EDITOR’S NOTE: At Green Mountain Energy, we’re dedicated to changing the way power is made, and we’re fortunate to have employees who share our vision. Get a closer look at who’s helping accomplish our mission by reading our employee profiles.
NAME: Chris N.
OFFICE: New York
TITLE: Quality Assurance Analyst
TIME ON THE MOUNTAIN: 3 years, 5 months
HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR WAY TO THE MOUNTAIN?
Around 2008 I was living in Miami Beach and was looking to make a career change. I had been working as an ESL teacher and as a waiter/bartender for many years. I wanted to do something that made a difference in the world; climate change and pollution were issues that concerned me above everything else. The great recession had just started so there weren’t very many jobs available. After a brief stint with a sales position attempting to sell energy efficient products to commercial businesses, I started volunteering at a non-profit organization, The Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches. Unfortunately they never had enough money to hire me full time so at the end of 2010 I moved back to Long Island where I grew up. A couple of months later I found the position for a part time sales agent at Green Mountain on treehugger.com. After four months working as a sales agent, the QA position opened up and I’ve been here ever since.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?
I like that I’m constantly learning something new about the electricity industry. I enjoy learning from all of the interesting people I encounter on a daily basis. I also appreciate being part of a team that spans over many markets and brands. I like watching the birth of a new market and how receptive people are to our mission.
THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED ON THE MOUNTAIN:
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to how to look at environmental stewardship and the electricity industry on a much grander scale. There are so many intricacies at different levels of interaction with the individual customer, the local community and our ability to operate in conjunction with regulatory agencies. It is truly fascinating and exciting to look at what we do from a bird’s eye view and then dive down to scrutinize minute details.
ONE THING YOUR CO-WORKERS MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU:
Well, since it seems like the entire GMEC staff has at one point in their lives been part of a music scene, I’ll skip over the fact that up until recently I sang for an awesome 90’s cover band called “Rico and the Rebels.” The reason why I am no longer in the band is because I am currently enrolled at Bernard Baruch College getting my master’s degree in Public Affairs with a focus on Urban Development and Sustainability.
SHARE SOME WORDS OF WISDOM:
Empathy is a really important quality to have at work. You increase your ability to come up with solutions much quicker by looking at a problem through the eyes of your co-workers and customers.
View other employee spotlights:
Find a clean electricity plan that meets your household’s needs.
Enter your ZIP code to get started.
