By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Arthur Fisher Jr. knows about multi-tasking. Growing up in a small town in Louisiana, he played piano, drums, violin, and the trumpet.
As he got older, he spent time in varied fields from engineering to finance to get a better perspective on how companies make money, “and now I work in a space where I can marry both my technical background, my finance [background], he said.
That space is public policy manager at Grenergy USA. “In the U.S., we focus on solar and battery storage development in multiple states across the southeast region, Texas, and other states around the country,” he said. “Our business model covers the entire project lifecycle from development and construction to financial structuring, plant operation, and maintenance.”
He added, “Grenergy is making a significant impact in the transition to clean, safe, reliable, and sustainable energy.”
As a public policy manager, Fisher monitors and analyzes policy issues and developments that affect the renewable energy sector nationwide.
“I also develop and execute policy positions and government affairs strategy, working with the development team (at Grenergy) to prioritize federal, state, and local efforts,” said Fisher, who became the first minority on the Chelsea City Council in 2023.
Reading Music
He credits his mother, Phyllis Fisher and grandmother, Ethel Maye Kimble with providing the guidance for helping to him excel and multi-task.
“My mom is a musician, so I played four different instruments.,” said Fisher. His favorite was his drum set. “It was the first instrument I played starting at the age of 4. I even played in the high school band starting in the 5th grade … I could actually play. I wasn’t just banging the drums for show … and I was super smooth. I practiced in the mirror every day.”
His mother retired as an elementary education teacher after 34 years. Currently, she owns and operates an Arts Center, “Bottoms Up Art Center,” focusing on teaching music to underprivileged kids in the community. She still lives in Opelousas. Louisiana, the small town where Fisher grew up.
His mother taught him how to read music, Fisher said. “My parents set me up with different music instructors for each instrument, but the foundation of being able to read music really helped me out tremendously.”
His great grandmother, Ethel Maye Kimble passed in 2012 at 94 years old. “She raised my mother as one of her own. I always called her ‘grandmutha.’ I was the youngest of all her grandchildren and she called me, “Boochie.” I was always hanging with her in church, her house, and I was always with her when I attended the same school she used to teach.
Grandma’s Baby
Fisher attended Opelousas High School where he played basketball and baseball before graduating in 2008. He has an older sister who currently resides in Washington, D.C.
“My dad was a state trooper for 25 years. He is the backbone of everything our family does. My great- grandmother spent a lot of time in the education system. She was an English teacher in elementary education, adult education, and a Sunday School teacher for 60 plus years. I’ve always been heavily involved in church (Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Opelousas, LA) and anything educational wise. My family has been involved in our local community from music education in schools or serving as a school board member,” said Fisher.
Fisher said he started his college career at Louisiana State University (LSU), in Baton Rouge, LA but transferred to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he got his BS in electrical engineering in 2015.
“I transfer to SU because there was something that I wanted to do with my senior design project that I couldn’t do at LSU. … My first job out of college, I ended up in Port Lavaca, Texas but I lived in Victoria, Texas, which is the hometown of Stone-Cold Steve Austin, the professional wrestler.”
Since 2016, Fisher has called Alabama home. “I started working for [Southern Company] back in 2016 as a design engineer. It was a great experience. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of different people and learn about the power industry, but the job I was working didn’t really mesh well with my personality,” said Fisher adding, “I believe that I’m super outgoing and I’m not really a behind the desk worker like that.”
He went on to earn his MBA in finance from Samford University in December 2020. “I started working on my MBA in 2018 before COVID and I worked as an operational analyst at Spire before doing some lobbying. “
Councilman Fisher
The Birmingham-area is notable for a number of reasons for Fisher.
He was sworn in as the newest member of the Chelsea City Council during a regularly scheduled meeting in October, 2023 to fill a vacant seat. He will serve the remainder of the term until the next election in 2025.
“To come to the State of Alabama, to a county that has had some heavy voter restrictions in the past, and even though I wasn’t elected in but appointed by the existing council, being the first minority [on that council] in that city that is rapidly growing, that not only I’m super proud of but my great grandmother would be,” said Fisher.
He currently resides in Chelsea with his wife Jacy Fisher. Although he doesn’t have any children he “looks forward to growing out his family.”
He also has an interesting streak ongoing. “I’ve been to Disney every year since I’ve been born in 1990,” he said. “I’ve had those opportunities with my parents, my sister, and I’ve transition over those same experience with my wife and I plan to push it forward to my kids. That would be amazing to me.”
As a “heavy Marvel fan”, Fisher said his favorite character is Falcon aka Black Captain America. As a treat to his family, Fisher makes sure that each family member has a special t-shirt that correlates to the theme that they chose each year.
“I’ve seen all phases probably four or five times and I’ve grown a liking to Falcon. He is my favorite character. I do shirts every year when we take these family trips, so I’ve made myself him.”
In January, Fisher was announced as one of the Birmingham Business Journals 40 under 40 for 2024. “I was surprised that I made it. I was super thankful for it,” he said.
