Daniel Fuchs
UW Madison Majors: Art History and Classical Humanities
Professional Website & Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbfuchs/
Current Job Title with a brief description: I’m a Capital Finance Analyst at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. The SFPUC provides drinking water to 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, wastewater services to San Francisco, green hydroelectric and solar power to the city’s municipal departments, and renewable energy to San Francisco. As a member of the Capital Finance team, I focus on the financial planning and management of large-scale infrastructure investments including the SFPUC’s $10 billion of outstanding debt and planned future debt issuances of $11 billion over the next ten years.
The work sits at the intersection of economics, politics, law, infrastructure and public administration. As a municipal entity, we’re responsible for monitoring expenditures and ensuring that capital funds are used efficiently and transparently. We work with a large team of financial advisors, bankers, attorneys, planners and engineers, each bringing a different lens, with our role being to translate across them to align financial strategy to real world market conditions.
Ultimately, we help turn complex infrastructure plans into financially viable realities, ensuring that essential systems are built, maintained and improved in a responsible and sustainable way.
Any previous jobs, continued education, or other experiences that have been meaningful to you: My first job after graduating UW was as a kindergarten teacher in Baton Rouge, LA as a member of Teach for America (TFA). This was a meaningful experience in many ways- first job, first time living in the South, first time teaching- but it was most meaningful because it committed me to a career focused on public service. From the classroom, I went on to work in policy at the Louisiana Department of Education, got an MBA from George Washington and worked at an education policy think tank before returning to my hometown, San Francisco, to continue working in public education.
With a desire to work directly for my hometown, I was able to take a unique Fellowship dedicated to TFA alumni, focused on Civic Leadership in the City and County of San Francisco. I was placed on the Capital Finance team which was an unplanned pivot from my career in public education, but I was able to quickly connect the dots. As a teacher in post- Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, I can clearly see the connection between critical infrastructure and the consequences of its failure for kids and families, particularly in vulnerable communities.
How has your ILS experience influenced your life (either within or outside the workplace)? ILS influenced me in so many ways. I would not be on my career path if I hadn’t taken Dr. Sell’s “Classical Figures Grappling with Contemporary Issues” which brought social inequality front and center. ILS also fostered a love of learning and a desire and confidence to engage in complex, historical topics like Just War Theory and apply them to current events, which has made me a more engaged citizen. ILS has also provided the framework to better understand the perspective of each discipline relevant to my current role in capital finance and how they interact together. This has allowed me, for example, to communicate the economics of our utility’s approach to climate resilience to the capital market so that we can attract investments in our infrastructure at the lowest cost to our ratepayers.
Do you have a favorite ILS professor, class or memory that you’d like to share? Dr. Sell was my favorite professor, some of my fondest memories at UW came both as a student and TA for her class, “Classical Figures Grappling with Contemporary Issues” sitting in the Meiklejohn living room dressing up and playing the role of classical figures discussing current events related to social inequality and climate change in a small, intimate setting.
Any advice for current students? Stay committed to the liberal arts. As technological advances like artificial intelligence continue to grow, the need for integrated, critical thinking is as important as ever.