Community Energy Project is proud to provide a variety of direct, in-homes services and educational workshops, and participate in important advocacy work. Behind all of these vital efforts is a team of vibrant, multifaceted, and hardworking individuals. We are excited to introduce the CEP Staff Spotlight, a series dedicated to the people who make everything we do possible. Today’s spotlight shines on CEP’s Executive Director: Charity Fain.

“When I started as the Executive Director at Community Energy Project nine years ago, I knew very little about energy efficiency or weatherization. Still, I was passionate about leading an organization that made direct impacts on peoples’ lives. Witnessing the power of going into a home to make repairs, providing education and delivering energy efficient upgrades that save money and improve health, while also providing solutions to combat climate change was and is why I work at CEP.  

In my role, I am constantly searching for ways to eliminate barriers to access for our clients. We do this at every level – be it policy, program rules or implementation. I also work to ensure that CEP’s clients remain central to all internal program and policy decisions. We meet with community members to share new technology and policy concerns and to understand their needs and desires so we can design and implement our programs together. 

Over the years, I’ve learned so much from clients, other staff, and community partners. I feel lucky to work with so many people dedicated to finding solutions to ensure everyone has a safe, healthy and efficient home, regardless of income.”

In addition to leading CEP, Charity was recently elected chair of the Interagency Task Force on Healthy Homes and was selected to serve on the Portland Public School’s (PPS) Climate Crisis Response Committee. The Interagency Task Force on Healthy Homes is a governor-appointed committee at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), established in response to the Oregon Senate passing House Bill 2842, the Healthy Homes Repair Fund, in 2021. This bill created a home repair grant program at the OHA intended for low-income renters and homeowners to receive energy efficiency upgrades, smoke filtration and home hardening, and other critical housing fixes and upgrades. This committee ensures better coordination between agencies doing home improvement work which will ensure better outcomes for Oregon residents. The mission of the Climate Crisis Response Committee is to monitor the effective implementation of the PPS District’s Climate Action Plan, and to track progress of the PPS’ Climate Crisis Response, Climate Justice, and Sustainable Practices Policy.