Hi. This is Paul Zellizer, and welcome to the Awarepreneurs podcast. On this show, we dive deep into wisdom from some of the world's leading social entrepreneurs. Our goal is to help you increase your positive impact, your profitability, and your quality of life. Before we get into today's topic, I have one request. If you could hit subscribe and do a review on your favorite podcast app, it helps more people learn how to have positive impact through a values based business. Thank you so much. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to another New Mexico rock star, Rebecca Puckstair.

And our topic is how New Mexico is supporting clean tech startups. For four decades, Rebecca Puckstair has built teams to tackle complex, high to tackle complex, high profile, and high dollar projects. In 2023, she came to New Mexico State Energy Office after two decades in the New Mexico film industry, where she worked as a producer and location manager on over a hundred films, television shows, commercials, and other media projects, including podcasts and conferences for the Franciscan monk, father Richard Rohr. And in our show notes, I'm gonna put an interview of the executive director way back in, like, episode 28 of Michael, who's the executive director of the Center for Action and Contemplation. Big shout out to the great work that's happening over there. In 2020, Puck ran for New Mexico senate and subsequently served as a policy analysis for House of Representatives, Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. For two years, Stair served as president of New Mexico's largest film crew union, which is ATSE local four eighty. Stair graduated cum laude from Amherst College with a BA in English literature and completed some graduate study in linguistics at Georgetown University.

Between championing clean energy projects for the state, she rides horses, skis, races triathlons, and other questionable activities that require helmets. Me and my trail running buddy like to say, who wants to do something stupid? It's a puck. Sometimes you raise your hand when you wanna do something stupid. Is that what you're telling us?

Every time. I have a t shirt in the other room that says, that's a terrible idea. What time?

Yeah. So welcome to Aware for Nerve. We're so grateful to have you here.

So glad to be here. Let's kick start some good stuff for New Mexico, Paul.

Yeah. So you've done some awesome things in your long career. And tell us a little bit about given this wide variety of things you've done from movies to working with the center and action contemplation. Let's zero in on this part of your career. How did you get into the state energy office and being a leader in that sector?

Well, the short answer is I have no idea. No. It came out of, I think, being not excellent at anything, but slightly okay at a lot of things. And as you know, anytime a a culture or society is going through broad systemic change like we are, generalists find themselves sought after. And so I think, you know, knowing a little bit about archaeology and a little bit about, I don't know, water management and a little bit about law and a little bit about art and graphics and how small New Mexico is. Shout out to Michael Poffenberger. I think word got around that I was interested in doing big projects. I've always had a green bent in everything that I've done.

I've sort of brought an environmental or sustainable angle to it. And long story short, one one coffee conversation led to another, and I was appointed by the governor to take over as the director of the state energy office. And I am just thrilled.

Great. And that was in 2023, it sounds like.

Yes. Yes. So it's been about a year and a half so far.

Great. And listeners, if you haven't heard the episode, one thing to understand that New Mexico is in an incredibly poignant moment partially because of great leadership for many, many years, like ninety seven years to get to our sovereign wealth fund. And if you wanna get some backup on why we have some very unique opportunities here, I did an interview with another New Mexico rock star representative, Andrea Romero, and we covered the New Mexico permanent fund. I will put a link in the show notes, but that permanent fund is now $58,000,000,000, and that's allowing us as a state to have some opportunities to lean into clean tech in a way that is fairly uncommon. Is that fair to say, Puck?

Yes. Do you want me to expound on that, please?

Please tell

us tell

us about some of that uncommonness.