As a nonprofit that’s motivated to build resilient energy communities, we’re always interested in learning the latest and greatest in climate change mitigation, especially at the Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference!
This year, TEC had the opportunity to participate in many ways: speaking at four panels and sessions, presenting a poster, and serving as a marketing partner!
TEC-Led Panel: Climate Anxiety vs Climate Hope: Building Hope in Trying Times, presented by Ivana Dorin (Program Manager)
The session acknowledged that climate anxiety is not only widespread, but understandable. It stems from distress about worsening climate impacts and the lack of meaningful systemic action; it can also create a feeling of personal inadequacy: If I can’t fix everything, why even try?
We brought together a panel of TEC staff and partners to have a discussion about climate anxiety across our work. Thank you to Natalie Espinoza (Assistant Director at TEC), and Rola Halawanji (Bay Area Community Resources), Savi Bassa (ICF), and Melia Zimmerman (California Climate Action Corps fellow) for joining our panel and talking about your experiences. We shared a Spotify playlist of anxiety-busting songs at the end of the panel and a quote from the late Jane Goodall:
“If we look at the whole picture, we’re bound to feel hopeless and helpless… but once we realize that even small actions cumulatively can make a big difference, we can start taking action to make the world a better place.”
Access the anxiety-busting playlist (must have a Spotify account)!
UC Davis-led Panel: From Barriers to Breakthroughs: Social Science Insights to Accelerating Heat Pump Adoption
Across our many projects, TEC is all about heat pumps these days! It seems to be an increasingly common equipment upgrade for public agencies and homeowners to move toward electrification in their facilities and homes.
Natalie Espinoza joined as a panelist to unpack the behavioral, informational, and emotional barriers that influence whether households adopt new clean technologies. The insights she shared—from statewide research to examples drawn from real program experience—reinforced that climate technologies succeed when people feel supported, understood, and empowered.
TEC-led Poster and Panel: Equitable Decarbonization & A Just Energy Transition for Low-Income Households: Barriers & Solutions
Genaro Bugarin, Director of Energy Innovations, shared TEC insights during a panel and poster session. As an organization working with communities to adopt advanced energy technologies, (namely our Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community and Pomona ACTS programs) we’ve learned quite a few valuable lessons learned over the years.
The main takeaway Genaro shared was that energy incentive programs often do not meet all the needs of underserved communities; these communities require a lot of care and slow building of trust and rapport to begin adopting smart energy solutions. Click here to see Genaro’s poster, “How to Both Go Slow and Build Trust with Community but Move Fast and Scale in the Journey Toward Climate Resilience and Clean Energy Adoption.”
CalREN in a Panel: Strategies for Equitable Electrification and Community Engagement
TEC also supported CalREN’s participation in a panel to highlight the diverse realities across California’s regions and why electrification strategies must be tailored to fit each community’s geography, infrastructure, cultural context, and needs. Fun fact: this was presented by Amy Whitehouse, former TEC team member and now a Senior Energy Efficiency Program Manager for San Diego Community Power.
Marketing Partner for BECC: Email Campaigns
And finally, a unique collaboration: TEC was the official marketing partner for the BECC conference for the third year running! If you saw an email from info@beccconference.org this year, that email was most likely developed by TEC’s marketing team. If you didn’t already know, we have a full communications and marketing team that supports a variety of projects in branding, promotion, and outreach.
Did any of our presentation topics intrigue you? Interested in collaborating with TEC on heat pump water heater incentives, community-wide energy transformation, or branding for your latest energy project? Let’s talk!
