My Role

I researched and wrote this blog post. I conducted interviews with individuals at Energy Trust as well as at Energy Trust’s key program partner, Burch Energy Services. I wrote an initial draft, then incorporated the assigning editor’s feedback into a final draft.

A blog post on a program to support greater diversity in the clean energy industry workforce

Challenge

The primary challenge: Energy Trust of Oregon wanted to acknowledge the lack of diversity in the clean energy industry and to share efforts to address this problem. But, they didn’t want to appear to be seeking credit for the work of BIPOC leaders’ early and ongoing work on this issue.

The secondary challenge: The post had to be engaging to a general audience. Energy efficiency is a technical field, with many opportunities to get bogged down by technical jargon and acronyms. I would have to keep the language straightforward and the focus on people.

Solution

I shaped the article to showcase the client’s key program partner. While I relied on interviews with Energy Trust staff for background information on the program, I focused the article itself on Burch Energy Services, a local minority-owned consulting firm that partnered with Energy Trust on designing and executing the program.

In my interview with one of Burch Energy’s owners, I delved into his perspective on the workforce diversity program, his motivations for partnering on the workforce diversity program, how he envisioned the article, and the key messages he wanted to convey. When I wrote the article, I incorporated his story and I took his direction on shaping the post.

Spotlighting the client’s partner addressed the project’s primary challenge, but it also went a long way toward addressing the secondary challenge: Shaping a blog around a person and their story is inherently engaging to readers. I succeeded in crafting a compelling post about a complex topic by maintaining straightforward language and focusing on a person's story.