NREL People Picking Up Trash, Installing Rooftop Solar, and Giving Back to the Community

Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast

In this episode, explore the volunteer efforts of NREL employees and how they’re making a tangible impact on their communities while advancing the lab’s mission of a renewable energy future.

Hear from Education, Stewardship, and Community Action for Promoting Environmental Sustainability (ESCAPES) Cofounder Hilary Sewell and NREL Volunteer Coordinator Ivilina Thornton about how NREL staff are partnering with organizations like GRID Alternatives to give directly to the community, whether it be through trail cleanups, fundraising campaigns, or even hands-on solar panel installations in low-income communities.

This episode was hosted by Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle, written and produced by Allison Montroy and Kaitlyn Stottler, and edited by James Wilcox, Joe DelNero, and Brittany Falch. Graphics are by Brittnee Gayet. Our title music is written and performed by Ted Vaca and episode music by Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast is created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. We express our gratitude and acknowledge that the land we are on is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples. Email us at [e-mail]. Follow NREL on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.