QHS alum devoted to creating clean energy earns fellowship
Quincy High School Alum Heather Hochrein recently attended a conference in Medellin, Columbia with 150 social entrepreneurs from around the world.
Hochrein, a graduate of the Quincy High School Class of 2005, attended the conference after receiving a prestigious fellowship in her field of work.
Hochrein is the founder and CEO of EVmatch. She describes herself as deeply committed to fighting climate change and creating clean energy solutions.
EVmatch is revolutionizing electric vehicle (EV) charging through a peer-to-peer charging network,” she explained. “By bringing private charging resources into the public sphere, EVmatch enables the widespread adoption of cleaner electric vehicles and will help to address our pressing climate challenges.”
Prior to starting her own firm, she spent five years in leadership positions at Rising Sun Energy Center, which is a green training, employment, and residential energy efficient nonprofit organization based in Berkeley.
Hochrein earned a bachelor of science in molecular environmental biology from U.C. Berkeley and a master’s degree in environmental science and management from U.C. Santa Barbara.
“I’m honored to have been selected as a 2018 Echoing Green Climate Fellow and join an accomplished group of entrepreneurs from across the world working to build positive social and environmental change,” Hochrein said. “The two-year fellowship provides seed funding, leadership development training, and support from a life-long community of leaders and mentors.”
According to the organization’s website: “Echoing Green Fellows are the innovators, instigators, pioneers, and rebels that reject the status quo and drive positive social change all over the world. Our social entrepreneurship Fellows work on six continents addressing a broad range of issues.”
Hochrein described the conference in Colombia as fantastic.
“We spent five days sharing best practices and technologies, convening on sector-specific issues, and exploring Medellin’s innovation ecosystem,” Hochrein said. “There were a number of off-site visits to universities, start-ups, and non-profit organizations working on social justice, environmental, and poverty alleviation issues.”
She added that a fun highlight during her time in Columbia was a half-day tour of Medellin via an electric bike.
