protocol to protect the Ozone Layer. Rob's expertise is in Republican environmental politics but his advice could just as easily translate to the Democratic Party. While any college major can lead to a career in politics, law degrees are very common and any classes in environmental science would also be helpful. Look for entry level positions as political staffers, at think tanks, or in foundations.

• Mica attended Columbia Business School and concentrated in Social Enterprise. Look to Ivy League MBA programs for business training in sustainable energy.

• Internships, even unpaid, or other networking opportunities are the key to getting your foot in the door in green and environmental industries.

• MBA and business students should look to Net Impact for networking opportunities in green and environmental industries. Net Impact has chapters on most campuses in many cities, and the web site includes a jobs page.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. As National Energy Media Director for the Environmental Defense Fund, Mica Odom has insight into career success in green marketing. Mica points to the success of past EDF campaigns such as the 2007 landmark deal that canceled eight coal-fired power plants proposed in Texas and adopted an unprecedented set of environmental initiatives, preventing 57 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Mica's career highlights the importance of business skills in the green and environmental industry. MBA programs in both the Ivy League and state schools are offering innovative programs that highlight green and environmental business training. The economic push from MBA students trained in sustainable business models is currently demonstrating the viability of green career fields such as engineering, green building, renewable energy finance, green marketing, and philanthropic foundations with an environmental focus.

• Networking channels: Conservation Consultants Inc. has a resource center that houses several non-profits, including the Green Building Alliance, which is another great networking resource.

• Graduate Study: James has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Pittsburgh with additional experience in project management. Pittsburgh has a wide range of green jobs that don't necessarily require a background in public policy or even sustainability, just the desire to see them through.

• Know local issues: with so many new laws and regulations affecting green industry growth, an understanding of local issues is key.

James Sloss was tasked by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to create the City of Pittsburgh's Office of Sustainability & Energy Efficiency. Over the last four years, James has implemented programs that are helping to grow the city's green economy and to reach city sustainability goals set within Pittsburgh's Climate Action Plan. Currently, Pittsburgh is conducting energy efficiency retrofitting in municipal buildings as well as installing solar hot water heaters on city firehouses. Pittsburgh is one of 25 Solar America cities, and feasibility studies are underway for a 15 acre brownfield site that the city could convert into a solar farm. Other city energy projects include replacement of city lights with LED lighting, switching city vehicles to biodiesel, and placing diesel filters on waste trucks. Another innovative program, Green Up Pittsburgh, calls on community organizations to help the city convert vacant lots into green spaces. James says the city is partnering with local academic institutions like Duquesne University's Small Business Development Center, which is helping Pittsburgh business reach green business certification standards as well as incubating green start-up companies. Carnegie Melon University is also a major supporter of green industry projects and is a great source for green professionals looking to network in Pittsburgh.

• How do I get that job? Kharis says it's a process of networking outside your strength. If you're a policy person, talk to practitioners, entrepreneurs, and advocacy experts.

• It's so important to know environmentalism inside and out, but you need to be knowledgeable of how business and economics work. When you do this you understand why it's important to help disadvantaged people find employment, but you also understand why businesses are reluctant to offer them employment. It's very sobering for an idealistic person.

• The people that we work with have a background in community organizing. A lot of what growing the green economy is about right now is promoting new products and services.

Moving Pittsburgh from its industrial roots into the next generation of green job development requires the kind of whole-system thinking that has been a hallmark of GTECH Strategies' various green economy initiatives. "If folks who come through your program don't get hired, then it doesn't matter what you're doing," says Director of Green Economy Initiatives, Khari Mosley, "We've brought non-traditional partners together and helped them realize that they are actually perfect partners. We've been able to push people out of the silos of private job training" that way.

Khari says there was a lot of momentum behind the green economy in 2009, but political winds have since changed: "We've really had to learn how to be creative." GTECH has overcome that adversity to develop a series of innovative programs around energy efficiency, sustainable development, and green workforce training. One such project developed in cooperation with a local community development corporation recruits local youth, ages 18-21, and will provide them with job training to construct a nine mile trail that will provide employment for the same crew for 10 years. In the process, it will help these youth gain certification for future careers in the green economy.

For green professionals who already have job training, Khari points to Pittsburgh's aging housing stock as an upcoming job creator in the area. He says up to 40 percent of Pittsburgh housing will need to be retrofitted in the coming years. Including new home construction, that would lead to green building projects on up to 100, 000 homes.

Volunteering with GTECH could be a great opportunity for emerging green professionals looking to scope out job opportunities in Pittsburgh. "We've been lucky to be at the intersection of all that's happening," Khari says, "Our continued success is everyone's success."

• Networking: Go to the Urban Sustainability Forum (generally held the 3rd Thursday of the month at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences). It's really well done, and you get the best speakers on topics relevant to sustainability.

• Propose a research fellowship to local organizations: One reason the Sustainable Business Network's Emerging Industries Project works so well is because we found great research talent for the project. All of our researchers have gone on to great jobs. So many organizations would be excited to do a similar project.

• Bridge the employment gap: One Sustainable Business Network staff member developed an environmental project during university study that created relevant work experience and improved the opportunity to land a job straight out of school.

The Sustainable Business Network brings an innovative spirit to the creation of a just, green, and thriving economy in the Greater Philadelphia region. Kate Houstoun leads the network's Green Economy Task Force, the team that developed the Emerging Industries Project, which identifies strategies for addressing demand, business, and workforce training growth based on research of industry needs and case studies of local businesses.

Philadelphia stands among the leading cities working to develop green economies, and has a head start in some areas of energy that haven't caught on yet, nationally. One area of interest, stormwater, is reflected in the Emerging Industries Project. "Storm water is on the tail end of energy efficiency," Kate says. Like many older cities, Philadelphia has a sewer overflow problem that makes converting gray drainage to green drainage cost-effective. However, the fact that much of the available drainage in these cities is privately held, (over fifty percent in Philadelphia,) has discouraged conversion.

Philadelphia is developing regulations and incentives for green stormwater conversion, an area of energy efficiency where Kate sees potential for job growth nationally. "When it comes to stormwater, we have excellent management in Philadelphia," Kate says. As for stormwater conversion around the country, "The sooner, the better. Municipalities who put stormwater fees in place will have a head start on job creation."

The Sustainable Business Network partners with a diverse collaborative of labor and business sectors, including groups that historically don't work well together. "There's nothing that labor and business agree on more that growing jobs," Kate says. Other partners include many of the local academic institutions that contribute to green economic development, including local community colleges, Temple University, Drexel University, Villanova University, and Swarthmore College.

Emerging professionals looking to network with green organizations would do well to consider volunteering with the Green Economy Task Force, attending Sustainable Business Network events, or applying for one of their internships. For further networking, Kate also recommends Young Involved Philadelphia or connecting with Penn Future to attend one of their Next Great City events.