Spotlighting Women of Color in Energy - Part 2: Company Leaders
Young Professionals in Energy New York City (YPE NYC) and Women of Color Collective in Sustainability (WOC/CS) are excited to reveal our second collaboration and joint article highlighting women of color running organizations and companies advancing the energy sector. If you missed our first joint article, we welcome you to read it HERE.
In light of the Biden Harris’ administration focus on and commitment to environmental justice, we acknowledge that energy efficiency can and should benefit those on the frontlines of climate impacts by creating sustainable high-paying green jobs, reducing air pollution in all communities, and many efforts acknowledging the disproportionate impact on communities of color. For the second part of this article series, we interviewed women of color leading the charge at energy companies. Below they share more about their work, stories, and hopes for the future.
Daphany Rose Sanchez
Company: Kinetic Communities Consulting
Title: Executive Director
Website: KC3.NYC
Instagram Handle: Daph_NYC_
Twitter Handle: Daph_NYC_
LinkedIn Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphanysanchez
Why did you start your company?
During my tenure at different energy organizations, I realized many firms working in the NY market did not represent my community. Frustrated by the lack of diversity, I founded Kinetic Communities. Kinetic Communities is New York City’s first MWBE B Corp! We focus on projects that are centered on energy efficiency, housing, and equity. I’m not interested in doing energy efficiency projects for the sake of climate change alone - I’m interested in providing upward mobility pathways for diverse New Yorkers to achieve a clean, healthy, and sustainable future. We work closely with utilities and government agencies who are tackling climate action within diverse New York communities. We provide information on the importance of engagement and strategies on how to engage our people. As a B Corp, it’s also important for us to do what we preach, so we are mindful of our hiring and internship onboarding practices to support local New Yorkers, ensuring they have an opportunity to work within our sector and are active leaders in any market transformation and clean energy transition programming.
How have you seen your community and customers grow over time?
The industry has begun to grow, but a lot more is required to transform energy solutions. Diverse communities are made possible through enthusiastic participation, particularly by communities commonly excluded. It has been exciting to see the industry grow and become aware of the need to diversify its workforce. The industry has not hired and promoted from within our community as much as it should have, but acknowledgment is the first step. The New Yorkers we serve, as well as the community I live in, are very much aware of climate action. They are interested in learning more and have participated in direct climate action, activities, and initiatives. Unfortunately, many activities are not accessible, as they take place in the middle of the day, are only in one language, or require some technical knowledge. To increase meaningful participation, we need to break down barriers and allow communities to lead!
What are the biggest challenges to the work you do advancing community and energy and/or increasing access and affordability achieving energy justice?
Finding a balanced combination of restorative justice and climate action is a big challenge. Creating scalable solutions often ignores historical disinvestment. We are often so rushed with solving the climate crisis, that we fail to address the consistent societal denial and disinvestment in BIPOC communities. The industry often seeks large scalable solutions that can make the world a better place, but will continue to ignore our most vulnerable communities. There is a transformation of technology solutions that use private financing without regulation (oftentimes tech moves faster than policy) increasing financial burden and wealth disparities, and eroding workforce safety nets such as prevailing wages or proper employment benefits.
What are your hopes for the energy sector and your company over the next couple of years?
We, as an industry, should look at public power and community ownership models. In the big picture, climate action and climate solutions are driven from a for-profit standpoint, which hurts our communities. There needs to be a focus on elevating local BIPOC organizations in order for companies and nonprofits to play a critical role in our clean energy transition. We need to provide them with the proper resources: money, time, and expertise to collectively uplift their neighborhoods, rather than taking an approach where we’re looking for another business model. The sector must create solutions that foster restorative justice for BIPOC communities. As for KC3, we plan to continue ensuring that the clean energy transition is centered around New Yorkers first, and that they have access to good career pathways and healthy, affordable homes!
Cassandra John
Company: Sif Capital Advisors
Title: Managing Director
Website: www.sifcapitaladvisors.com
Instagram Handle: captsinjun
Twitter Handle: cabigail2
LinkedIn Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandrajohn/
Why did you start your company?
Every early-stage climate technology startup asks this question: "How do I access the capital that I need to bring to market the technology solution that I have?" At the same time, a startup with capital of all types (venture funds, family offices, institutional investors, banks, private equity) have the same type of question: "How do I find, engage with, and deploy the capital entrusted to me to the companies who are going to successfully enable the clean energy transition?"
I want to help each of them answer that question. I started Sif Capital to connect climate technology to capital so that we can accelerate investment into clean energy.
How have you seen your customers grow over time?
One of the biggest surprises of 2020 and the impact of COVID is how the clean energy industry managed to thrive in the face of really challenging economic realities. For startups specifically, it became a forcing function to address the question of "How can I be relevant now and in a way that puts out immediate & high impact solutions?"
I started my company pre-COVID, and it grew throughout 2020 in ways that I didn't expect. Did companies still have capital needs? Obviously yes, of course! But what was more important? Figuring out the right strategy, assessing customer demand, and making sure that “technology was solving real problems” and truly providing value to customers.
What are the biggest challenges to the work you do advancing community and energy and/or increasing access and affordability achieving energy justice?
Energy justice, for me, is about:
Lowering the cost of energy for everyone, everywhere, and that's not just in dollars per kWh, but also in the impact of pollution on the environment and the subsequent impact on low-wealth communities that are often the most affected. The biggest challenge is that these communities often lack the consolidated voice to push back, so if I have any opportunity to amplify that voice, I take it.
Lowering barriers to entry for BIPOC to join this industry professionally. It's hard showing up at a conference and having someone be able to pick me right out of a crowd... because I'm "the only one" of me in a crowd! For the record, that happened in finance, too, but even more so in clean energy. For college students trying to figure out what industry to work in and for young professionals looking to figure out where to apply all their passion, it's hard to look at an industry and not see someone who 'looks like you' - you start to ask if you belong. I want to change that and even though I'm always at 100% capacity on client engagements, where I have a chance to make sure I'm visible to tell everyone "you're welcome here", I'll do it!
What are your hopes for the energy sector and your organization/company over the next couple of years?
Astronomical growth! I hope it continues; the wave and momentum have been building for at least a decade. The combination of technology improvements in both software (data, machine learning) and hardware (advanced materials, manufacturing, etc.), as well as the education and knowledge of how our energy system works and how every participant (individual consumers, commercial & industrial, utilities, governmental entities) has a role to play, is critical to the successful transition to a clean energy system.
For my organization, I hope that I and every member of my team get to do our best every day as we play our (small, but growing!) part in helping accelerate that transition.
Amalia Cuadra
Company: EN-POWER GROUP
Title: Senior Director of Engineering
Website: www.enpg.com
Instagram Handle: BkCuadra
Twitter Handle: BkCuadra
LinkedIn Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amalia-cuadra-pe/
Why did you join your company?
Growing up in Nicaragua, I was surrounded by homes that used colonial inner courtyards to facilitate cross-ventilation. This efficient model of home design was fascinating to me. After starting out in chemical manufacturing, this concept kept returning to me and I realized that I could marry my technical skillset with my values and lived experience to explore the idea of energy efficiency.
In NYC, I saw the many avenues in which I could apply my engineering degree to our built environment and sought out opportunities. I looked for companies where I was excited by the values, energized by the work, and where I could contribute to growth. Serving on the leadership team at EN-POWER GROUP, all of those things are possible. I’m able to contribute to a firm that has a stellar track record in developing and executing large, energy-saving projects.
I’m proud to be part of an industry that allows us to improve our city through the alignment of capital needs with energy and carbon conservation goals.
How have you seen your community and customers grow over time?
Public awareness of climate change and legislative changes have brought attention to the importance of our industry. For instance, the building letter grades being assigned to facilities above 25,000 square feet are serving as a catalyst for building management to reach out to companies like EN-POWER GROUP for support.
Thinking of our community, I admire the young engineers who are entering our industry today, and already aware that they want to use their skill set to tackle climate change. It has been so encouraging to mentor many of these young professionals as they start their careers in companies whose missions align with their values.
What are the biggest challenges to the work you do advancing community and energy and/or increasing access and affordability achieving energy justice?
I think about this all of the time as a woman of color living in a mixed-income community. The biggest challenge to achieving environmental justice is affordability. As we look to execute the goals of laws like LL97, we can’t lose sight that carbon conservation requires resources for implementation and maintenance while ensuring safe and comfortable housing for all New Yorkers.
What are your hopes for the energy sector and your company over the next couple of years?
As a sector, we need to create pathways and opportunities for young people to see themselves in the engineering and energy space. When Black and Brown kids are told that they aren’t good at math and science, we have the responsibility to help change that narrative and help these kids find a place in this critical work. When we mentor rising stars in the industry, we need to think with open minds about where those rising stars might be. My hope for the energy sector is that in ten years, I won’t ever be the only Latina in the room.
WOC/CS is a platform and community supporting women of color in building their careers, creating professional success, and advancing their well-being. WOC/CS is one of the few collectives that is 100% dedicated to advancing women of color working in the sustainability industry. We are building the only digital marketplace and community bringing all of the players in the diverse ecosystem together across the sustainability industry and solving the gap of connecting a key demographic in the sector with the organizations and companies that want to support their ideas and projects.
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Young Professionals in Energy New York City is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that facilitates the advancement of young professionals in the energy industry through social, educational, and civic service-oriented events. With over 4,000 members, the organization represents one of the largest energy networks in the tri-state area. We welcome anyone with a direct professional focus on the energy sector to join our diverse and dynamic community.