We’re proud of the intelligent, passionate, and hardworking people that make up the Bright Power team. Each month, you’ll get a chance to meet one of them, understand how they contribute to the organization, and what makes them excited to come to work every day.
This month, we’re excited to introduce you to a new member of our team, Samantha Pearce, Director of Energy Management Services.
What made you decide to join Bright Power?
Having worked with Bright Power for the last 8 years as a client, I am most excited to actually get to work WITH the people I have collaborated with over the years. There’s something about the people who choose to work at Bright Power. They are such a talented and passionate group of individuals who genuinely seem to care about their work, and that really inspires me to bring my A-game. It’s getting to work with people who put action behind their words that excite me the most!
What are some projects and accomplishments you’re most proud of?
I am really truly excited about Energy Management Services (EMS) and that I get to provide a much needed, impactful suite of services. I have watched Selfhelp expand their capacity, make smarter efficiency decisions, and save money because of the work and joint efforts of Selfhelp staff and the Bright Power EMS team. I am really proud to have set up this service “on the inside” at Selfhelp working with Bright Power and now am excited to shape what the service will grow into for others to meet their unique needs.
What’s something people might not know about you and your role at Bright Power?
I think this role, and my career trajectory, was a bit more fortuitous than it might seem. I have a degree in and had wanted to be an Architect since I was probably seven. But then I decided it wasn’t the best fit for me. So, after a short stint as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity, I ended up working at Enterprise Community Partners on their Weatherization team, without even knowing what the program was really about when I took the job. It was the best happy accident and introduced me to working on sustainability initiatives to help owners. Not all journeys follow a straight line – and for this hyper-organized planner that was a tough lesson to learn! I became a LEED AP about 10 years ago because I love the environment, and I worked with Bright Power when there were only 12 or so employees, so perhaps the universe was telling me something all along.
Why are energy management services so critical to the health and long-term performance of a building?
Think about a building like a body. The same way you need to get checked out by a general physician, a building needs to be checked out holistically as well via EMS. If you have a cough, you do not go directly to the lung specialist and ask them to diagnose the ailment. That would be ridiculous and expensive! Instead, you visit your primary care physician who not only listens to your lungs but also takes your temperature, checks your throat and perhaps even ends up diagnosing you with a sinus infection – not even in your lungs at all!
This sounds extreme, but I think that is how most current operators oversee their buildings. Most owners aren’t themselves ‘primary care physicians’ yet they call in a specialist as soon as there is an issue. No one is monitoring or keeping track of how the systems are functioning, or training the owners how to diagnose issues on their own. And while a direct problem might be fixed when a specialist is called, often larger systemic issues are left undiagnosed because no one is looking at the whole building as a system.
Keeping all the systems in a building working well together helps keep operations costs down and preventative maintenance costs manageable, if not highly predictable. All of this leads to a building that is more efficient to manage and can, therefore, keep costs stabilized.