SAN FRANCISCO—National nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and sustainability-driven hotel brand 1 Hotels announced the 2021 1 Hotels Fellowship class at E2 recently as Climate Week NYC and National Clean Energy Week hit into high gear. This is the fourth year of the annual fellowship, which awards six young business leaders $20,000 each to execute projects that advance sustainability and clean energy and environmental policies in America.
This year’s projects include a workforce training program for the transition to a zero-carbon economy, development of a bilingual clean energy curriculum to educate small business owners in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and creation of a “climate heatmap” to identify legislative champions in state and local governments.
“Climate change is now an economic issue,” said Bob Keefe, E2 Executive Director. “It’s an issue we need to address every way we can. And one way is by helping foster the vision and big ideas of young entrepreneurs like these six fellows.”
Program Began Four Years Ago
Started in 2017 with a generous donation from 1 Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht and the Sternlicht Sustainability Fund, the fellowship program is designed to help early career environmentally minded entrepreneurs and community leaders to create and implement unique projects at the intersection of economy and environment.
“America is waking up every day to a fresh dose of the impacts of climate change,” said Sternlicht. “We need to make dramatic changes and find long-term solutions to fix our planet and grow our economy in a long-term sustainable way for the benefit of the planet. And we’re counting on young people like these fellows to help lead the way.”
In addition to support for their projects, fellows also receive mentorship from E2 members across the country and membership into E2’s Emerging Leaders program. For information on past E2 1 Hotels fellows and their projects, visit https://www.e2.org/fellows.
2021-2022 E2 1 Hotels Fellows & Their Projects
Adewale Adesanya, Michigan—An intensive workforce and development training program for select residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in preparation for a 100 percent renewable energy transition and a zero-carbon economy.
Alija Blackwell, New Mexico—Designing a participatory planning toolkit to ensure a community-driven and just transition to a clean economy that centers on fairness for businesses, workers, and historically marginalized communities.
Mary Kombolias, Louisiana—Promote photovoltaic microgrid power backup systems for emergency management by producing a case study on the true costs of sustained power outages in U.S. communities with poverty rates above the national average which have been affected by climate events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and deep freezes.
Marlene Plua, Texas—Creation of a bilingual clean energy curriculum to educate Rio Grande Valley small business owners and community health workers on the impacts of fossil fuel and the benefits of renewable energy and to increase community engagement and business support across the border region.
Caroline Spears, California—Creating a public “climate heatmap” that helps citizens discover the largest climate opportunities in their community, using publicly available datasets and geospatial analysis.
Sara Waldner, South Dakota—Produce a report based on interviews with farmers, agribusiness professionals and environmentalists to identify the barriers in implementing an agriculture carbon market and what common ground exists for these important stakeholders in seeking solutions for change.
For more information, contact Michael Timberlake at mtimberlake@e2.org.
