Her Story
About Helene
I have built my career at the intersection of construction, HVAC, and renewable energy, starting with about 20 years in construction and then moving into distributed and renewable energy over the last 4 years. Coming from a blue collar family of contractors, most of my training has been hands-on, and my journey into electrification began when I tried to electrify my own home and realized how difficult the process was. Together with my CEO, I started thinking about better ways to electrify homes and ultimately helped develop a technology that uses water as the energy delivery medium to heat and cool homes and provide energy storage, with a focus on making decarbonization affordable and equitable for outdated multi-family buildings. As co-founder and chief growth officer, I handle everything from partnerships, go-to-market strategy, grant writing, workforce training, utilities planning, operations, tech and design, timelines, correspondence, new partnerships, labs and certifications, managing engineers, conferences, public speaking, panels, community events, and stakeholder engagement, wearing many hats in a small company.
My education has come largely through government-funded incubators and accelerators rather than traditional academia, including programs through organizations like the Department of Energy, Berkeley Labs, MIT The Engine, Cradle to Commerce, MPEL, Village Capital, and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. These programs, ranging from several months to multiple years, have helped increase our technology readiness level, build partnerships with community organizations and utilities, and connect us with potential funders and fellow founders who have become key partners on grants and tech advancements. Our company was the first to receive the biggest prize ever given by the Department of Energy for our invention focused on multi-family building decarbonization, and to date we have been completely funded through non-dilutive grants, research grants, and prizes while running about 20 pilot projects and focusing on the Pacific Northwest market. I also serve in the broader clean energy community through memberships and board roles, and I am actively involved in rebuilding efforts and community support in Los Angeles after being personally affected by wildfires, aligning my professional work with a strong sense of purpose around climate resiliency and safer, healthier communities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Helene
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a mix of drive, purpose, grit, and a willingness to take risks on myself and my ideas. I am a high risk-taking person, and throughout my career I have lost big and won big, but like many entrepreneurs I believe you have to roll the dice on big projects and collapse the timeline for recovery when things do not work out. Coming from outside of traditional science and academia, I have had to make a lot of mistakes and move through them quickly in order to solve problems and keep moving forward. Humor is also a big part of how I navigate complex emotional issues, and I believe that approaching this difficult work with kindness, empathy, and humor is how we can change the world at a time when those qualities are in short supply.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is that I belong in the room and that we all deserve a shot at being there. For a long time I struggled with imposter syndrome and assumed everyone around me was smarter, but I learned that I could still have a lot of fun doing the work and that my presence and perspective are valid. My grandpa also gave me a piece of advice that has stuck with me: do not sweat the petty stuff, and do not pet the sweaty stuff, which reminds me to move quickly through roadblocks instead of getting stuck in them. As an entrepreneur there are a hundred different ways to get through a problem, and if you are supported by the right people, brand, and community at the right time, you can navigate those obstacles and claim your place in the room regardless of where you come from, what you look like, how old you are, or your gender.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to women entering this field is that you belong there, and not only do you belong, but you need to be in the rooms of male-dominated industries. I never imagined I would be working in HVAC, which can feel like a very legacy industry, but I believe legacy industries deserve to be disrupted, and that disruption happens when different people, especially women, enter those rooms. I would love to see more women in construction and the trades, because I think it is an incredible industry to go into, particularly in areas like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. As AI and automation take over many jobs, I see the trades as a solid industry to place your bets in, and one of the amazing things about working in the trades is that you can pick up certifications without going into debt and start working right away, building a healthy, balanced lifestyle and even creating a legacy for your family.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, one of the biggest challenges in my field is funding, especially in the current political climate where there is less understanding and support for the reality that the world is getting warmer and that we need legislation to back people who have real solutions to the climate emergency. Things are happening very quickly, and we need transparency and vulnerability when we talk about these issues, but the core problem is funding the right people at the right time, and that time is now. On the opportunity side, I see a huge potential in AI, because for the first time we can combine software and hardware solutions so that software can monetize and report on what hardware is doing in buildings and climate systems. If we use AI in the right way, with proper legislative guardrails, we can monitor and provide emergency warnings, connect the many factors driving climate change, and even rethink how we build data centers and distribute energy, using this powerful technology for social good instead of harm.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me in my work and personal life are kindness, empathy, compassion, and a deep belief in community. I see kindness and empathy as qualities that are becoming rare among entrepreneurs, especially in a culture where capitalism often rewards narcissism and a lack of community, and I want to help change that. At my core, I believe that good things should happen to good people and that good people who are fighting the good fight in climate, resiliency, and community deserve to be highlighted, strengthened, and resourced. I try to live and work in a way that reflects compassion and drive, supporting those who are working to make a difference and reinforcing the idea that values-driven leadership can and should be rewarded.
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