Joyce White has lived on the Bishop Paiute Tribal Reservation all her life. “I was born and raised on the Bishop Paiute Indian Reservation. After graduating from high school, I left Bishop for education and work purposes. I received my B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine and later attended UCLA School of Law,” said Joyce.
Joyce worked in the aerospace industry as a contracts specialist. After graduating from college, she went to work as a paralegal for a Fortune 100 restaurant company. She retired 6 years ago after working for them 31 years. “While I was working, I bought my house in Bishop and moved back after I retired. I served on the Board of Directors for the tribe’s development corporation. At that time, I decided to go back to school to get my Masters in Indigenous Peoples’ Law from the University of Oklahoma School of Law. I was elected to the Bishop Paiute Tribal Council last year. I currently serve as a Tribal Council member, as Secretary of the Owens Valley Board of Trustees.”
GRID’s Tribal Program helps tribal communities like Bishop become self-sustaining by providing resources to assist with their clean energy goals. Joyce was excited when she learned that her solar system was no-cost, thanks to GRID's Energy For All Program. Homeowners like Joyce can expect to save up to 75% on their energy bill. GRID Alternatives Inland Empire (GRID IE) construction team and Bishop Paiute tribal trainees installed six solar panels on Joyce’s home, totaling 1.92 kW DC in size. “I totally support the training of our tribal young people. This program is an excellent opportunity for them to learn a profession that is the way of the future,” Joyce asserted.
Thanks to generous sponsorship dollars from GRID IE Community Partner U.S. Bank, GRID's Tribal Program is able to help tribal communities and homeowners gain access to no-cost solar. Joyce said she was already touting the GRID program before she even knew anything about the referral rewards program. “I will continue to talk about this program and the benefits of solar,” she boasted. “Eventually, I would like to see the entire reservation go solar.”
For more information about our tribal program, contact Lisa Castilone at 951-471-7047 or email tribal@gridalternatives.org. Also, visit www.gridalternatives.org/ie or call 951-272-GRID (4743).