Chris Meyer joined CERTs in 2016 after retiring from a career in software programming with General Mills.
Chris had previously contributed to CERTs as a steering committee member and was one of those people who just felt like the perfect fit for CERTs: she had her PV site assessor credential, lived in a net-zero-energy home (at which she hosted CERTs for tours!), drove an electric vehicle, and in her “spare time” was working to earn a master’s in environmental policy management with an emphasis on energy and sustainability from Denver University. And in case you thought, “is that all,” she also has a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor of science in economics from Drake University.
Chris has been an incredible ambassador for CERTs and will be sorely missed.
From day one, Chris was a tremendous connector, reaching out across the southeast region of Minnesota to build relationships with cities, community-based organizations, energy efficiency service providers, utilities, and the list goes on and on. Chris leads with listening and curiosity, always seeking to understand as well as opportunities to provide value to potential partners.
After so many years here, it’s impossible to document all that Chris has done, but here are a few highlights:
- Chris was instrumental in connecting with GreenStep Cities around the Region — including communities such as La Crescent, Kasson, Rochester, Northfield, and Winona.
- Chris dug into the nerdy details on projects, and developed in-depth write-ups on innovative efforts, like this story on a MiEnergy storage pilot or this piece on weatherization expanding to include solar as an allowable measure.
- Chris built and strengthened community partnerships and collaboration in ways that have expanded who applied for (and received) CERTs Seed Grants.
- Chris sparked new relationships and deepened others, making all our work better and living out our approach to centering people in community-based clean energy work.
Chris is smart, funny, thoughtful, so good at her job, and has been a true joy to work with.
Moving forward, Chris can be found in Winona County working as a Winona County Commissioner and doing about a million other volunteer activities on behalf of her community.
