Major: Political Science History
Graduated: 2012
Meet Zachary Kane, a 2012 alum who double majored in Political Science and History.
Zachary has diverse professional experiences developing partnerships and engagements from U.S. Presidential candidates to Fortune 500 C-suite executives.
Currently, he serves as the Senior Vice President of Growth at Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company. Oka is the first of its kind carbon insurance tailored for the Voluntary Carbon Market providing assurances for companies progressing toward Net Zero.
His career began on the campaign trail working for local and federal level campaigns and private interest groups. Most notably, Zachary served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the successful campaign of former United States Senator Ben Sasse. This campaign was the most victorious in Nebraska political history, winning a highly contentious primary race between four candidates and winning 93 out of 93 counties in the general election.
Other work experiences include:
Led corporate partnerships for the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF), one of the largest international NGOs dedicated to restoring trees and forests. Previous corporate clients included companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Verizon, Marriott International, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble.
Served as the strategic leader for the #TeamTrees initiative – collaborating with YouTubers MrBeast and Mark Rober to raise $20 million in just 55 days – the largest initiative in YouTube history.
Served as Managing Director of Assurity Ventures, Inc, vetting more than 1,500 early-stage companies for potential partnerships and investments, serving as an advisor to many founders.
How did the UNL Political Science department prepare you for your future career?
“My time at UNL within the Poli Sci department instilled a strength of critical thinking across my career. Whether answering the question of what voters care most about or why a Fortune 500 executive chooses one solution over another, the application of objective analysis in my day-to-day work has allowed me to be successful as a generalist across multiple and diverse sectors throughout my career.”
