Eight Years of Accelerating Transportation Electrification: A Milestone Worth Celebrating

By: April Bolduc, Founder & President, S Curve Strategies

As I reflect on S Curve Strategies' eighth anniversary this year, I'm filled with gratitude for the incredible journey we've been on with our forward-thinking clients—and excited for where we're headed. What started in 2017 as a vision to transform transportation for a cleaner, more efficient future has evolved into a portfolio of impactful projects spanning the nation, from New York to California and everywhere in between.

A Year of Diverse Impact

This past year has been particularly rewarding, showcasing the breadth and depth of transportation electrification challenges we're privileged to solve. Our work has touched every corner of the sector—from tribal nations charting their path to environmental leadership, to major metropolitan transit systems managing complex fleet transitions, to utilities scaling their EV programs to meet unprecedented demand. We continue to hold five certifications for women-owned businesses that differentiate us in the marketplace.

Empowering Government and Tribal Communities

We've had the honor of partnering with the New York Power Authority to develop a comprehensive fleet electrification strategy for 500+ vehicles across nine facilities. This project in partnership with AECOM exemplifies the complexity of modern fleet transitions—balancing vehicle replacement schedules, charging infrastructure requirements, facility upgrades, and workforce development while projecting carbon emission reductions of over 14,000 tons.

Closer to the West Coast, we worked with Los Angeles County to address a critical workforce development challenge, in partnership with Black & Veatch. As California accelerates its EV transition, we developed and delivered a seven-part webinar training series to prepare community college students and entry-level technicians for careers in EV charging station installation and maintenance—building the workforce pipeline this industry desperately needs.

Our work with an Indian reservation in California demonstrated how tribal nations can leverage strategic vehicle transitions to achieve both environmental leadership and economic benefits. The three-phase implementation plan, in partnership with Prosper Sustainably, projects over $550,000 in cost savings over 15 years while achieving a 60% zero-emission vehicle fleet composition by 2040.

S Curve Strategies was an extension of the CALSTART and Trident teams, writing grants for transportation electrification and clean energy projects to create jobs and expand much-needed infrastructure.

Supporting Utility Innovation

Utilities remain at the heart of transportation electrification, and this year we've continued our deep engagement with this sector. For the Long Island Power Authority, we worked with Vrinda to reshape their transportation electrification programs to drive participation to support their utility staff’s charging infrastructure rollout. It's exactly the kind of hands-on, results-oriented work that transforms good programs into great ones.

The Through Line: Expertise That Spans the Entire Ecosystem

What strikes me most about this year's projects is their diversity—yet they all require the same core competencies we've been building since day one. Whether we're conducting site walks for fleet assessments, modeling smart charging optimization, developing stakeholder engagement strategies, or creating workforce training programs, we bring a holistic perspective that few consultants can match.

Our team has sat in virtually every chair: utility program experts, grant writers, project managers, third-party evaluators, technical advisors, and implementation partners. This 360-degree view of the industry allows us to anticipate challenges before they arise and design solutions that work in the real world.

Looking Forward

Let's address what everyone in our industry is thinking about: the current federal policy uncertainty and recent funding disruptions have created very real challenges. Layoffs, canceled programs, and shifting priorities have raised genuine questions about the pace and path of transportation electrification. The consumer EV market, in particular, is facing headwinds that shouldn't be minimized.

But here's what I'm observing in the segments where we work and hearing from the state policy makers we work with: there are still state mandates to meet. Transit agencies have commitments backed by state funding. Utilities have already-approved charging infrastructure programs that need expert implementation. School districts serving disadvantaged communities still face air quality imperatives that won't wait for federal policy to stabilize.

These aren't hypothetical future opportunities—these are active commitments, approved budgets, and regulatory obligations that organizations must navigate regardless of what happens in Washington. The work doesn't stop; if anything, it becomes more complex as organizations figure out how to meet their goals with less federal support and more uncertainty about future funding.

This is precisely when experienced guidance matters most. When resources are abundant and the path is clear, many approaches can work. When budgets are constrained, timelines are shifting, and the landscape is uncertain, you need partners who understand how to optimize state and utility programs, who've navigated multiple policy cycles, and who can help you make strategic decisions that deliver results even when the federal picture is murky.

The challenges ahead are real—managing multi-year fleet transitions with evolving funding, ensuring grid resilience, building workforce infrastructure that survives budget cycles. But this is exactly the kind of complexity where deep experience makes the difference. Every policy shift teaches us something new, and we bring those hard-won lessons forward to benefit the next client making the transition to zero emissions.

A Personal Note of Gratitude

Eight years ago, I couldn't have imagined the breadth of impact we'd achieve—from helping secure a $9.7 million grant for San Diego Unified School District to developing New York's transit bus electrification master plan, from creating the first utility-owned public charging programs for utilities in the Midwest to training the next generation of EV technicians.

None of this would be possible without our incredible partners, clients, and collaborators who trust us with their most important transportation electrification initiatives. And certainly not without the dedicated professionals we work alongside on every project.

As we enter our ninth year, S Curve Strategies remains committed to what we do best: developing transportation electrification strategies that increase EV adoption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create sustainable outcomes for the communities we serve.

Here's to the road ahead—it's going to be electric.

For more information about S Curve Strategies' work in transportation electrification, visit scurvestrategies.com or contact April Bolduc at abolduc@scurvestrategies.com or 619.851.3928.