2022 40 Under Forty Awards
Nicole Verdi, 32
Senior Manager Of Government Affairs And Policy, New England, Orsted A/S
How has COVID-19 changed your industry? COVID-19 forced our industry to implement tools to make remote work efficient and productive. We all became nimbler and more innovative to ensure the work continued throughout the pandemic.
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What is the best advice you have ever received? From my dad, “Always have the desire to dream, courage to risk, faith to believe and the will to succeed.”
Where do you see yourself in five years? Either continuing to combat climate change by working to develop clean energy in a leadership position within a company driving that work, or planning to run for public office in Rhode Island.
What moment changed your life more than any other? Working as [then-Gov. Gina M.] Raimondo’s deputy chief of staff during the pandemic. During that time, we were “building the plane while flying it,” while knowing that people’s lives and livelihoods were at stake. We worked 20-hour days, seven days a week, for months. My world became all COVID-19 response all the time. I now approach every challenge knowing that if I made it through COVID-19, I can tackle any challenge that is thrown my way.
What led you to pursuing a career in your current industry? I joined Orsted to focus full time on using my skills to combat climate change. Rhode Island is seeing the negative impacts of climate change every day. In this role, I use the skills I learned while working in government to work with government officials and other stakeholders to drive progress to help ensure we can meet this challenge. nthe prop Nicole Verdi holds a photo of her family, which she says is “everything” to her, and a model of a wind turbine.
