Meet a Volunteer: Gwen Corrie, Dominican University

Gwen Corrie, Dominican University

Meet Gwen.

Gwen is a second-year Green MBA student at Dominican University of California. In the classroom, in the conference room, and in the community, she is taking big strides towards making a real impact in the corporate sustainability industry.

Gwen joined GIC in the winter of 2014 and used her sustainability knowledge and comfort engaging small businesses to help ten small businesses identify cumulative annual energy savings of 31,000 kWh, the equivalent of powering two homes’ energy use for a year.

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Gwen to learn more about her and the amazing things she has in store for the future:

What are you currently studying?

I’m currently a second-year MBA student in Sustainable Enterprises (Green MBA) at Dominican University of California. I am also a LEED Green Associate and I’m currently studying for the LEED AP ID+C exam.

What are your plans and hopes for your future career?

My goal is to work in corporate sustainability and, having just been hired contractually at a fantastic, forward-thinking company, I’m hoping I can blend all of my education and professional skills to contribute to helping them achieve their sustainability goals.

What attracted you to get involved with GIC?

I believe that energy efficiency and sustainability is an area of awareness that small business owners not only want, but they need so that they can improve their triple-bottom line – profits, people, planet. Being a LEED Green Associate and having attending multiple PG&E energy auditing courses, I felt comfortable and confident in being able to perform energy surveys for local, small businesses in my community.

What do you feel is the most important thing you’ve learned from your involvement?

Learning how to engage with a small business owner has been a great learning experience for me, especially when they do not own the space they occupy. I feel it is important to be able to assure a business owner that, despite the fact they rent or may not immediately have the resources to make space improvements, it is still beneficial to take part in receiving an energy survey. With the survey’s report, they get a glimpse on where they stand on energy and resource usage, along with some simple ideas on what they can they can do to improve their energy performance and save money.

Do you have a message that you would like to share with other students/volunteers?

If bringing about awareness to anyone on how to save money and promote environmental sustainability is your passion, then don’t be afraid to get involved! This is a great exercise in expanding your sustainability, engagement, and education skills while making a positive impact.