Solar Power World is proud to present the second-annual SPW Rising Stars. These solar industry workers are improving the industry and inspiring others to join the clean energy workforce. Read all of our Rising Star profiles here.
Solar success stories wouldn’t reach the public without the many communications professionals who work tirelessly to spread the message. One clean energy marketing professional, Jacob Juan Carlos Yang, has gone above and beyond in uplifting the renewable communications profession. After stints at Bertelsen Energy, Transect and Omnidian, Yang launched his own clean energy fractional marketing business called Marketergy. In the face of market turmoil due to federal policy changes, Yang formed a new professional group called Amp Your Story to bring the clean energy marketing sector together for support and growth. Yang is creating space for more voices to be heard in the clean energy movement. Below is a Q&A with Yang.
SPW: What are the most challenging and, alternatively, most rewarding parts of working in the solar and storage industry right now?
Yang: The most difficult are the workforce reductions in clean energy, which often hit marketing and communications roles first and heavily. The most rewarding part is that despite the shifts in the White House, I can still lean into my own values and make a difference every day.
What advice would you give someone just starting their career in solar?
Take the time to learn the industry! Read, read, read — as much as you can. There are phenomenal publications in the industry with world-class journalists.
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your solar career?
I’m most proud of the network I’ve built in clean energy marketing. I felt so siloed prior to expanding who I know. I now realize there’s a vast ocean of clean energy companies globally that employ people who have similar pains as myself and are looking for a community. Amp Your Story was built to bring us all together.
What’s a Big Idea you have about the renewable energy transition?
Creating a network of clean energy marketers and communicators to raise the bar as an industry. Marketing and communications roles aren’t a nice-to-have — they are a must-have for organizations. I created Amp Your Story to bring these folks together to learn, network and be something more than just the individual work we do.
Who or what has had a major influence on your work in renewable energy?
AJ Wilcox from the LinkedIn Ads Show lives and breathes the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” He is a mentor and friend that has made time for me again and again. I intend to pay forward what he’s given me to people in my own industry.
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