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Cornell University

Energy & Climate Change

Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins

CCE Tompkins Advances Regional Green Workforce Development Efforts

A group of nine people pose for a picture in a classroom, smiling at the camera.

On Friday, November 3, approximately 25 individuals connected with Ithaca and Tompkins-area sustainability and workforce development gathered at TC3 Extension, on the Ithaca Commons, to celebrate a milestone in the region’s climate efforts.

They gathered for a graduation ceremony for a cohort of students completing the Energy Warriors program, an environmental literacy program run by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Tompkins County. On Friday morning, four individuals ranging in age from their mid-20s to their mid-50s would complete this program and earn their certificates from CCE Tompkins. 

Among the attendees were Rebecca Evans, Director of Sustainability for the City of Ithaca; Hilary Swartwood, Sustainability Planner for the Town of Ithaca; and a number of Cornell Cooperative Extension staff, including CCE Tompkins Interim Executive Director Meg Cole. Also in attendance were elected officials who have made jobs and green energy a priority: Tompkins County Legislators Rich John, Anne Koreman, and Greg Mezey, as well as representatives from local organizations that work with the program and/or hire graduates from it, including OAR (Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources), Historic Ithaca, and TST BOCES.

Three students sit in a well-lit classroom, discussing during a group activity. On the left is one student, a woman with curly grey hair, seated across from are two men, one older in a black shirt, speaking with his hand by his face, and another with glasses and a cap, listening.
From left to right: Sheila, Chris, and Harrison, three students in the most recent cohort of the Energy Warriors program discuss with each other during a group activity.

“Our trainees do go through a 10-modular course that prepares them to understand environmental issues… understanding what is climate justice, understanding what is environmental justice,” said Aloja Airewele of CCE Tompkins, who leads the program. “That’s why they’re energy warriors. They are people who are at the forefront of moving us into the kind of energy sources that will be healthy.”

The program is aimed at individuals facing barriers to employment and those who want to transition their careers to the field of sustainability. The Energy Warriors program is designed to help students with barriers they may face, currently and in the future.

For example, students do not have to pay to attend the class. Instead, they receive a weekly stipend to help with opportunity costs associated with not earning while attending the course. “The stipend that was offered enabled me to do it instead of having to spend that time hustling for money,” said one of the graduates, Melissa Forrester, during the ceremony. “And then Patrick, [one of the instructors], referred me to Suzanne, and I’m so excited now to work with her.”

Three women speak in a tight circle inside a well-lit classroom, the one on the left in a grey flannel shirt speaking with her hands as the other two look and listen carefully. A group, out of focus, stands behind in their own circle, having their own conversation
From left to right: Suzanne Burnham of Finger Lakes ReUse, Benay Rubenstein of OAR, and Raquel Pinderhughes of Roots of Success.

Community Connections

The Suzanne referred to here is Suzanne Burnham, Workforce Coordinator with Finger Lakes ReUse. This connection is by design: the Energy Warriors program connects its students with local employers and nonprofits that assist with finding employment. Staff from other local organizations like OAR, Historic Ithaca, and TST BOCES also attended and spoke at the event.

The program is also closely connected to BlocPower, the City of Ithaca’s electrification partner, through a separate program that offers trainees hands-on experience. In the recently launched Cozy Basements! program, two recent graduates from the Energy Warriors program have been joined by two graduates of a previous cohort to perform weatherization work in residents’ homes. 

Trainees learn how to assess homes for areas that could be improved in terms of energy use and then focus on insulating and air-sealing the rim joists, commonly uninsulated areas that allow significant amounts of cold air to leak in in the winter. The program provides paid, hands-on experience for trainees, led by experienced BlocPower supervisors. All the materials are paid for, so participating homeowners get free upgrades along with valuable information about their homes’ performance. Preference is given to lower- and middle-income homeowners. (If you’re interested in participating as a host home, sign up using this form.)

“We got to jump in there and learn this—the weatherization with BlocPower,” said Keegan Coughlin, who graduated from the Energy Warriors program last year and is working on the Cozy Basements! program. “So now I’m taking everything that I learned before, putting it into use. Now we’re working like a team, like a well-oiled machine.”

Four men stand on the left side of the frame, looking and working with their hands on the rim joist in the top right of the frame in a well-list basement with insulation overhead
Three graduates of the Energy Warriors program doing on-the-job training weatherizing a residential basement, with supervision from BlocPower staff.

Connection to Federal Apprenticeship

Another individual who spoke at the event was Raquel Pinderhughes, founder and current executive director of the nonprofit Roots of Success, whose curriculum is employed by CCE Tompkins’ Energy Warriors program. Pinderhughes is also a professor of Urban Studies and Planning at San Francisco State University.

“I am a consultant to green training programs around the country,” said Pinderhughes at the graduation. “I’ve been doing this work for a long time. I’ve seen thousands of programs that are trying to create the environmental leaders of the future, and Green Energy Warriors is definitely amongst the best.

Four adult students, slightly out of focus in the background look up at a teacher, seated at a table with, speaking to them. A map of the world is on his computer screen, with lines extending out from somewhere in the United States, with a red Star near the center of it, marking something.
Aloja Airewele of CCE Tompkins leading the most recent cohort of Energy Warriors trainees.

Importantly, by completing the Energy Warriors course, graduates are also able to take the Roots of Success apprenticeship training; all graduates of this cohort are also to receive an “Environmental Specialist” certificate from Roots of Success, the prerequisite for a federally-recognized Environmental Literacy Instructor apprenticeship.

The Roots of Success apprenticeship itself is recognized by New York State and the Federal Department of Labor. It is the first of its kind, and the CCE staff instructors of the Energy Warriors course, Aloja Airewele and Patrick Lynch, have both completed this apprenticeship. One of the recent graduates, Keegan Coughlin, is currently in this apprenticeship, as well.

“It was just an incredible hands-on experience”, said Harrison Hensley, one of the graduates who is also doing the Cozy Basements! program. “It’s great to be out there and actually combining the classroom piece with the actual practical hands-on pieces.”

To find out more about CCE Tompkins’ workforce development programs, you can visit:
https://energy.ccetompkins.org/workforce-development/
A man with glasses, a mustache and long hair tied back and wearing a blue collared shirt smiles at the camera

Aaron Fernando is the Communications Coordinator for CCE Tompkins Energy & Climate Change Team.