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GreenCorps Community Energy Ambassador Cohort

By Olivia Siebert

Group photo of the cohort in front of the Great Plains Institute signAs CERTs has expanded the Community Energy Ambassador program, there has been increased interest in training Ambassadors using a cohort model. I became a CERTified Community Energy Ambassador in November of last year by supporting my neighbor through an energy audit and exploring residential solar. To continue my ambassadorship, I decided to offer a cohort for my fellow Minnesota GreenCorps members and alumni. Minnesota GreenCorps members serve throughout the state on a variety of environmental projects; many involving community outreach and engagement, but not all members have the opportunity to become experts on clean energy topics. I reached out to current members and the Alumni Association and got a lot of interest in it as a free professional development and networking opportunity.  

“It was particularly useful to be in a room full of current and past MN GreenCorps members because everyone had some environmental perspective to bring to small group conversations. Many of us had experience doing community outreach, so it was great to combine our real-world experiences with the tips and tricks shared throughout the course.” 
 

– Ashley, alumni and current program staff

GreenCorps member Zekima presenting a posterAfter sending a survey to interested participants, Keely (our fabulous Ambassador coordinator) and I determined that a one day, in-person training session was the best way to go through the training program as a group. We alternated videos with in-person presentations on the topics and included interactive activities to help participants put the technical knowledge in the context of community engagement and potential Ambassador projects. I made sure to set aside the last portion of the day for project planning time in groups, so people could brainstorm ideas together or even collaborate on projects. 

Current member Zaria shared that “It's easy to get swept up in the daily grind, but having an in-person event like this reminded me that behind the climate work we do, we are all just people. I felt like the group work on developing a project helped me come up with a richer and more fleshed out project idea.”

We had our training day in early June, and participants had the summer to start working on their project ideas. Most members of the cohort made progress on or completed their first project by the end of August, when we hosted a celebration to recognize their accomplishments and highlight completed projects. Cohort members did various projects, including tabling at community events, helping local nonprofits get energy assessments or start their solar journey, and even hosting a dinner party where they shared about energy audits with friends!

My recipe for a cohort

Hosting a Community Energy Ambassador cohort can take many forms depending on your audience, their existing level of knowledge, and your goals for the cohort. I chose to do a one day training because my participants all work or serve in Americorps full time, but could take one day off for professional development. This made it easier to schedule and reserve space so we could hold it primarily in person, with a hybrid option. I think this format contributed to more community building and networking between participants than might have occurred with an online training. When planning the agenda, we made sure to build in breaks and time to socialize so we didn’t overwhelm the participants with technical videos and presentations – not everyone wants to learn about solar photovoltaics and heat pumps with variable speed compressors for six hours straight!

Cohort meeting inside of a room

To prepare my participants for the cohort day, we held a pre-training orientation where we assigned the first three modules of the training to be completed independently and helped everyone get registered for the Canvas course. This let participants meet each other and allowed us organizers to explain the cohort structure and the project element, which is the most daunting part of the Community Energy Ambassador program. I wanted to ensure that cohort members understood the kinds of projects past Ambassadors have completed in their communities so they could start brainstorming ideas while going through the training modules. Many participants still found the project phase a little overwhelming to start, but after the built-in project planning time at the end of our training day, they all left with at least one idea and some tips for getting started.

Throughout the summer, I made sure to check in with my cohort and meet with them to discuss their project ideas. CERTs has many connections and resources for various clean energy topics, including solar, energy assessments, and other efficiency upgrades. One member of this cohort developed a plan for a cohort at her own service site, so she worked closely with CERTs staff to learn about the process of designing a cohort that would work for her audience!

Learn about the Community Energy Ambassador program here and email the [email protected] if you’re interested in joining or supporting a cohort! 

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