WASHINGTON, DC, JUNE 1, 2021 — Cooperative Banking Executive John Holdsclaw IV and entrepreneurial leader Charles Imohiosen have joined Groundswell’s board of directors.
Holdsclaw serves as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the National Cooperative Bank and is the current Board Chair of the National Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions. Additionally, he serves on the boards of Self Help Venture Fund, Charleston LDC, Global Communities-PCI, Partners for the Common Good, and the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking. For his commitment to cooperatives, especially those in underserved communities, Holdsclaw was awarded NCB’s Stanley Dreyer Spirit of Cooperation Award in 2019.
Through his experience with the National Cooperative Bank and National Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions, Holdsclaw has worked to address banking disparities that disproportionately impact minority communities, and he said he looks forward to working with Groundswell’s board and staff to improve energy equity through solar projects, clean energy programs, and research initiatives.
“At its core, Groundswell is all about helping people, and I am honored to join the Board of Directors,” Holdsclaw said. “I look forward to working with the staff and senior leadership to provide equitable access to clean energy to marginalized communities.”
Imohiosen is the founder and President of Bousquet Advisors LLC, a consultancy which leverages his extensive multidisciplinary strategy, legal, technology and operations background to assist clients across multiple industry sectors. His career journey includes stints in the Obama Administration, state and local government, enterprise software, and corporate law. He has a deep and abiding commitment to social impact and currently serves as Secretary for the Andrew Goodman Foundation Board of Directors. He also advises early-stage companies and is a member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York.
Imohiosen plans to work with Groundswell’s Board of Directors and team members to continue expansion of Groundswell’s people-centered approach to program management across all lines of business and to share his expertise in support of ongoing research into replicable, data-driven solutions.
“Groundswell is leading groundbreaking work that will have a clear and long-lasting impact on communities and energy systems across the country,” Imohiosen said. “I am deeply appreciative of this opportunity to play a role in finding innovative energy equity solutions that can be applied by communities, governments, and energy providers regardless of region.”
Both Holdsclaw and Imohiosen share Groundswell’s goal of serving local communities by developing solar projects and resilience hubs, helping neighbors share power, reducing energy burdens through efficiency, connecting clean energy supply chains to local economic development, and leading pioneering research to help light the way to affordable energy.
“Just about two years ago, Groundswell’s Board of Directors came together and defined the ’superhero’ team our organization needed to guide our mission of building community power. Equitable finance, sector transformation, upholding people’s rights, connecting and organizing, and an entrepreneur’s zeal for innovation are just a few of the superpowers they bring,” commented Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell. “Groundswell is blessed that John and Charles’ vision will help lead us into equitable clean energy futures.”
About Groundswell: Groundswell is a 501c3 nonprofit that builds community power through equitable community solar projects and resilience centers, clean energy programs that reduce energy burdens, and pioneering research initiatives that help light the way to clean energy futures for all. Groundswell leads clean energy programs and projects in six states including the District of Columbia, including serving more than 3,700 income-qualified customers with more than $1.85 million per year in clean energy savings. Learn more at Groundswell.org or @grndswell.
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