Electrifying Access to Clean Transport
As part of SVP Portland, the Encore Fellows Program provides a source of expertise for nonprofit organizations, helps individuals (Fellows) transition from their careers into social-purpose work, and gives corporations a new way to positively impact their communities. Encore Fellows who have retired from a career are matched with host nonprofit organizations based on their passions, skills, and experience.
Have you ever noticed the GoForth cars in Oregon? This electric vehicle (EV) carsharing service is one of the many ways that Forth is working to increase equitable access to electric cars. Forth’s mission is to electrify transportation by bringing people together to create solutions that reduce pollution and barriers to access. They work to build lasting program and policy models that significantly expand access in the U.S. and beyond. They currently have three focus areas: access to electric cars, access to charging, and emerging modes (like electrifying farm equipment and school buses).
As a technology executive with a passion for innovation, Ralph Schweinfurth has always looked for opportunities to help organizations optimize their systems and maximize their efficiency. When Ralph left Intel after 26 years, he started an Encore Fellowship with Forth to do just that for the growing nonprofit. “It was a lot of fun to be part of a rapidly-growing organization,” Ralph shares. “There were 30 staff members when I joined and now there are 40, which is very different from the 100,000 employees at Intel! Everyone at Forth was welcoming and inclusive.”
“Equity is an important part of the new advancement of electric vehicles,” says Ralph. “Forth promotes electrification, but we also want to make sure it is done in a way that helps historically-underserved communities gain access to clean transportation investments and opportunities.” Equity was top of mind in Ralph’s first role on the Access to Charging Team, which focuses on enabling charging in multi-user dwellings like apartment complexes. As a part of the team, he produced a webguide for installing charging in apartments and condos, and reached out to Clean Cities organizations to produce webinars to help educate property managers, homeowner’s associations, and residents about installing charging for electric vehicles.
Ralph also had a role in project management systems at Forth, including implementing the Asana project management software, driving data-quality compliance, and helping implement a Salesforce upgrade. Ralph was able to bring his vast experience in innovative process development, and he also learned new skills (like collaborating at the same time in Google docs) and gained a greater appreciation of the work nonprofits do in our community. “Participation in my Encore Fellowship highlighted to me how nonprofits fill in many gaps in our society,” says Ralph.
