This is the latest in a series of regular profiles introducing the GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles staff. In their own way, each member of our team brings a passion for renewable energy to the day-to-day work of Los Angeles' most socially-minded solar company. Here's how one of them got to that point: Alejandro De Leon, Solar Installation Supervisor.
Alejandro De Leon plays a critical, challenging role with GRID Alternatives—even if it's one that he relishes, as one of our newest Solar Installation Supervisors. An SIS job carries enormous responsibility because at GRID, even while we're a mission-driven 501(c)(3) organization with outcomes that touch everything from air quality to household savings to jobs, we are fundamentally staff who come to work at a solar installation company each morning. For Alex, the morning often has a familiar routine: open up the GLA warehouse doors, climb into one of the GRID-branded trucks, and drive to a location in one of the Southland's environmentally disadvantaged communities to park outside of a single-family home.
Once Alex has unfurled a pop-up tent, set up safety, and walked the site at a home like this, he leads an installation with a unique group of motivated volunteers for the day. They'll typically work from 8:30 to lunch on the day's solar construction, with opportunities to learn for every individual on the site—regardless of his, her, or their previous construction experience. During the break for lunch, often provided by a homeowner receiving GRID solar at no cost, Alex's volunteers often have a chance to engage in informal discussion about their growth as trainees. Alex's role is multifaceted; in most cases, he is one of the most experienced solar installers there, and best positioned to answer questions. He also makes sure that the project moves to completion within the time available, and goes the extra mile to ensure that safety comes first.
Alex has been prioritizing his own growth in solar for the last few years. In 2015, he was profiled as a volunteer to watch while completing his first hundred volunteer hours. The Los Angeles native had gotten his first taste of renewables technology at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, where Brano Goluza's PV program starts community college enrollees on career education that can guide them to knew opportunities. Alex was guided to GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles, which was concerned about the environmental health of the same communities he was interested in, and obtained his first certification as a Team Leader in 2014.
Our Solar Job Fair in the spring of 2015 marked a turning point for Alejandro: his entry into the industry. At our event on the LATTC campus, Alejandro met solar company representatives from a variety of hiring managers and eventually landed a paid canvassing position in residential solar! An amibitious hiree, he moved into construction over the years that followed. All the while, he maintained his involvement in GRID's community, keeping in touch with Construction Manager Norman Graham and Workforce Development Manager Adewale OgunBadejo.
Residential solar in the private sector is a booming industry, and Alejandro was a beneficiary of the industry's annual double digit growth (new spots are opening up for experienced solar workers every day). But by the middle of this year, Alejandro's most recent private sector employer wasn't the right position for his future ambitions. Looking for a role that was more in line with being a foreman, he canvassed the local hiring landscape for a professional opportunity with a company that would invest with him. It was a warm return to his roots when he joined GRID Alternatives' Greater Los Angeles office by taking the SIS role in August.
"I like working with GRID because it's a great opportunity to do construction in communities that deserve renewable energy, and helping the workforce development trainees succeed is a perfect way to pay forward the training I was given," Alejandro told his team members. During his first few months as a member of the staff team, he's gotten individuals on plenty of roofs to help address our busy pipeline of solar projects. A point of particular insterest has been his almost daily presence at the LINC Housing City Gardens low-income family complex, working on a precedent-setting GLA multifamily project alongside other talented SIS staffers. Alejandro's entire office, including non-Construction personnel, came out for a team-building day of installation on the Santa Ana homes in September, and less than a week ago we laid the last of over a thousand modules into place on the final roof of seventeen. The completion of this project – thanks to Alejandro, his colleagues, and hundreds of trainees – is a stellar achievement for our multifamily housing work, and we've got a fantastic training and safety record on this project to make the taste of victory even sweeter.
When you see Alejandro on a roof, make sure to say hello!