Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Higgins.
Emma, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am GRID’s Development and Communications Officer, I am originally from Southeast England and studied Fine Art at Kingston University in London. I moved to the US in 2010. I began my career in America working for an arts nonprofit in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I moved to San Diego in 2015 to intern for GRID Alternatives after a friend in the for-profit solar industry told me about their mission to bring free solar to marginalized communities. I moved from an internship to a part-time paid position as our Communications Coordinator and then eventually that morphed into the full time position I currently hold.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say my journey here has been incredibly smooth and that I can attribute much of that to privilege (I am an able-bodied white woman from a middle class background) as opposed to any outstanding ingenuity on my part, but I feel very grateful and lucky to call myself a member of the GRID Alternatives team.
My literal journey to GRID was a quite precarious at times! I enlisted a friend to drive out to California with me from Michigan for an unpaid internship with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. I’ll admit there were weeks when I wasn’t sure how long I would last, but everything ended up working out very much for the best.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
GRID Alternatives is one of a kind, but our San Diego office is actually one of many — with operations headquartered in Oakland, CA and spanning the length of California as well as offices in Washington D.C, Colorado and Nicaragua.
We are a non-profit organization. Our mission is to bring free solar power to front line communities — installing no-cost solar systems for families who bear the disproportional brunt of environmental degradation but who have the least access to these new clean technologies. We have installed over 900 solar systems in San Diego County, equating to an incredible $25.2 million in lifetime energy cost savings for our clients and offsetting just under 67,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Part of my job is to raise funds for the cost of these systems, so our clients never have to pay a penny toward their solar.
We install around 2 solar systems every week and each job serves an important double purpose — as well as providing free, clean energy for homeowners living on low-to-moderate incomes, they are also classrooms for our solar installation training program participants. Our ‘Solar Installation Training Program’ is a 10-week course designed to prepare youth and military veterans for a career in the fast growing solar industry. We have been running this program for two years and have many graduates who are now enjoying fulfilling and well-paid jobs as solar installers across San Diego.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
GRID Alternatives is a non-profit, but San Diego is a great place for the renewable energy industry. Our city has one of the most impressive climate action plans in the country with a goal of 100% renewable energy usage by 2035.
There are hundreds of homeowners in San Diego who could benefit from GRID’s help and, given the abundance of sunshine in San Diego, many more residents who can afford to go solar who should be considering it.
Contact Info:
- Address: GRID Alternatives San Diego
930 Gateway Center Way
San Diego, CA
92102 - Website: gridalternatives.org/sandiego
- Phone: 619.239.4743
- Email: infosd@gridalternatives.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grid_sd/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gridalternatives/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GRID_SD?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/grid-alternatives-san-diego-2
Image Credit:
All images courtesy of GRID Alternatives San Diego
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
