GRID Bay Area is thrilled to announce that our first Women In Solar (WIS) intensive training was a huge success! The program was a part of GRID’s Women in Solar initiative – a national push, in partnership with SunEdison, to bring more women into the solar industry and support their professional development. Over the local two week training program, GRID was proud to see women with a diverse set of backgrounds (from veteran to veterinarian!) come together to form a rockin' 10 woman team. In addition to completing 2 PV solar installations, participants attended workshops on community outreach, solar purchasing, and site assessment and design in order to give the women a comprehensive view of the growing solar industry. “My GRID experience allowed me to see the concept of solar come to life, and understand how GRID is daily making an impact,” said participant Elizabeth Galusha. “I think that women-only programs offer a place where women feel comfortable, can be empowered, and not feel like they're being judged.”
Along with mastering skills needed to succeed in solar, the women also learned about plugging into various career pathways in the industry through a series of educational and soft-skills workshops culminating in a fun afternoon BBQ attended by GRID staff and representatives from Sunrun, Sunpower, Solar City and CLP, giving participants the chance to network and learn more about industry players in a casual, low-stress environment. “This training has been a great way to jumpstart my future,” said one of the participants, who went on to receive a job offer shortly after completing the training. Through the program, several more women made connections with employers, and over half of the participants have now received job offers in solar. GRID applauds these hardworking women who took time out to learn about renewable energy, and hopes to host another all-women’s training in the near future! 
A huge thanks to GRID's We Give Circle, a group of women leading in philanthropy at GRID, who provided the direct funding to make this program possible.