“We are energy social workers,” says Daphany Rose Sanchez. She founded Kinetic Communities, which advocates and implements strategic energy equity market transformations for New York communities, to respond to a representation gap in the energy sector.
She got interested in this as she studied sustainable urban environments and redlining and other policies. “I started to see a correlation between the opportunity for generational wealth, sustainable housing, and climate response,” she says. “I wanted my career to be an intersection of housing, climate, and economic mobility.” These days, she works on pathways to electrification that involve workforce development, housing, and financial security. “Transitioning off of fossils fuels is important, but we have to understand that our buildings are filled with people, so our climate solutions must address the social and cultural fabric of the community.”