Every month, we interview an Uplight employee to get to know more about what they do at Uplight, why they love working here, and what inspired them to get into this industry! This month, I chat with Nidhi Seth-Huber, a member of our new Enlighten Pulse Task Force.
What do you do for Uplight?
I am a Senior Financial Analyst on the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Team at Uplight and I am also a member of the Enlighten Pulse Task Force, which is a diversity and inclusion focused group. The FP&A team is responsible for driving the budgeting, forecasting, and reporting process for the overall company. Additionally, I am the Finance Business Partner for the Research & Development and Sales & Marketing teams at Uplight, assisting them with all things finance.
What do you find most exciting or rewarding about working for Uplight?
My favorite part about being at Uplight is knowing that my work is more purposeful than it has ever been before. Being in finance, it is hard to find an opportunity where you feel like you are doing your part to save the planet, something that is deeply important to me. I am grateful to go to work everyday knowing that the values of my organization align with my personal values. I also love being a part of the Enlighten Pulse Task Force because I have the chance to interact with some truly inspiring and intelligent people as we try to bring positive change to our community.
How does the work you do contribute towards creating a more sustainable future and better customer energy experiences?
In order for Uplight to achieve all its goals with respect to climate change and environmental preservation, it needs to be sustainable from a financial perspective. In finance, the work that we do around evaluating current financial performance and modeling future scenarios helps us chart a path for growth. This growth will enable us to have a greater positive impact on our planet and improve energy experiences for customers.
How did you get into this work?
I chose to go into finance because I love working with numbers and it allows for a bit more creativity than accounting does. I have been passionate about climate change and working towards a more sustainable future for about four years now. It all started when I learned more about the impact of my actions on the environment (eg: supporting the fast fashion industry, eating meat, etc.) and I wanted to make a difference. Being able to combine both of these passions into my job has been very fulfilling for me.
What has been your favorite project so far at Uplight?
I have been really energized by all the work the Enlighten Pulse Task Force has done in its relatively short existence. The task force is working tirelessly to foster a more inclusive culture at Uplight, from holding open forum and educational sessions to creating an Awareness calendar that helps people from all different cultures and backgrounds feel seen and included. On the finance side, I had the opportunity to lead the implementation of a planning and forecasting tool which has enabled our FP&A team to be more nimble with forecasts and drive faster decision making.
What is one thing that has most surprised you about working here?
I have been very pleasantly surprised by the leadership team at Uplight for a number of reasons, with the most important one being their commitment to doing the right thing. This enables us to be real change makers. It is refreshing to have leaders that are more concerned with doing the right thing rather than the easy thing in a given situation.
