Blake Jones

Namaste Solar

Blake (far right in photo) is the President of Colorado-based Namaste Solar Electric, an employee-owned solar PV company with over 500 system installations in the past 3 years. After attending SEI workshops Blake spent three years in Nepal implementing solar, wind, hydro, and electric vehicle technologies. He returned to the US in late 2004 to co-found Namaste Solar Electric and to promote the use of solar electricity in Colorado.

Anna Bautista

Grid Alternatives

Anna is the training and volunteer coordinator in the Los Angeles area for Grid Alternatives. Grid Alternatives empowers communities in need by providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services, equipment and training. Through their Solar Affordable Housing Program, Grid Alternatives trains and leads teams of community volunteers to help low-income homeowners install solar electric systems on their own homes. Anna trains job trainees and community volunteers on how solar works and the installation process.

Camilo Jaramillo

Hybrytec

Camilo started his own renewable energy business called Hybrytec, in Colombia, South America. Hybrytec is now one of the major PV businesses in the country and they have plans to expand to other countries in Latin America where there is a huge need for off grid systems.

Doug Hollinger

Global Youth Service Team

After Doug attended various SEI workshops hevolunteered for SEI's INVEST partner Border Green Energy Team, working with Burmese refugees on theThai/Burma border. He then started his own non-profit organization, Global Youth Service Team. GYST's mission is to provide is to provide high school and college students the opportunity to bring sustainable energy systems, education,and assistance to people who are excluded from attaining a better life due to geographical location, economic inequality, and human rights violations. Through their volunteers, GYST has electrified schools and health clinics in Ghana and along the Thai/Burma border.

Paul Puhr

SunPower Corporation

As the Commercial Monitoring Integration Lead at SunPower Corporation, Paul is in involved with system monitoring and data acquisition work for commercial, commercial value added reseller and utility scale projects. The photo is of Paul stainding in front of a multi-megawatt installation SunPower did in Spain. According to Paul, “It is a lot of great work with really enthusiastic people. My thanks to SEI for helping me to get here! “

Joe Schwartz

Home Power magazine

Joe is CEO of Home Power magazine. He helps organize the magazine's direction, projects, and crew. He writes articles and equipment reviews, shoots photos, and edits text and graphics for technical accuracy. He’s also a licensed renewable energy technician and installer in Oregon.

Rachel Burton

Piedmont Biofuels

Rachel is the founder of Piedmont Biofuels, a worker and member-owned cooperative promoting and offering biodiesel fuel made from vegetable oil. Rachel drives a 1989 Dodge pickup diesel known as the "Grease Goat" that runs on B100 and a 1982 Datsun pickup she converted to straight vegetable oil. She also teaches a biofuels class at the local college.

Ashley Patterson

The Green Building Center

Ashley is the owner of the Green Building Center in Salt Lake City, wh ich offers building materials and consulting to people interested in green buildingin the Salt Lake area.

Karen Wolfer

Daystar Solar Energy

Karen Wolfer built her own energy efficient home and powers it with solar energy. Thanks to the classes at SEI, she has built a thriving business over the past nine years. "Daystar Solar Energy" serves the Guffey, CO area in southern Park County and also covers Teller and Fremont counties. She has worked on hundreds of PV systems of all sizes and has recently expanded her business to include the art of wind generator installations. She is a guest speaker at various workshops and is also involved in teaching renewable energy.

Oliver Strube

RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Oliver is the cofounder of RenewableEnergyWorld.com, one of the most recognized and trusted source for Renewable Energy News and Information on the Internet

Ben Root

Home Power magazine

Ben came to SEI with a background in computer graphics. A month after attending the SEI workshops, he began working with Home Power Magazine as their main graphics guy. He does the article layouts, wiring and other technical diagrams, and ad layouts. Ben says he loves his job at Home Power because "I get to do graphic design where the content is something I care about."

Cari Spring

Courses: Women's PV Design & Installation, Tucson, 1999

Cari took the women's PV workshop in Tucson in 1999. In January she co-founded the non-profit organization Emerald Resource Solutions. Emerald Resource Solutions is focused on helping to implement more solar through education and installs. You can find out more about them from their web page, www.emeraldrs.org. Continuing her work with Women for Sustainable Technology (WST), Cari will be speaking at their conference in Tucson, AZ on October 7, 2000. Cari has also installed many PV systems and is currently finishing the wiring on her own house for which she is the designer, builder, and project manager for the house construction and electricity. The electric system is off grid solar/wind hybrid with both 12vdc and 110vac circuits.

Jaya Pichumani

Courses: Women's PV Design & Installation, 1998

Jaya took the first women's PV Design and Installation workshop in Tucson in 1998. She has since begun working as an Engineering Manager for the Advanced Energy department of Conservation Services Group (CSG), formerly Planergy. At CSG Jaya participated in one of the largest solar schools programs called "Watts On Schools" which involved installing 19PV systems on K-12 schools throughout Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. In addition to integrating the grid-tied 4 kW systems into the school's electrical distribution system, she also assisted in developing an educational program for students to learn more about solar energy and their PV system.