Sara Ross, Electrification, Massachusetts
Sara Ross lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, and she is the co-founder of UndauntedK12, which advances policy to accelerate an equitable clean energy transition for public schools.
What’s your proudest accomplishment in clean energy? My proudest accomplishment in clean energy is creating a company that has helped hundreds of small businesses and thousands of homeowners across the country participate in the clean energy revolution.
Why should Congress invest in clean energy jobs, not fossil fuel jobs? Congress needs to invest in people. Investing in people means investing in their health, their dignity, and their prosperity. It is now crystal clear that clean energy jobs - and not fossil fuel jobs - can provide all three. Congress needs to invest in providing pathways for all workers - and especially workers in the fossil fuel industry - to access clean energy jobs.
What did you do before entering clean energy? I was a stay-at-home mom for four years before I founded Sungage Financial, a company that makes solar affordable for households across the country.
How did you first get introduced to clean energy? My first personal introduction to clean energy came in 2010 when we went solar at our home. It made so much sense, and I wanted to help more families like mine get access to the opportunity to live sustainably and save money.
Why is clean energy important to you? I'm a human who cares about other humans. Dirty energy is killing us. It's killing us with dirty air, dirty water, dirty politics, and dirty wars. And we don't need it to be that way. Clean energy can improve our health, provide family-sustaining jobs, and ensure that our kids have a habitable planet.
What is something you wish more people knew about your job? My job is helping to advance policy that will accelerate an equitable transition to clean energy in our public schools. I wish more education leaders understood the opportunity and the imperative to embrace climate solutions in schools and how not doing so is a bet against our kids' future.
What does your job mean to your community? Massachusetts has immense opportunities when it comes to clean energy. We have over 100,000 clean energy jobs and the potential to create more with a growing offshore wind industry, the need to install even more solar, retrofit buildings, and facilitate electrification of transportation. In my community of Amherst, the University of Massachusetts is leading the way with a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2032. The work to get there will galvanize the whole community, provide models to other institutions of higher education, and engage tens of thousands of students as they prepare to join the workforce.