People Behind Your Power: Josh Ferry

The people behind your power are people just like you. We live, work and play in Central Indiana. We have families, pets, hobbies, and quirks. We volunteer and strive to make a difference. We are also a part of a dedicated team focused on powering your essential needs.

Meet Josh Ferry, Senior Environmental Scientist. An environmental scientist uses their expertise to help protect the natural world — including air, water, and land. Josh leads our natural resource and cultural permitting program for AES Indiana’s Transmission and Distribution projects. His focus area and expertise relate to Wildlife Policy and Biodiversity. Josh has worked for AES Indiana for a little more than two years.

Here’s more about Josh:

• Josh grew up in the hills of Nashville, IN, enjoying all things conservation — hunting, fishing, hiking, and bird watching. He grew up dreaming about a job that would take him outdoors and would give him the opportunity to make a positive impact on nature.
• His first job was as a dishwasher at That Sandwich Place in Nashville, Indiana. At the time, Josh recalls almost every square inch of the walls were adorned with Bob Knight memorabilia. He even met Coach Knight a few times.
• Josh was drawn to AES Indiana, and the work of an environmental scientist, because it provides him the opportunity to be out on the landscape exploring ways to be impactful on our lands. Josh shared: “Our customers, our employees and, ultimately, the values of our company align with my deepest passions.”
• Josh attended Milligan College, where he received his BA in Humanities and then The Ohio State University, where he received an MS in Environmental Science.
• What you may not know about him is Josh was a pretty serious track athlete at one time, running the 800M in high school and college (around 1:52). He still enjoys running but prefers trail running now.
• If he could live anywhere in the world, it would be the French Alps. Josh took his family there this summer and would love to return and spend a year hiking, skiing and eating as much cheese and bread as possible!
• Josh encourages customers to take every opportunity to be curious about nature, taking the time to move slowly through a natural environment and observe the interactions of the plants and critters. The natural world has a wonderful way of keeping balance, but there are certain factors that can alter this balance — none perhaps more problematic than invasive species. We can all help by trying to limit the spread of invasive plants, and that often starts by understanding more about them. Learn more.
• For fun we asked Josh if he had to delete all but three apps on his smartphone, which ones would he keep:
  • PictureThis (plant identification)
  • Merlin Bird ID (bird identification)
  • Duolingo (he’s learning Spanish)