Summit Insights: Five Strategic Priorities for Shaping the Clean Energy Ecosystem
Patrice McFarlin, Principal at Encolor, breaks down five priorities that emerged from the Black Women in Energy Summit and what it will actually take to build a more equitable and effective clean energy ecosystem.
Think Bigger Than What Is in Front of You: Reflections of the Black Women in Energy Summit
Photographer and emerging professional Kristin McCauley attended the Black Women in Energy Summit to document the day, but walked away with a message she didn't expect: think bigger. In this reflection, she explores what it meant to be in a room full of Black women and how it reframed her perspective.
Co-Creating a Definition of Community at the Midwest Energy Solutions Conference
Community is more than a buzzword—it's something you feel when someone shows up for you without being asked. At the Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, we asked attendees what community means to them and received answers that were thoughtful, personal, and deeply human. But the most powerful reminder came from within our own team, when life intervened and our colleagues stepped up without hesitation. Here's what we learned about community, from a conference floor and from each other.
Introducing Our Ecosystem for Change: Bringing Encolor and the Shared Space Project Together
When we launched The Shared Space Project in 2024, we thought keeping it separate from Encolor was the right move. But we quickly learned that trying to divide two halves of the same coin wasn't serving anyone. Here's why we're bringing our organizations closer together—and what it means for creating lasting change in energy equity.
Five Years of Encolor: What We’ve Built, What We’ve Learned, and Where We’re Going
For much of my career, Encolor was a quiet idea built from a lifetime of noticing who gets left out when systems are designed without the people they’re meant to serve.
From Emergence to Adaptation: Choosing and Evaluating Strategic Approaches
Encolor Consultant Mila Turner explores how organizations can integrate emergent and adaptive strategies to navigate complexity. Drawing on real-world examples and frameworks like the Sequential Strategy Framework, she shows how combining organic insights with intentional learning helps organizations respond, innovate, and stay aligned with their goals.
Navigating Change: Emergent vs. Adaptive Strategy
In a time of rapid technological shifts, climate urgency, and evolving policy landscapes, energy organizations should be rethinking how they approach strategy. Traditional planning models often fall short in our complex environments. That’s where emergent and adaptive strategies come in; they are two different approaches that both prioritize learning, flexibility, and responsiveness.
Environmental Justice Spotlight: Musk’s xAI Supercomputer and Memphis Pollution Concerns
Elon Musk’s AI company xAI has stirred major controversy in South Memphis. The firm is running its enormous “Colossus” data center using at least 35 methane-powered gas turbines, many of which appear to be operating without permits or emissions controls.
Reflections on AESP Flex Connect
Conversations about equity and ensuring all people have access and opportunity to realize the benefits of clean energy programs are no longer reserved for a specific track in a small room in the back.
Reflections on One Year at Encolor
Wow! It’s been one year this August since I joined Encolor. It truly feels like I got here in the blink of an eye. As I reflect on my time here, I want to share a peek behind the curtain as to what I’ve learned and what makes us special.
Emergent Strategy: A Toolkit for Transformative Change
In a world that feels increasingly complex and unpredictable, how do we lead, collaborate, and adapt with intention? Adrienne Maree Brown’s Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds offers a compelling answer.
Why Power and Privilege Training Matters Now More Than Ever
We’re living in a time where many organizations are working to produce better outcomes for all people. Yet, we often skip one of the most foundational conversations needed to make that possible: understanding our own power and privilege and how it shows up in work.
A Family Reunion for Justice: Reflections on the 2025 Southeast Environmental Justice Summit
Organized not by industry or academia, but by grassroots, community-based organizations, the Southeast Environmental Justice Summit felt less like a traditional conference and more like a family reunion—one rooted in love, legacy, and liberation.
What Does It Mean to Be People-Centered?
I’ve heard—and used—the phrase “people-centered approach” a lot lately. People and organizations committed to creating a better future for everyone have been challenged to communicate in new and different ways. It sounds good. It feels right. But what does people-centered really mean?