Electrification Coalition
Back to Resources

WattWorks: MidwestEV Leadership Bootcamp

On November 5 in Chicago, the EC and the University of Chicago’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth hosted a Midwest EV Leadership Bootcamp. The event convened leaders from local and state governments, industry, nonprofits, and academia to discuss the state of Midwest fleet electrification and share strategies to accelerate it.

  • Click here to access the event slides.

  • Click here to register for the EC’s November 12 webinar, Service Beyond Uniform: Veterans for EVs Shaping America’s Energy Independence.

  • Click here to register for the EC’s November 19 webinar, The Road Ahead: EV Policy After the 2026 Midterm and State Elections.

Special thanks to EC Business Council partner Viatec for sponsoring breakfast, and to Viatec and Tesla for bringing their electrified transportation technologies to the event so attendees could get a hands-on look at the latest innovations in electric transportation. 

Photos

Key Takeaways

  1. Fleet electrification is as much or more of an institutional change challenge as it is a technical one. Though it is important to understand the technical needs of an electrified fleet, the process bottlenecks tend to be internal: educating decisionmakers on total cost of ownership procurement strategy, overcoming hesitancy around adopting new technologies, and integrating EVs into existing workflows.
  2. Start taking small steps today—they will add up over time and are an effective way to build internal capacity. Instead of building support for a sudden, total fleet transformation, build your organization’s comfort with EVs by introducing one or more vehicles immediately, ramping up electrification over time while incorporating lessons learned from early deployments.
  3. Layered public funding, procurement tools, and technical assistance are producing measurable results. States and municipalities leading the charge tend to be those who have used a combination of outside funding, resources, and technical assistance most effectively. Plenty of free resources (like the EC’s) are available for public use.

Amy Malaki

Amy Malaki is the head of policy and sustainability at SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas, pioneering global leaders in sustainable aviation fuel production and supply. Prior to SkyNRG, Amy was the associate director for the transportation portfolio at the ClimateWorks Foundation where she developed philanthropic investment strategies to advance a sustainable, equitable and low-carbon mobility system. She also pioneered the organization’s international aviation decarbonization strategy. Prior to that she focused on Asia business development at Better Place, a Silicon Valley electric vehicle network startup. She has a B.A. in Chinese and China studies from the University of Washington and an M.A. in international policy studies (energy and environment) from Stanford University.