Pittsburgh, PA - Chester Thrower is a champion of the green economy, becoming a Fellow of the Green for All Academy in 2008 and subsequently becoming trained in solar panel installation and repair and continuing his training with SEI (Solar Energy International), the City of Pittsburgh Housing Authority Green Jobs Training Program, and the CCAC Green Institue Weatherization Training. Since July 2010, Chester has worked as the Green Outreach Coordinator at the Kingsley Association: a nonprofit community center that has served the Larimer area for over one hundred years. His role as the Green Outreach Coordinator is to oversee canvassing and outreach efforts within the community, encouraging residents to take advantage of weatherization programs that can provide up to $6,000 of insulation and energy-efficiency measures to low-income residents (the vast majority of the population the Kingsley Association serves). On May 27-28, 2011, Chester successfully completed both the written and field tests to become a Building Performance Analyst (BPI Energy Auditor) with an emphasis on indoor air-quality and safety. Chester is currently working on putting together his business model to be an energy consultant in the Larimer neighborhood. He is starting Project Seal Up with the help of a start-up grant from the Green For All Fellows Fund.

Awards

Recipient of the Fellows Fund micro-grant award for: Project Seal Up (Sustainability Initiative) Pittsburgh, PA This project will help initiative a green business designed to meet a real community need: energy efficiency upgrades for low-income residents. To start, residents will attend a 2 hour home energy efficiency seminar, then schedule to get their homes' data assessed: how many rooms, stories above grade, year built, ceiling type, heating cooling type, etc. in order to see how much material will be needed to complete the air sealing assessment project. Also: go over past utility bills to advise residents on best ways to conserve energy, which directly correlates to savings in their pocket. The team will then implement the upgrades, while providing basic energy efficiency education to residents. A 45-60 day follow-up will be conducted to gauge how effective the measures were in helping them achieve better comfort in the home and if they can see the changes in their habits as reflected in money savings.