When it comes to making clean energy future that includes everyone, Ashley Gremel doesn’t just walk the walk -- she picks up a paddle and starts rowing! Earlier this month, Ashley, a long-time GRID volunteer, Team Leader, and member, started a unique fundraiser to support both clean energy and clean water in the Bay Area. The idea? For every $5 donated to GRID, Ashley pledged to hop in her kayak and collect one piece of plastic waste from the Oakland-Alameda estuary.
Ashley’s story with GRID began shortly after college, when she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work in solar and volunteered with GRID on her days off. The experience of getting up on a roof not only provided her with insights and skills that she could use to advance her career, but also introduced her to inspiring people who shared her values for equitable energy access. After learning the ropes on several projects, Ashley became a Team Leader so that she could guide volunteers through the solar installation process in the Bay and beyond. In 2015, she joined the International Program on a trip to Nicaragua, where she helped raise funds for and install off-grid solar on a community health clinic. The sum of all her hard work? Over 200 (!) volunteer hours spent on GRID projects and roughly $28,000 raised in support of GRID’s work.
We are inspired by the innovative ways people like Ashley show up for climate justice and show their support for GRID’s mission! If you would like to get involved, you can still support Ashley’s fundraiser by visiting her fundraising page!