SONOMA CLEAN POWER
Electric Youth Sonoma Clean Power supports STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs at local schools, while offering resources to those pursuing careers in the building trades. Here’s a look at youth education and workforce development programs supported by SCP: n The Duck Curve Challenge: The Sonoma County Office of Education enlists students from seventh to 12th grades to brainstorm for ways to reduce evening energy use through the promotion of clean power. n Mike Hauser Academy: A collaboration with local chambers of commerce, the Mike Hauser Program is a three-week summer program for incoming ninth-grade English Language Learner students and those looking for support in math and science. In the program, students visit STEM-focused companies, meet professionals and enjoy hands-on activities to see the practical application of classroom lessons in real-world jobs. n Career Technical Education Foundation: CTE, a nonprofit working to advance careers in agriculture, engineering, healthcare and more, partners with SCP to expand STEM and climate-resilience education to align classroom learning with pathways into the workforce
SCP is co-founder, underwriter and electricity provider for Redwood Ice Theatre Company's free outdoor holiday skating shows at Snoopy's Home Ice.
Technology are tools and not the goal. While climate progress can seem at times overwhelming—with goals penciled out years and decades ahead— clean power agencies can also focus on their communities here and now. They can simultaneously set sights on challenges to the grid in 2050, as well as meet the needs of communities each and every day. Part of that is through education and outreach, says Syphers. SCP partners with schools, teaching about 6,000 elementary students a year about renewable energy and conservation, while encouraging young people to consider careers in clean-energy fields. “We’re thinking generationally,” Syphers says. Part of that ongoing outreach is about being available to the community in times of need. One memorable example took place during the holidays in 2021, when local residents were still cautious about community gatherings following a year of pandemic social distancing. Not wanting families to miss another year of seasonal fun, SCP proposed a partnership with the Redwood Ice Theatre Company and Snoopy’s Home Ice to host a weekend of free outdoor holiday skating shows at the Santa Rosa skating facility. “Along comes Sonoma Clean Power
looking for a special project for the community,” says Tamara Stanley, general manager of Snoopy’s Home Ice, about the inspiration for the holiday shows. Together with SCP’s marketing director Kate Kelly and Redwood Ice Theatre Company director Carmen Mitchell, they planned a free weekend of outdoor shows that would become a yearly tradition. “It was fantastic,” says Stanley. “Thank goodness they decided they wanted to do it again.” Audiences have responded enthusiastically, with subsequent years attracting north of 200 attendees per show—kids sit upfront in the red- carpeted “kids zone” and the event includes cocoa, SCP giveaways and a T-shirt cannon for Snoopy shirts. Stanley sees it as another example of SCP’s community-minded ethos, noting the agency has also recently opened up its downtown-Santa Rosa Customer Center for nonprofit gatherings. “They’re always looking for the ‘yes,’” Stanley says about SCP. “It’s such a generous thing, for people in this community to have that. We’re lucky.” n
n Lime Foundation: The foundation’s NextGen Trades
Academy advances skills in green building and vocational trades, allowing students to explore careers in more than 20 trades, such as architecture, plumbing, roofing, electrical, solar technology and more.
Source: Sonoma Clean Power
8 NorthBaybiz
2025
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