.jpg "Chéri A. Smith photo")
CEO
Indigenized Energy Initiative
Chéri Smith founded Covenant Tribal Solar Initiative in 2016, which was renamed Indigenized Energy Initiative in 2021. Her experience in mitigating climate change and restoring economies with the power of renewable energy spans two decades. Her focus areas are solar Capacity Building, Project and Program Development, Policy, Finance and Workforce Development. A descendant of the Mi'Kmaq tribe of Maine/Canadian Maritimes, she has made it her life's work to leverage this expertise for the benefit of indigenous American communities.
At SolarCity, Chéri led workforce development and training initiatives, as well as the coordination of community, academic, and government stakeholders in the massive effort to identify and train the 1,400 employees of the 1 GW solar manufacturing plant in Buffalo, NY, and Tesla's Battery Gigafactory in NV, the largest factory in the world.
From 2009 - 2015, Chéri was in private practice, providing renewable energy and energy efficiency project consulting services to colleges, universities, and governments, including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), and US Department of Energy SunShot initiatives: Solar Ready Vets, Solar Instructor Training Network, and Solar Career Map. From 2005 - 2009, Chéri served as Director of Education & Outreach for the American Council On Renewable Energy, where she developed and managed ACORE’s corporate, educational, and citizen-outreach programs, on an international level.
Chéri serves as an Advisor to the Yale School of Business and the Environment, previously served as an Advisory Board member for the Masters in Renewable Energy program at Penn State, and as a Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Investment Board Director. She is an MIT Indigenous Communities Fellow, a Cordes Fellow, and a Climate Leader, trained by former Vice President, Al Gore. Chéri lives with her family on the ancestral homelands of both the Narragansett and Seminole.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM