REV2025: Beyond the Megawatt: Maximizing Positive Impact with Innovative Community Partnerships
Wednesday, October 15th, 2025 – 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer
Diamond i
With increasing frequency, communities are seeking a wider array of benefits from renewable energy projects, and developers are adapting by forming innovative partnerships. This panel will explore how renewable energy project developers are moving beyond simply generating clean electricity to create meaningful, lasting benefits for local communities. The discussion will focus on best practices for fostering authentic community engagement, aligning project goals with community needs, and incorporating community partnerships into their own projects.
Moderator: Jake Clark, Encore Renewable Energy
Jake is Vice President of Community Engagement and Impact for Encore Renewable Energy. He joined Encore in 2019 as a Project Developer, in a role in which he leveraged his multi-disciplinary background in project management, engineering, and energy law to advance Encore’s clean energy projects from inception through development, to the EPC phase. In this capacity, Jake has developed more than 35MW of solar and storage projects in Vermont alone, and he is excited to now be collaborating with Encore’s rapidly growing development team on projects throughout New England, the Central East Coast, and Western Markets.
Speakers
Jungwoo Chun, MIT Renewable Energy Clinic
Jungwoo Chun is a Lecturer in Climate, Sustainability, and Negotiation in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also serves as the Co-Director of the MIT Renewable Energy Clinic. He helped launch the clinic in summer 2023, training MIT students to support MIT’s social responsibility by assisting and working collaboratively with community members on the siting and permitting of renewable energy facilities.
Sophia Donforth, VEEP
Sophia brings her dual passions for education and organization to VEEP as executive director. She holds a degree in interdisciplinary studies from Cornell University and a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Vermont. Her previous work experience includes middle school teacher, community organizer, and executive director of a parent-child center. Her work has always focused on helping people and communities reach their potential, and she is excited to coordinate a team of educators that helps empower teachers and students with the knowledge and skills to affect real change in their communities.
Robina Moyer, VT Works for Women
Originally from Upstate New York, Robina (she/her) has spent much of the last 15 years living and working in Alaska as a program manager, environmental consultant, and naturalist guide. She recently relocated to Vermont and is excited to join Vermont Works for Women as the Trailblazers Program Manager. Vermont Works for Women is working to create an equitable Vermont where people of all identities and backgrounds have equal access to opportunities and to thrive economically – where they make confident, deliberate choices about life and work that reflect an expansive grasp of what’s possible.