Cover of Madison Magazine's January 2021 issue with a nurse wearing a face shield and mask

Innovation is a monthly column in Madison Magazine covering startups, entrepreneurism, and innovative ideas coming out of Dane County, Wisconsin.

Other Recent Articles

When Safer at Home Isn’t

When Safer at Home Isn’t

Dear Sully

Dear Sully

No Time To Waste

No Time To Waste

Small Businesses Are Now Hiring Apprentices. Should You?

Small Businesses Are Now Hiring Apprentices. Should You?

Dunkin Donuts #1 Franchise 500 Entrepreneur

Dunkin Donuts #1 Franchise 500 Entrepreneur

Live Your Best Life 12 Resolutions To Make This Your Best Year Yet

Live Your Best Life 12 Resolutions To Make This Your Best Year Yet

There’s a Skilled Trade Labor Shortage – Can We Fix It?

There’s a Skilled Trade Labor Shortage – Can We Fix It?

You Don’t Need to Leave Your Hometown to Start a Great Business

You Don’t Need to Leave Your Hometown to Start a Great Business

What Nurses Know About Opioids

What Nurses Know About Opioids

Transgender Youth Health

Transgender Youth Health

Campus Sexual Assault

Campus Sexual Assault

Nursing Behind Bars

Nursing Behind Bars

Soldiering On

Soldiering On

Muslim in Madison

Muslim in Madison

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented Latino Immigrants in Madison

Out of the Shadows: Undocumented Latino Immigrants in Madison

Profile John Gottman, UW-Madison alum and renowned relationship expert

Profile John Gottman, UW-Madison alum and renowned relationship expert

UW-Madison’s storied Gender and Women’s Studies Department celebrates 40 years

UW-Madison’s storied Gender and Women’s Studies Department celebrates 40 years

Homelessness in Madison, Wisconsin

Homelessness in Madison, Wisconsin

The Whitehorse Ho Chunk Family Story

The Whitehorse Ho Chunk Family Story

UW-Madison Law School Responds to the Tony Robinson Shooting

UW-Madison Law School Responds to the Tony Robinson Shooting

Collegiate Recovery in Madison

Collegiate Recovery in Madison

Madison Mothers React to Tony Robinson Shooting

Madison Mothers React to Tony Robinson Shooting

Wheeling and Dealing

Wheeling and Dealing

Community Response to the Heroin Epidemic in Dane County

Community Response to the Heroin Epidemic in Dane County

A Brighter, Cleaner, Greener Future

Local entrepreneur says green jobs could light the way in a post-pandemic economy

Madison Magazine monthly Innovation column, November 2020

Magazine opened to page with article called When Safer at Home Isn't

Before the COVID-19 crisis, clean energy jobs were growing one and a half times faster than overall employment in Wisconsin. The state had more than 76,000 of America’s 3.4 million such jobs, until more than 11,000 clean energy workers filed for unemployment this year. That workforce could help restart the economy, according to Sara Conzemius, co-founder of the clean energy consulting firm ILLUME Advising LLC, a 2020 Dane County Small Business Award winner.

“Wisconsin must focus on clean energy jobs to meet our state’s climate goals and expand employment opportunities,” Conzemius wrote in a recent op-ed supporting a proposed national clean energy jobs act. The idea that a cleaner, safer, more resilient energy infrastructure is good for business and communities is one she’s championed for decades — most recently with ILLUME, which she founded with Anne Dougherty.

To continue reading please pick up the November 2020 issue of Madison Magazine at area newsstands, or click through to the online version here.

—Maggie Ginsberg is an associate editor at Madison Magazine and a long-time award-winning freelance writer. Innovation is her monthly column for Madison Magazine focused on startups, entrepreneurism and innovative ideas coming out of Dane County, Wisconsin.

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