Remembering the Green Cowboy

Today I’m celebrating the life of S. David “Dave” Freeman, a dynamic public servant whose passion and charisma were almost as large as his signature cowboy hat. He passed away this Tuesday May 12, 2020. 

Among many career highlights, he ran the Tennessee Valley Authority, the New York Power Authority, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. He advised Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Carter and the Senate Commerce Committee on energy policy. Most importantly, he was an early, lifelong advocate of renewable energy and instituted pro-environmental policies in public institutions when it wasn’t popular to do so.

He was a force of nature who actually cared about nature. 

He gave me my first desk job. 

Looking for creative ways to pay for my upcoming college expenses, my mother and I wrote letters to major LA and California businesses to ask if they offered grants, scholarships, or internships. The only entity to respond was Dave Freeman’s office at the LADWP, offering me a paid summer internship.

I interned at the LADWP for two summers and that experience continues to stands out as a bright spot of my twenty-year career. 

Dave Freeman ended up giving me much more than two summer jobs. He showed me that “sticking to your guns” had nothing to do with guns. He placed me in a division where I met smart, creative colleagues who would foster my interest in public service, data-based decision making, and environmental science. I rarely had a desk job, thanks to imaginative managers and co-workers who took me on facility tours, had me test drive early stage electric vehicles, and generally let me make my own mistakes (within reason). And steering that group of people was a fast-talking Tennessean charmer who led by example, with true integrity and grit. 

Thank you, Mr. Freeman, for your dedication to protecting this planet and asking others to be brave enough to follow in your footsteps. 

You can read the LA Times’ obituary here: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-13/s-david-freeman-public-power-chief-and-energy-adviser-dies-at-94

And this interview by Energy & Environment remains one of my favorites due to this quote: "Yes, I've been called a lot of bad things. I was called a socialist in the Nixon administration for pushing energy efficiency. I don't feel like I'm making my case if I don't have somebody pissed off at me.” https://www.eenews.net/special_reports/offtopic/stories/1060075943