RENEW’s Employee Profile series highlights our team members who make us great. This month we interviewed our talented and knowledgeable business development lead, Emily Robertson.

Q: How long have you worked for RENEW Energy Partners?

A: I have been with Renew since May 2023.

Q: What sort of work do you do for the company?

A: I am a Business Development Lead. Regionally, I am focused on projects in the South since I am based out of Saint Augustine, FL. In terms of markets/verticals, I am focusing on Microgrids nationally. Much of my focus is on bringing in channel partners who are doing Microgrid work so that we can provide the funding piece to deploy projects with those partners.

Q: Where are you from? What is one aspect that you enjoyed about the place that you grew up?

A: I am born and raised in Western, NY. I grew up in a suburb of Rochester, NY and my family also has a summer house in Northern NY on a small lake. I absolutely love NY in the summertime – being on the water, seeing gardens in bloom. I loved being exposed to a lot of outdoor activities because of growing up there. Skiing (downhill and x country), sledding, snowshoeing in the winter and waterskiing, kayaking, canoeing, camping in the summers – I loved it all. I believe that exposure to outdoor activities is part of why I am so passionate about taking care of our environment.

Q: What activities/hobbies do you enjoy in your daily life? How do you relax?

A: I have a few hobbies. I am active – training for a triathlon – so I spend my time outside of work running, biking, swimming. I also love hiking and camping as well as gardening. When I am being sedentary, I am either reading a book – historical fiction – or watching TV – I love watching sports or crime dramas.

Q: What is one fun fact about you?

A: I have a Border Collie named Huevos Rancheros. When my husband and I had just moved in together our kids (I have two, he has two) really wanted a dog! We were at breakfast, and they were begging again, and my husband was looking at the menu and said “Ok, we’ll get a dog, but if we do, we have to name it Huevos Rancheros!” They all chimed in agreement and then when we finally got a dog a couple of months later, they couldn’t believe that we were holding them to it. He’s famous in our neighborhood and I sound ridiculous calling for him to come inside.

Q: Why is sustainability/decarbonization important to you? How did you get started in this career/field?

A: I stumbled into the Energy/Sustainability/Decarbonization field. I started my career in marketing and communications. I started in Non-Profit, then moved to a local company doing web development, and then serendipitously ended up in a job with marketing for a distributed energy resources firm. I was there for almost 8 years and moved into various roles during that time. That was my introduction to the energy industry, and my passion for energy and sustainability grew from there.

It wasn’t until COVID when it really triggered in me how important decarbonization was. As we all hunkered down in our homes, I saw images of the skies before and after lockdown. It really was eye-opening for me to visibly see change to our environment through making changes in our behaviors and use of resources. Before that, I knew it was important, but it seemed like such a huge problem that it would be impossible to influence and change.

Q: What sustainability practices have you seen that have surprised and/or excited you?

A: I love seeing the growth of the microgrid market. For both decarbonization and resiliency, it makes so much sense and seeing that take hold has been exciting to see.

Q: Why do you choose to work with RENEW?

A: The number one reason I work with RENEW is because of the people. We are a small but growing team. The very clear mission and vision as well as the support and encouragement from everyone on the team as we work to achieve decarbonization goals together inspires me every day.

Q: What are you most excited about for the future of the energy industry?

A: I am very interested in hydrogen and what role it is going to play in the energy transition. As hydrogen hubs are implemented and tax credits come into play for production of hydrogen, it will be exciting to see how that plays into our net zero future.

To be continued next month. We are lucky to be growing our team with exemplary individuals. Last month’s featured employee profile included Aurora Fernandez. If you are interested in joining RENEW, you can find our current career opportunities here. 

RENEW Energy Partners specializes in funding energy saving retrofits for your commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings. For more information contact us today!