Housing and Energy Justice: Donnel Baird, Bloc Power

This lecture is part of the Yale Energy Justice Speaker Series and will be led by Donnel Baird, Founder and CEO Bloc Power

Donnel Baird is the founder and CEO of BlocPower, and early stage startup that markets, finances, and installs solar and energy efficiency retrofits in churches, synagogues, non-profits, and small businesses in financially underserved neighborhoods. BlocPower connects portfolios of these clean tech installation opportunities to impact investors via an online marketplace. Donnel is an Echoing Green/Open Society Foundation BMA Fellow and the first Entrepreneur in Residence at Jalia Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in for-profits with a social and environmental mission. Donnel spent 7 years as a community and political organizer. He is a graduate of Columbia Business School, where he was a Board of Overseers Fellow and a recipient of investment from the Lang Fund for Entrepreneurial Initiative. 

Readings:

Washington Post, “This US City Just Voted to Decarbonize Every Single Building.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/11/03/ithaca-new-york-decarbonize-electrify/ 

CNBC, “Ithaca, New York becomes first U.S. City to begin 100% decarbonization of buildings, an urban climate change milestone.” https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/04/ithaca-is-first-us-city-to-begin-100percent-decarbonization-of-buildings.html