37 - Laurie Beth Nix

In this episode, Laurie Beth Nix of the Association of Energy Engineers shares how a career in communications led her to sustainability, energy efficiency, and authentic marketing. From storytelling and greenwashing to career pivots and the power of community, Laurie Beth explores how anyone can use their skills and personal stories to help create a more sustainable future.

Here are the resources mentioned during this episode: 

1. Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) - check this out for local chapters and certifications like the Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Energy Efficiency Professional (EEP). 
2. Full of Energy Podcast
3. AEE World - a conference put on by AEE
4. Utilizing Google alerts to stay up to date on the latest news in your industry 
5. MODEX - where Laurie Beth's electric forklift marketing campaign received conference-wide acclaim! 

Transcript

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Aparna: [00:00:00] Hey, pod people. Welcome back to another episode. This is Kiersten and Aparna, and we are joined here by Laurie Beth Nix. So excited to get into this. Laurie Beth Nix is a marketing manager with the Association of Energy Engineers. She joined the org in 2021 and manages their social media, website, technical journals, conference event apps, as well as also hosts their Full of Energy podcast.

She's passionate about building connections within the AEE community, promoting sustainability, and sharing stories that highlight the value of the association's work. Prior to AEE, Laurie Beth worked with global brands to create marketing campaigns, websites, videos, and commercials, while also supporting local nonprofits and advocating for digital authenticity.

She holds a BA in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in film from Middle Georgia State University, and is a certified energy efficiency professional. Laurie Beth, we're thrilled to have you. Welcome to the pod!

Laurie Beth: Thank you. Glad to [00:01:00] be here!

Aparna: If you've listened before, you know what our first question is. No surprises here, but we'd love it if you could walk us through your career. So, we know what you studied, but what drew you to this scope of work, and how has your background really launched you into what you're doing now?

Laurie Beth: Sure. When I was in college, I was a nanny for a family, and through that family, I met someone who worked in public relations. , And she kinda introduced me into the world of social media marketing, and all the goodness that comes with media. And from that, I, , moved to Atlanta because I was from a small town about an hour south of Atlanta. When I got to Atlanta, I started at an addiction treatment center as their communications manager. And from the addiction treatment center, I actually went into forklift manufacturing, so completely two different fields. And from that forklift manufacturer, I came to AEE.

So I've [00:02:00] actually spent half my career here at the Association of Energy Engineers. 

Kiersten: I think anyone can be a communicator. Well, maybe not anyone. I was trying to say that there are communications professional in many industries, but I feel like your industries have been very meaningful. So I'm curious, at what point did you start incorporating kind of sustainability into your work or, like, bringing that in?

, And what led you to do so?

Laurie Beth: I honestly think sustainability has been a part of my life. My mom is an educator actually, and in the ninth grade she taught me environmental science, and she made us do this exercise where we calculated our carbon footprint. And so when I saw my carbon footprint, I out, but we were traveling back and forth a lot, so she's like, "Hey, just remember that."

So once I saw that, it kind of woke up my consciousness of what sustainability really me-means, and like what can I do to [00:03:00] protect the environment. So I think from that age I was more curious about things that I could do. As far as in my career at the manufacturer, we actually launched electric forklifts, and when we launched electric forklifts, a lot of people had the messaging of like a greener future and things like this, which is important to companies, but in twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen, it wasn't as strong as it is here in twenty twenty-six. we had a different way of messaging that drew in a lot of people. We had this whole neon electric campaign that like threw it back to the eighties to try and hit our target audience, and then we'd also mention the greener facts, right? I think that's probably where I started doing more sustainability marketing but from a younger age, I was definitely more interested in sustainable practices in my own life.

Aparna: Okay, excellent. A few follow-up questions. [00:04:00] Is the '80s also when the Cooking with Gas video went viral? You know what I'm talking about? Cooking with gas, cooking with gas, and they're, like, at a roller rink. Okay

Laurie Beth: I don't. But that's interesting, though. No, we just kinda went full neons, aerobic style kind of thing. W- we had a booth. There's this huge conference called MODEX, and there's probably, like, 40,000, 50,000 people that attend this conference. And our booth was nothing but colors everywhere, and

we didn't even know there was a competition, but apparently they have a booth competition, and the number one booth gets recognized. And we'd gone to this show for longer than I was there, and, and all of a sudden we get, "Congrats, you had the best booth at the show." And we were like, "Oh, we didn't know this was a thing, but thanks." We went full New Kids on the Block, and so the logo on our booth was, like, New Trucks on the Block. And so people just loved to stop by our booth just for the fact that it kinda was nostalgic for them. And I think that's a big [00:05:00] part of communicating is, like, else seems to have this messaging of only green, only this.

But there's so much more to living green. And sometimes that means hitting the nostalgic point of someone's childhood or whatever to help them attach to the message.

Aparna: Totally. Different strategies work for different people and different situations. But going back to your childhood real quick, I do wanna ask about this carbon footprint that you and your mom calculated together. Because first off, what a cool exercise to do as a family, right? So I'd love to hear how you guys went about that.

Have you done one since? Was it a habit that stuck?

Laurie Beth: I think habits came from that. So she, again, was a teacher, so we were in the environmental science class, and so our entire class did this exercise, but at that time we lived in Alabama, but were going to Georgia every weekend because we moved for a semester, I called it an education vacation, for a semester in Alabama. And so for that [00:06:00] semester she, she taught a lot about the environment. And I can remember car rides going back and she's like, "Okay, and what is this? It's light pollution. Tell me more. And what is this? Noise pollution through Atlanta? Okay, great. Tell me more. How can we prevent it?" And so she very much is someone who wanted to make sure what she taught stuck, and because I was her child, I got more of that, which was, you know, good for me.

So I haven't calculated my carbon footprint since, but I do think I'm a lot more conscious in some of the decisions that I make because that carbon footprint exercise.

Kiersten: As a fellow daughter of a teacher, that's relatable that you got it more as the other students. I think it sounds like your mom was maybe an OG influencer in your life, but have you had any other influences or sustainability mentors that kind of impacted your work or how you live?

Laurie Beth: I think a lot of things actually came from like my own education and YouTube University and Google myself. [00:07:00] but also about a year ago my partner and I - he's vegetarian, so I became vegetarian, and that is because of the sustainable life that we both live. So because of sustainable reasons, I actually became vegetarian a year ago.

Aparna: Very cool how your partner was modeling something and you fully embraced it, and now you get to see all the beauty that vegetables and fruits can offer. We're fiber maxing this year, if someone hasn't told you already.

Laurie Beth: And legumes are the way too!

Aparna: Yeah, a dense bean salad. Love to see her! 

Laurie Beth: Actually, I do have a mentor, and she happens to be on this podcast as well as someone who's an inspiration to me, Kiersten. And she, the way she lives her life, her birthday bashes where she has a trash bash for her birthday and all the things that she does for reducing waste, it's actually such an inspiration.

And not to be that person, but it's true that every time I pick up a reusable bag or use a container, I'm always thinking [00:08:00] of Kiersten and how she does this every day in her life. So thank you, Kiersten, for educating me on all 

Kiersten: I'm gonna have to cut out my crying. was so sweet. I love it Sorry, I actually did get emotional. I think I'm supposed to ask the next question but I'm over here like deep breathing. So cute. Okay . Your personal life aside, and we've gotten some really cool examples, I'm so impressed that you eat vegetarian. That's one of the biggest impacts we can make personally, so you are doing the hard work, the good work. Shifting into your work work you wear a lot of hats at AEE. We mentioned some of them in your bio at the beginning.

So from social media to running a podcast, hello fellow host to doing website and communication campaigns. So with all of that, what does your day-to-day look like? How do you balance it all? Who do you meet with? What kind of, you know, tasks are you working on each day?

Laurie Beth: I'm sure pretty much everyone who comes on your podcast or anyone who works in [00:09:00] corporate, there's no day that looks the same. I think that's rings true, especially for communicators, and I truly could not do my job without our professionals as AEE is a professional organization that offers membership and education.

So that I learn from the professionals that are a part of our organization is how I'm learning to communicate with the audience. So sometimes I'm talking to professionals about their day-to-day jobs and what they do for energy efficiency. And then other times I'm writing articles or I'm, talking about our conferences and ways for people to get involved and also learn from other professionals because that mentorship, that, community is so important and especially in such a vast field of energy there's so many different career paths.

So each day may focus on something different in the energy field because it is so broad.

Aparna: No, that's such a fair point. [00:10:00] We all work in such different niches, and it is pretty cool that everyone can come together, be a part of AEE, and kinda have this common community to come back and share experiences with. And I guess that's begging the question too. You talk to so many different professionals.

You really are in so many spaces as a part of AEE and, like, as the host of the Full of Energy podcast. So I'm curious if there are any commonalities that have emerged from all these different conversations from all these different spaces that you've been in?

Laurie Beth: I think the biggest commonality is that people care about energy efficiency, and they're trying to figure out how to put that in to practice in either buildings. We focus mainly with people who work in buildings or work with buildings, whether they're mission critical or, you know, construction or Retail space. So there's so many different fields that we touch and the biggest commonality I can see is that energy efficiency not only matters for our environment but for energy [00:11:00] savings. So I enjoy talking to people and maybe what's important to their company, and like you said, the host of Full of Energy, we do things all from building automation all the way up to how AI is really helping or is it hurting energy efficiency?

These are some of the big questions that we ask and that we explore on that podcast. So it's really fun to talk to people who really touch every part of the energy industry and learn from them.

Aparna: So is AI hurting or helping? Do let us know

Laurie Beth: . I don't think I'm right to answer that question. I'm not the experts here. But we do have a couple episodes on AI and energy how people are using AI everything.

And actually, we have an episode coming up about humanizing AI, so this is really exciting. Just a little teaser

Kiersten: Yeah, if you guys like us, I gotta say you'll probably enjoy the content that Laurie Beth is producing, so we'll have to link the Full of Energy podcast [00:12:00] in the show notes for this episode. but as a podcast host, it feeds really nicely into our next question. I know that you believe storytelling is a really powerful tool for inspiring action. what would you say about, know, if someone is looking to tell their sustainability story, what might they do to help that resonate with people who aren't already passionate about the topic?

Laurie Beth: One of my favorite things that I get to do every year is actually the Lebanon chapter does , an internship in the summertime. And this internship, they have master classes, and for the past three or four years, I've been able to give a master class on authenticity and how to get hired based on like LinkedIn. And one thing that I think rings true for everyone is like everyone has important stories. Every part of history is important, whether it's important to you, your family, like someone cares about these stories. There's no doubt in my mind about that. [00:13:00] But people get hung up on how to tell the story. And so one thing that I like to tell people is treat everything like an elevator speech. If you only have 10 seconds tell somebody something about yourself, what are you going to tell them? And so once you get that 10 seconds or that main point, then tell the story based on that one fact

Aparna: Yeah. No, that's a- awesome advice for someone who's starting their career, mid-career or late career. It's good to have a point, and I think everyone that you're speaking with will appreciate the fact that you have a clear message that you are trying to communicate. So I think always a great reminder.

You did mention the term authentic communication earlier, and I know that authentic marketing is something that you're passionate about. So I'd love it if you could define what that means for you and what does it look like in the sustainability space?

Laurie Beth: Sure. So for me, authentic marketing is just like authenticity, right? Like being true to yourself because no matter what field we're in, it's marketing, [00:14:00] whether it's energy, anything else, at the end of the day, people sell to people, right? People care about those relationships, and having a good product is great, but what matters is the relationship that you build with that company and the brand and having that with them.

So that's what I mean by authentic marketing. And so with sustainability, obviously we're doing good for the environment, but we're also doing energy savings. And so depending on what message is important to you, that's how you stay authentic and get the people that you want the relationship with.

Because When you're true to yourself and you're true to your beliefs, then people are gonna connect with that because they're gonna see your true self. And so that also helps build those relationships

Kiersten: Fantastic answer. Listeners, while you reflect on what your authentic marketing would be, how would you authentically market yourself or your work, we're gonna take a little break, but we'll be right [00:15:00] back.

Interlude

Kiersten: And now we're back. So the opposite of authentic marketing could arguably be greenwashing, right? So I wonder how can organizations from a communications perspective, Laurie Beth, avoid greenwashing while still effectively promoting their sustainability initiatives and attitudes?

Laurie Beth: So I think greenwashing marketing is similar to some organic products, right? There's a technical point where you say this is an organic food source, but then when you look into the packaging, two items like on the ingredients aren't actually organic.

So the whole product isn't actually organic, but it does pass the organic standards, and I think the same is said with greenwashing. So I think the biggest thing is like making sure you're true to yourself and not trying to hide behind like this wall. Instead, be honest and like as long as you're [00:01:00] authentic with what you're doing and your initiatives, you're going to connect with the right people.

Aparna: I think very well put and a very good feeling in that message, so thanks Laurie Beth. Keeping the same theme of being authentic in marketing and communications, are there any campaigns that you've worked on personally for sustainability that you look back on and you're just proud of because your heart was in it, the facts were in it, and you're like, "Okay, 10 out of 10.

That, that got the point across?

Laurie Beth: I have to go back to that electric forklift campaign. I truly believe it's my favorite campaign for sustainability that I've done because we did do our electric sales, like we made it very quickly. But however, the campaign itself it brought the nostalgic feeling back to you, but it also said, "Hey, like you're also doing something good for the environment," and everything.

So think that's my favorite campaign that I've done for... and what I mean [00:02:00] is like not for a sustainable company. Look at any campaign for AEE and like those are also my favorite campaigns especially the ones where I get to tell people stories of -- how their certification has helped them like make a greener, more sustainable future. even how going to a conference and then meeting the right person helps them get the job that they want and make bigger impacts. We have the certified energy manager, which we're told is the gold standard for energy management certifications. And the amount of money, Eric Woodruff, one of our instructors, the amount of money he's calculated for how much energy managers have saved in energy savings and how much energy people have saved, it's incredible.

And like those are the people that we get to work with every day. 

Kiersten: I love that. I'm also so impressed, as you mentioned the campaign again around the electric forklifts. It was nostalgic while [00:03:00] promoting a very different future. That's quite the bridge that you made, so I really love that. I'm curious if other car companies have tried to capture that same feeling. I don't really see car commercials that much these days, so maybe they're already doing it, but if not, they need to take note from you. Especially since, did you know, as a fun fact, that there were electric cars, I believe, before there were internal combustion engines?

Laurie Beth: No way

Kiersten: I'm gonna have to fact-check myself. Maybe during the next question I'll do a quick Google, but I am pretty sure it was either concurrently or before. But basically, the, the sector kind of reached a point where it was, like, gonna be one or the other, and we went internal combustion engine.

But there's a whole, like, alternative what if we had gone electric from the get-go. Okay, I think Aparna has done the work of Googling, so please tell us, am I

Aparna: Okay, according to Gemini on this little AI overview, yes, electric cars were invented and popular before ICE cars became [00:04:00] the dominant standard. Early experimental electric carriages appeared in the 1830s. Are you kidding? And practical electric cars were on the road before gas-powered cars took over the market in the early 1900s.

Don't trust AI, but, like, that's a crazy AI summary.

Kiersten: Well, you can trust me. Just kidding. I didn't trust myself. I'm glad that was fact-checked. So now I can say, today you guys learned Aparna wasn't confident, and I don't know why I know that, but it was knocking around in the old brain.

 Bringing it back to you though, I just wanna say, very cool, , a different looking future and nostalgia and ironically, there was a past where we were also looking 

Kiersten (2): EVs. 

Kiersten: But bringing it back to a question for you versus my blah blah blah-ing. Your degree wasn't technical in nature, and I think there are a lot of people that see the industry, maybe even see the name like Association of Energy Engineers, and assume that you studied something with energy or that you are an [00:05:00] engineer. So I really love specifically that you ended up where you did, 'cause I think it's such a fantastic demonstration of we need everyone. Everyone. As we've said many times before, every job can be a green job. Every job should be a green job. But my question that I am, I promise, getting to is, you didn't start in a technical space, but you now work in a very technical space, and you have technical credentials like the EEP, Energy Efficiency Practitioner. So for professionals who are passionate about sustainability but don't have technical backgrounds, what advice would you give? What opportunities do you see for them to make an impact?

Laurie Beth: I actually need to go back a little bit because did you know almost half of our staff not have anything techni- like, we have people who have - music degrees that work at AEE, and the backgrounds are not all technical, but eighty percent of our staff, more than eighty percent of our staff, I believe, actually certified in [00:06:00] energy efficiency because it's important for us to understand the members that we serve. So a lot of us have chosen to become certified to help make sure that we're serving the people that are part of our community. So I think anyone can get into sustainability, and even if you're looking for a career change, a great way to start that is to get some technical knowledge through certification. AEE has certifications, and a lot of those you don't have much... especially the EEP, you don't have to have any prior knowledge . However, if you may not meet the requirements for the certification, we do have an in-training option for a lot of our certifications. So say it says you have to have a bachelor's degree of science of, whatever subject, you can get the in-training option any of our certifications until you gain that experience you need [00:07:00] to get the full certification. So I think that's also a cool option. Getting a certification can open the door for you to start your career and make that career pivot that you wanna do.

Aparna: With over 20 certifications, there's something for everybody. So listeners, head on over to aeecenter.org, check out the roster, see what speaks to you, and we'll see you on the other side as certified professionals. Laurie Beth, you've had a crazy impact in this industry so far.

You've been creating bridges. You've been talking to people about how their work actually matters. You've been coaching and mentoring younger minds in the industry. And I think a lasting image I at least have of you is she's friendly, I can ask her my questions, and she's gonna be a helpful resource.

She'll know exactly who to point me in the direction of, which I think is a super legacy in and of itself, someone who's able to connect the dots in other people's minds. But I'd love to hear from you, what kind of a legacy are you hoping to leave behind through your career and through your [00:08:00] work?

Laurie Beth: I think my biggest, and thank you so- Wait, hold on. Now I'm gonna cry. No. The biggest that I would be honored to leave is knowing that people have an easier time sharing their stories and that I've empowered them to share their stories, especially in the space where people are making a difference not only for their communities but global.

Like AEE, we say we are local, we are global, we are AEE. And the reason we say that is because local impact does have a greater impact on the world. And so whether you're local doing something for your local community, like a trash bash for your birthday, or you're doing something like hosting a webinar that's open worldwide for people to get educated on something, there's so many ways to make an impact and I'm the person that gets to tell the story of how that impact was made

Kiersten: Beautiful. So [00:09:00] beautiful. Think that is a great message. I would also ask, what message would you like listeners to remember about the role that each of us can play in creating a more sustainable future?

Laurie Beth: For me, as a communicator, I have to say telling your story because, Kiersten, I have to keep using you as an example 'cause I see you right now. But you host this party every year, and I just find that so fascinating, and you're making that impact. But you don't know when you tell that story how that's going to affect someone else, and that's one thing that I love telling anybody who will listen to my soapbox about it, is that, even touching one person, even making an impact on one person's life, you don't know in the time that you're talking to someone the impact that you're making on their life, and it may drive some change in their life.

And so authenticity of just being yourself and talking about what's important to you and sharing your stories, can make [00:10:00] somebody else's future completely different because they were impacted by your story

Kiersten: you're emphasizing telling your story, so I have to get specific here. What are your top three tips to help people tell their stories?

Laurie Beth: It's very simple. Number one, using that elevator speech, that 10 seconds. Number two, have a picture or a video. If you feel confident and you can take a video of yourself, more power to you because ... youTube is like the biggest, search engine in the world So like, it's bigger than Google, and Google owns it.

So like people want to watch that video. Or if you're on LinkedIn, make sure you share an image of what you're trying to talk about. And then lastly, just be authentic. And I know that sounds lot easier than it is, and trust me, I know people online, , you only see this one part of people online, but when you're true to yourself, that story will make an impact

Aparna: Awesome. Thank you. And yeah, that story's gonna be so much more engaging than a cookie cutter post. We wanna know about you. [00:11:00] We're following you for a reason. All right, our last question for you, Laurie Beth. If our listeners wanted to be involved in this sustainability shift that we have, this movement towards a greener future, are there any books, documentaries, or other resources that you'd recommend for them to check out?

Laurie Beth: I'm not the right person to ask that question. But I don't read except articles online. No, I'm just kidding. Please don't add that. 

Aparna: You can tell us. Yeah

Kiersten: Yeah.

Laurie Beth: So I don't know if you guys know this, but you can actually set Google alerts for different things to get sent to your email. So if you're interested in one part of sustainability alone, like how to reduce waste or, all these different things, you can set a Google alert, and anytime an article's posted, that alert goes to your email. I'm personally not a book reader, and I know that's awful, but I guess being chronically online for my job I really do see a lot of articles . So ... that curiosity really does [00:12:00] help when you're Google search... i'm a big Googler

Kiersten: That's a fantastic tip. I actually did not know that I could get them sent to my email. I'd heard of Google Alerts, but I hadn't, like, connected it to anything. But that's incredibly useful. I feel like as a listener tip, if you're in college, create a personal email that's about education, right?

And then have the Google Alerts go to that email, and then you just have this repository you can check whenever you want to. How cool is that? Thank you, Laurie Beth. This has been super informative and just a really fun time. Great to chat with you. I know we will see you in the future at that conference that you mentioned a few times, AEE World. , But we really appreciate your time here today and all the wisdom that you shared. Thank you!

Laurie Beth: Thank you guys for having me!