One Montgomery Green and Bethesda Green, close collaborators in creating sustainable urban ecosystems, jointly were selected for one of 18 Phase One prizes of the Inclusive Energy Innovation Competition, awarded nationally by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Awardees were selected from more than 200 submissions across the country. This project will combine Bethesda Green's nationally recognized, sustainability-driven entrepreneurial programming with One Montgomery Green's proven community engagement and environmental outreach strategies to advance climate and energy technologies in Wheaton, Maryland.

Relying on extensive community engagement efforts, which I will oversee and coordinate, this project will prioritize the development and expansion of entrepreneurial programs and access to resources, specifically for the community in and around Wheaton, while simultaneously reducing the barriers to equal opportunity and furthering efforts to promote the Justice40 Initiative. 

As part of this project, One Montgomery Green and Bethesda Green will: engage the community and conduct work in both English and Spanish; create an equitable and actionable carbon reduction roadmap; expand entrepreneurship and green jobs training; increase the number of Wheaton businesses that are B Corp and Green Business certified; collaborate with the Montgomery County Green Bank to promote building energy upgrades; encourage community solar initiatives; facilitate community collaboration to create more local green space; and enhance availability of clean energy transportation options.

I am stoked to continue working as a community liaison and am looking forward to continuing to grown professionally. 

Attached is a pictures of me introducing myself at my first MoCo Climate 2022 Event which took place last Thursday at the Streetery near Hakuna Matata Grill, where guest speakers discussed the Community Heat Mapping Project and its effect on Montgomery County.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: Patuxent NWR