Sarah Brock (formerly Simonds)Sarah, newly married, is the Vital Communities Energy Program Manager.. Through her work, Sarah provides support for the Upper Valley's 35+ local energy committees and 20+ businesses engaged in Vital Communities’ Corporate Energy Work Group. In 2014, Sarah led the launch of Solarize Upper Valley, a program that has since engaged 23 towns in helping hundreds of Upper Valley homes switch to solar energy.
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What is your background in energy work?
I got my start in energy work while completing my undergraduate degree at Middlebury College and working with a team of other students to design and build a net zero house for the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. After graduating with a degree in architecture and environmental studies, I joined the High Meadows Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation where I focused on grantmaking and convening in the areas of energy and transportation. Today, I live in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and run the energy program at Vital Communities, a community-based nonprofit serving the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
What does your organisation do to support local energy action in NH?
Vital Communities brings people together to take on issues that matter in the Upper Valley. In our energy-focused work we collaborate with individuals, towns, and businesses to move our region closer to state energy goals in both Vermont and New Hampshire. Our Upper Valley region is home to nearly 40 town energy committees. Over the past two years, we doubled the number of solar homes in the Upper Valley through our Solarize Upper Valley program.
What makes you passionate about this work?
New England is home to the oldest housing stock in the country, and often the coldest winters and highest heating costs. We are vulnerable to the slightest hiccup in the global oil markets. We sit shivering under blankets on cold winter nights to avoid turning up the thermostat. It doesn't have to be this way. Investments in energy efficiency and local, renewable fuel sources strengthen our local economy, reduce our vulnerability to volatile fossil fuel markets, and improve overall quality of life. Not to mention reducing our impact on the environment and our contribution to global climate change. I envision a fossil-free future for New England within my lifetime and I'm committed to helping make it so.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not busy working to support clean energy in NH?
I serve on the board of COVER Home Repair, a nonprofit based in White River Junction, Vermont, that completes urgently needed home repairs for families across the Upper Valley. When I'm not working with COVER, I spend my time, hiking, baking bread, and reading.
What is your pie-in-the-sky sky vision for NH’s energy future (if anything were possible!)?
As I said, I envision a fossil free future for New Hampshire within my lifetime.
I got my start in energy work while completing my undergraduate degree at Middlebury College and working with a team of other students to design and build a net zero house for the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. After graduating with a degree in architecture and environmental studies, I joined the High Meadows Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation where I focused on grantmaking and convening in the areas of energy and transportation. Today, I live in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and run the energy program at Vital Communities, a community-based nonprofit serving the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
What does your organisation do to support local energy action in NH?
Vital Communities brings people together to take on issues that matter in the Upper Valley. In our energy-focused work we collaborate with individuals, towns, and businesses to move our region closer to state energy goals in both Vermont and New Hampshire. Our Upper Valley region is home to nearly 40 town energy committees. Over the past two years, we doubled the number of solar homes in the Upper Valley through our Solarize Upper Valley program.
What makes you passionate about this work?
New England is home to the oldest housing stock in the country, and often the coldest winters and highest heating costs. We are vulnerable to the slightest hiccup in the global oil markets. We sit shivering under blankets on cold winter nights to avoid turning up the thermostat. It doesn't have to be this way. Investments in energy efficiency and local, renewable fuel sources strengthen our local economy, reduce our vulnerability to volatile fossil fuel markets, and improve overall quality of life. Not to mention reducing our impact on the environment and our contribution to global climate change. I envision a fossil-free future for New England within my lifetime and I'm committed to helping make it so.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not busy working to support clean energy in NH?
I serve on the board of COVER Home Repair, a nonprofit based in White River Junction, Vermont, that completes urgently needed home repairs for families across the Upper Valley. When I'm not working with COVER, I spend my time, hiking, baking bread, and reading.
What is your pie-in-the-sky sky vision for NH’s energy future (if anything were possible!)?
As I said, I envision a fossil free future for New Hampshire within my lifetime.