Greetings SEI Friends, Family and Supporters,

Solar Energy International (SEI) has announced that our Executive Director, Kathy Swartz, will be stepping down as of May 31, 2021. Kathy has successfully led the industry-leading, internationally recognized, not-for-profit educational organization since 2012. 

“This has been such an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because I love this organization, the mission, and the people. I am so proud of what we have collectively accomplished since 2012. SEI is thriving from a training, cultural, and financial perspective. With SEI’s recent historic growth and opportunities on the horizon, this is the perfect time for a transition. The organization is at a point where it needs different skills and perspectives to take it to a next level, and I’m honored to have been part of SEI and to now step aside for the future,” said Swartz. 

Under Swartz’s leadership, enrollments and the SEI alumni network grew by almost 50%, adding to the total number of students served worldwide, which is over 80,000 since 1991 and over 5,000 per year. Most recently, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SEI expanded its industry leadership position by transitioning the entire program of study to an all-online training model through the SEI Online Campus. This move created record levels of online enrollments in 2020 and helped ensure that future and current solar professionals are able to continue towards their solar training goals during these difficult times. 

Additionally, under Swartz’s leadership, SEI:

  • Emphasized the “I” in Solar Energy International by expanding Programa Hispano, creating the Middle East and Africa program, and developing campuses in Oman and Costa Rica.
  • Further developed the Paonia, Colorado, campus headquarters by building it out and increasing the capacity for more students to be trained. 
  • Created a Development Department and launched a capital campaign to help increase financial resources from industry and supporters to help further SEI’s non-profit mission. 
  • Developed new curriculum and courses, both online and hands-on lab offerings, including topics ranging from advanced energy storage to operations and maintenance (O&M). 
  • Awarded $2 million in federal and state grants, delivered $3.3 million in contract training to the solar industry, and achieved the accreditation to accept GI Bill funding for veterans. 
  • Spurred local economic development through solar and expanded these efforts through the creation of Solar Forward, which empowers nonprofits and community groups in rural regions across Colorado (and beyond) with tools and expertise to kickstart solar markets.
  • Created a separate business entity, SEI Professional Services, as a dedicated service to the industry providing solar PV and energy storage engineering and quality assurance services. 
  • Spun off the Solar Rollers program as a separate nonprofit focusing on the creation and support of high school teams who design, build and race high-performance solar-powered radio-controlled cars.
  • Increased staffing by 50%, evolved the culture to a great level of staff satisfaction, and developed the formal structure of the organization, operationally and organizationally.

“I am so grateful for the thirteen years I’ve worked at SEI. I’m grateful for the thousands of students who I’ve had a chance to interact with; our Board of Directors and the staff who truly care about the life-changing work of training the solar workforce and about each other; and Ed Marston who was my mentor in life and even since his death continues to inspire me,” Swartz said, reflecting on her time at SEI.

Looking to the future, Swartz stated: “SEI is on the cusp of our next evolution of training the global solar energy workforce in reimagined and innovative ways. Our response to the pandemic is a great example of our ability to innovate and lead in the clean energy workforce development space. As we look to the future and beyond the pandemic, I am confident that SEI will find a new leader who has the expertise and passion to scale SEI to the next level,” Swartz said. With the formation of a new presidential administration in the United States focused on clean energy workforce development, SEI is prepared to leverage new leadership to accelerate clean energy jobs across the country, and play a vital role in the global solar energy revolution. 

Speaking of Swartz’s departure, SEI’s co-founder and board member, Johnny Weiss, said, “I want to acknowledge and thank Kathy for her stellar leadership. Her superb management has positioned SEI as a world-class solar training organization. SEI’s mission to help train the global solar workforce is more critical than ever. Thanks to her tenure, the SEI Solar Family is poised to scale in a spectacular way.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors of Solar Energy International (SEI), I wish to thank Kathy for her eight and a half years of energized and devoted service as the Executive Director of SEI. Throughout my career I have worked with many capable administrators and organizers, but none with the compassion, love and vision of Kathy Swartz. She will be greatly missed!” SEI’s President of the Board, Ken Gardner, said.

The thirty-three staff and fifty contract instructors will be ever grateful for her ability to blend a group of people with different skills, experience, expectations and desires into a group with a common focus to teach renewable energy skills to a worldwide audience with ever advancing technologies, and wish her all the best as she continues on her journey. She has set the benchmark for her successor who will need to have the vision and skills to move SEI forward into the next chapters. 

SEI has already begun the Executive Director search process, which will be formally announced in January, 2021. The Board and staff are excitedly looking forward to the selection process and welcome the input of all the voices wishing to advance the aspirations of SEI. Onward!