Tell us about yourself and your background?
I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, and in 2011, I moved to Breckenridge – a very environmentally and socially conscious town known for its world-class ski slopes, picturesque views, and abundant outdoor activities. Soon after, I earned a degree in sustainability and received the Outstanding Sustainability Student Award at Colorado Mountain College.
I knew that I wanted to help make changes in the world with my sustainability degree. I was so glad when a job opened up in – what was then – AlsoEnergy’s Support Team, and I could join some of the best people in their journey to create the clean electric grid of the future.
What is your current role at Stem?
I started in an entry-level Support position, and I worked my way up to the Customer Success Team because I wanted to help give our customers and partners a full understanding of clean energy systems.
My current role is to train energy stakeholders – like asset owners, EPCs, and control centers – to optimize the operation of their systems via Stem’s Athena® platform and AlsoEnergy’s PowerTrack application. That could mean many different things daily – including setting up software alarms to trigger if hardware fails; making rate configurations for financial reports; making customized charts for individual hardware registers; analyzing features like inverter heatmaps; and updating our resource database for helpful information.
Each training is unique because each partner and customer has different needs. They represent a broad range of titles – from field service professionals and performance engineers to O&M providers. Every day they share unique questions about their clean energy projects that I get to help them solve. Teaching our customers and partners about solutions to the problems they’re facing that make sense to them is always the goal.
I work mainly with our Product, Support, Engineering, Sales, and Production Teams – almost every department at Stem – and enjoy having vast connections throughout the company. I am a well-placed player, and that helps me help our partners and customers better understand how they can optimize their systems. The most rewarding part is helping partners and customers achieve their project goals – whether to maximize project ROI, set up ESG strategies, operate large fleets with many assets, or learn all of the features of our solutions.
What would you say is the most interesting project that you’ve worked on lately?
Since AlsoEnergy was acquired by Stem last year, I’ve had many opportunities to work with new colleagues on the storage side of the business. We have, for example, developed new demonstrations that show how both front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter storage and solar sites can work together for all types of system configurations. Working across our Sales and Product Teams helps me understand how we bring solar and storage together, so that when I train new partners and customers, I have access to many resources and can assist in any situation.
What recent energy industry trends have made a big impression on you?
As the Chair of Stem’s Sustainability Group, a part of the company’s Culture Coalition, I have the unique ability to see how global material sourcing for solar and storage can sustainably meet the needs of our partners and customers. Our Group’s mission has been to enhance and encourage sustainability practices and policies via Stem’s Pillars of Sustainability, with lots of support from Stem’s Executive Team. One of the Group’s recent projects was to investigate our solar supply chain and the positive choices the company has made to support equitable sourcing practices. Feeling confident in our supply chain inspires me to believe in renewable energy more than ever.
I’m personally inspired by Auden Schendler, the VP of Sustainability for Aspen Ski Company and the Protect Our Winters Group, who recently said that he wants more genuine sustainability. Genuine sustainability goes beyond just reducing environmental impacts but also considers the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, such as equity, access, and justice. It takes the concept of a circular economy, which aims to maximize the use of resources by keeping products at their highest value and utilization for as long as possible so that waste and pollution are minimized, and it adds a social component to how we think about sustainability to evolve with better choices.
Any advice for someone interested in joining renewable energy, sustainability, or working for a company like Stem?
Find ways to get involved locally! There are so many in-person and online groups that you can join that connect you with other energy professionals.
For example, I’ve really enjoyed being part of Jack’s Solar Garden – a Community Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado. The facility was developed by Byron Kominek, who co-located his family’s agricultural land with a solar array. It is one of the first community solar gardens like this. Volunteering and being involved in any segment of the energy industry is a great way to show your passion and help expand your career options.
What about Stem would you’d like our partners and customers to know?
It is genuinely so much fun to work with our partners and customers, to help provide solutions and holistically transform the energy market that will benefit future generations. There are always so many new experiences in our evolving energy industry. Stem is monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing solar and storage projects in real-time – proof that we’re transforming the grid together!