Lissa Pawlisch

CERTs is here to support your clean energy efforts when you’re ready

Greetings CERTs friends, colleagues, and partners,

We have never experienced a situation like this. Since CERTs began in 2003 we have always been about forging relationships as an essential pathway to advancing community-based clean energy. It would be naive of us not to recognize that in many ways, this forging relationships part is looking a little more complicated this week. I am at my kitchen counter writing this, and I imagine many of you will be reading this from home.

I say all of this because we recognize that perhaps working on a clean energy project is simply not at the top of your to-do list right now, and we get it. The most important thing right now is to take care of yourself, your families, loved ones, friends, and neighbors following guidance from the CDC.

And, with this awareness front and center, we want you to know we're still here to help you when the time is right. As with many workplaces, all CERTs staff are now working remotely. For some of our Regional Coordinators, this is standard business practice, and they already really have a knack for this. For many of the rest of us, we're adapting quickly! 

  1. We're still available to help. If you are considering a clean energy project or have questions about a project, contact us. CERTs staff are all reachable by email.
     
  2. We have cancelled all in-person gatherings and meetings. But we are quickly sorting through which should be postponed vs. which could be done virtually. There are already several call-in meetings and webinars on our event calendar.
     
  3. We are adapting some new virtual programming ideas and approaches. We’re grateful for the technology tools we have access to so that we can still provide opportunities to connect and share resources and information. Stay tuned for more information. For now you can find all of our tools and guides online.
     
  4. We continue to be committed to storytelling. I think we could all use a little bit of good news and inspiration right now, and to that end we will continue to publish new clean energy stories.

So, if you are working on a project and want some virtual assistance, there is a lot we can do via phone, email, or video call. If you feel like now is a good time to do some planning for a future effort, reach out. If you really want to get some folks together to meet virtually about a clean energy idea, we can help. 

The best thing about this job is all of the fantastic people with whom we work. That's YOU. Please take care of yourselves. 

My best, on behalf of the whole CERTs family,
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Lissa Pawlisch
CERTs Statewide Director
University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships

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