Austin Zacharko graduated in 2020 from the Master of Engineering in Sustainable Energy (MEng-SE) program.
Austin Zacharko
24, Edmonton, energy management
engineer, Capital Power
Sustainability has always been a polarizing topic in the oil-producing province of Alberta, where Austin Zacharko was raised. “I was able to see both sides,” says Zacharko, a Métis Canadian, though the avid rock climber and backcountry skier began to realize the status quo was no longer protecting the province from the impacts of climate change. His interest in renewable energy led him to a degree in engineering at the University of Alberta, where he co-founded the Indigenous Engineering Students Association. Today, when he isn’t working as an energy management engineer with Capital Power, supporting the company’s wind, solar and thermal assets, Zacharko is helping a local food bank become solar powered. He also volunteers with two national youth sustainability groups, including as co-director of Leading Change Canada’s steering committee. “As the ones inheriting this world, our voices should matter in the decisions that get made today that will impact us for the rest of our lives,” Zacharko says.