Thanks in large part to Sunrun, GRID Alternatives Bay Area recently installed an 8.06 kW solar system at the Rio Vista Veterans Residence. The home will provide a permanent residence with case management and support services for six formerly homeless veterans. The six bedroom house is being built by Solano-Napa Habitat for Humanity and will be owned and operated by the Berkeley Food & Housing Project with the assistance of American Legion Post 178.

When I told the team in January that I would be transitioning out of my role as Executive Director to work on the 2020 election, I never thought that my last few months would be spent helping to chart a course for the organization through a global pandemic while the nation grapples with heartbreaking examples of police brutality and systemic racism.

En un estado donde el 30% de la población es de habla hispana, y siendo GRID una organización que provee servicios a muchas comunidades de habla hispana, los miembros de GRID Juan Bernal, Melissa Bergsneider and Luis Amar se dieron cuenta que algo faltaba en nuestros programas del Área de la Bahía: una manera para que nuestra comunidad de voluntarios, aprendices y clientes de habla hispana puedan participar en instalaciones solares de GRID completamente en su lengua natal.

“We see a great need to include traditionally underrepresented groups into the solar industry,” - Melissa Bergsneider, SolarCorps Fellow and one of the team members spearheading an initiative to offer Spanish language solar installation instruction at GRID. Learn more about Melissa’s vision and our first successful Spanish language solar installation for the Villa Family in Menlo Park.

As the solar landscape changes and we continue to do more and more multifamily and commercial projects with less predictability on volunteer engagement opportunities, we have updated our volunteer program in order to be more intentional and serve a wider variety of diverse interests in the GRID community. See what's new with volunteerism at GRID Bay Area.

This month is a two-for-one staff spotlight highlighting the two new faces of our Workforce Development Team! Meet Ambessa Cantave, Workforce Development Manager, and Alexandra Shade, SolarCorps Workforce Development and Volunteer Fellow. Both fueled by GRID's emphasis on equity, they look forward to working together to provide more job training opportunities in 2020.

GRID Bay Area's North Coast branch office has been partnering with California's tribal communities to bring solar savings and job training to indigenous families since 2013, installing 896 kilowatts DC to date on tribal lands in the region. Join all of us at GRID Bay Area in observing Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday, October 14th. Read on for a list of ways you can support Bay Area Indigenous Peoples.

Every fall, GRID Bay Area hosts Women in Solar programming thanks to support from the We Give Donor Circle. Led by our 2018/2019 SolarCorps Workforce Development Fellow, Gwen Chang, 2019 was a full week of Women in Solar programming - 9 total events over the span of 6 days! These included 3 webinars, 2 solar installs, a practice roof session, resume review workshop, networking happy hour, and a women in solar leadership panel discussion. And what a week it was! Read on for the highlights.