Michael Bangert-Drowns

Civil engineer Michael Bangert-Drowns manages a multi-million-dollar budget that provides technical support for organizations transitioning to zero-emission vehicles. Most of that work today centers on school buses but is shifting to include medium- and heavy-duty fleets being deployed in New York state.

Since Bangert-Drowns joined NYSERDA in mid-2024, the number of New York state school districts writing fleet electrification plans has tripled to include roughly 70 percent of all districts. This is a foundational step in supporting New York’s nation-leading goal to transition all 45,000-plus school buses across the state to zero emissions by 2040. 

Before NYSERDA, Bangert-Drowns worked at engineering and design services firm Arup as a transportation engineer, leading the analysis behind the award-winning Newark360 master plan in Newark, New Jersey, and the Zero Emissions Transportation Plan adopted by Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Arup, he also co-chaired the office sustainability group, launching a composting program for more than 500 employees.