I am both very grateful and very excited to share that Groundswell has joined the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) team focused on our work in Georgia. If you don’t know EEFA, it’s a wonderfully diverse, locally-grounded, multi-state network that serves people who live in rental housing by increasing energy efficiency in the multifamily sector.
For Groundswell, joining the EEFA team in Georgia gives us the opportunity to link cost savings and conservation from energy efficiency to our work in community solar, and to work with a group of people and organizations we love and respect to help each other get good stuff done.
I am grateful to have been able to kick-off our commitment to the team by joining the national EEFA and NEWHAB (it’s sister network) conference this past week in New Orleans. Louisiana is one of the states where EEFA and NEWHAB teams are at work, and the example they set for how to focus and deliver on fundamentally (and truly) local priorities, down to the neighborhood, is powerful.
Like most if not all of you all, I love and appreciate New Orleans and the extraordinary beauty of the State of Louisiana (with a special nod to Quentin Anthony Anderson, Groundswell’s head of marketing and outreach, who proudly hails from Baton Rouge). It was powerfully inspiring to hear people’s stories about how they were progressing towards the vision of a more equitable energy future for Louisiana, even though their children may not be able to live in the same rural communities because the water is slowly taking Louisiana’s coastal land. Mondo Bizarro tells some of their stories lovingly through art, performance, and songs.
Reflecting on the EEFA mission and Groundswell’s commitment as a member of this service-oriented team, Cheryl Johnson, Executive Director of People for Community Recovery and the daughter of the legendary Ms. Hazel Johnson, said it best:
“It’s not where you live, but how you live and the change you make in your community.”
With gratitude,
~Michelle