Emma Gerona
Meet Emma Gerona:
Emma Gerona was born and raised in a small mountain town in Colorado. She studied Finance and Sustainable Business Operations at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was introduced to the world of renewable energy nonprofits in her time at the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). She was most recently living in Japan working for ASES and enjoying the great skiing in Hokkaido. She is excited to explore all that Oregon has to offer by spending her free time running, climbing, skiing and hiking through the state’s beautiful outdoors.
Community and Organization:
Lakeview is a small remote town deep in the Oregon outback. Founded in the late 1870’s lakeview was a big logging town. Now with only one operating sawmill, the region has focused on ranching. With a population of 2,313 Lakeview is a sleepy community. With 78% of the county land being owned by the state and federal government, there is plenty of space to get outdoors and explore any of the beautiful state or national forests in the area. There is even a small ski hill that the locals describe as a hidden gem. The region is abundant with geothermal activity with many natural hot springs and even a small geyser right in town. Recently, Lakeview has been a pioneer for solar energy in rural U.S. with huge growth in the renewable energy sector.
Project:
As the Renewable Energy Coordinator at Lake County Resources Initiative (LCRI) Emma will focus on connecting local farmers, ranchers and businesses with much needed resources to plan and execute renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. She will be working with people on a case to case basis on project consultations and planning resources from assessing project needs to connect people with local contractors to helping secure financial support through grant applications and finding suitable financial incentives that are available for these types of projects. She recognizes that planning and executing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects can be time consuming and sometimes overwhelming. She wants to work to make it as easy as possible for folks to pursue these types of projects by providing valuable resources, time and technical expertise to help move these projects forward.