This team of one, so far, has crafted much of what you have read or heard about as related to Solar for Women, with input and perspective offered by many women, and a few men, who work in the solar industry. The dream is to add to the team and build upon this foundation to create transformative learning experiences and an engaged network for women.
Riley Neugebauer
Riley Neugebauer is from Western Pennsylvania originally, but is now based in Colorado, where she has spent the last 3 years installing residential solar and managing projects for small companies. She attended a One-Year Certificate Program in PV Design and Installation Program at San Juan College in 2007 (which no longer exists, unfortunately) with a vision to create an all women’s solar company. Upon realizing how difficult it was to learn a trade when surrounded by men who all knew how to use tools already, as well as a lack of mentorship or good job opportunities at the time, she ultimately set aside the dream and ended up working in sustainability, food systems, and farming in the Northeast for about a decade before returning to solar in Colorado in 2019. The rapid growth in the solar industry meant that there were more job opportunities and a much greater need for workers. Getting trained on the job, however, is still a challenge for women given the culture of the trades, and that was no different for Riley. She continues to work in solar with a vision and passion for training and connecting other women who also want to learn and teach the solar trade and/or start more women-led companies. She is starting a job as a full time installer with Namaste Solar in late 2022 in Boulder, CO.
Her values, and much of her work, have been rooted in sustainability, justice, and the power of community organizing. She has also nurtured a strong desire to have practical skills that improve the world and give her more confidence to build, fix, make, and create. That process is still underway. In her off-time she likes to hike, camp, backpack, salsa dance, eat vegetables, and get worked up about the state of the world.
