Santiago Creuheras completed the Public Leadership Credential (PLC) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), after 25 years of public service. He served as deputy minister of energy and sustainability in Mexico, and his research focuses on the effectiveness of negotiations, implementations, and impact of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Group of 20 (G20).
His quarter century of experience gave him the wisdom to know that there was still much more to learn. “The PLC allowed me to gain new complex problem-solving skills, and I learned to navigate complexities and develop solutions that consider various perspectives with a much broader vision,” he said.
An emphasis on finding solutions is a theme in Santiago’s life and work as a public servant, and the PLC provided him the space to do just that. “The PLC is an opportunity to reflect on your daily professional life with strategic and innovative thinking,” he said. “Harvard faculty provide you with frameworks you can apply to public problems in order to design and implement possible solutions.”
Other solutions that the PLC offers: the ability to move at a speed that is conducive to your circumstances, and introducing learners to peers facing similar issues around the globe to foster collaboration and shared learnings. “The PLC is extremely valuable because you can complete it at your own pace,” Santiago says. “It also allows you to meet other government practitioners from different parts of the world facing similar situations offering alternative perspectives and possibilities to solve your problems.”
Once he completed the PLC, Santiago immediately took the learnings and skillset he gained and brought them back to his organization. “I was able to apply my PLC knowledge to real problems within the energy and environmental sectors in my own country. The combination of adaptive leadership, policy design and delivery, and the use of evidence has helped me to increase my capabilities to have a real impact in my community,” he said.
He also used the opportunity to further his own education and professional development, and used the PLC pathway to complete his Midcareer Master of Public Administration at HKS. Since completing the PLC and his Master’s, he has continued his Harvard journey, and is currently a Fellow of Practice at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and is serving his second term as director of the Harvard Alumni Association's Board.
Santiago’s solutions-driven mindset, combined with his learnings from him formative time at HKS, propel him forward on his path of public service. As he puts it, “I have no doubt the PLC empowered me to gain skills and prepare for the next steps in my career and also allowed me to make new friends for life.” His PLC experience will continually support him as he advances his career both at Harvard and in the larger world of energy and sustainability.