Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland EmpireLAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visitOutside the L.A. Cleantech Incubator in the Arts District of Los Angeles. The non-profit incubator is an initiative by the city of L.A. and the L.A. Department of Water and Power, among other partners.
Vice President Kamala Harris, second from left, meets with LACI CEO Matt Petersen, far left, and LACI clean tech startup founders Kameale C. Terry of ChargerHelp!, Sabrina Williams of SEED, Jackson Alvarez of Evolectric and Max Aram of Electrum, at LACI's campus on April 17, 2023.Kameale C. Terry, co-founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!, a tech company that provides on-demand repair service for electric vehicle charging stations. She launched it through LACI's programs.
“We never had single-use plastic bags," Terry said."We used plastic bags to deep condition our hair. We used plastic bags to take our lunches. We used plastic bags for garbage. Like, we used plastic bags to an exponential level." Overcoming these systemic barriers requires significant investments and different ways of doing things to change the narrative and truly create a more inclusive economy for all, said Taj Ahmad Eldridge, the managing director for Climate Innovations atHe said those different ways of doing things include intentional recruitment and outreach in underrepresented communities, shifting traditional funding structures, and bridging the gaps between workforce development and startup investment — a...
ChargerHelp! technicians do training at LACI's campus in the Arts District. Technicians are paid at least $30-an-hour, driven by Terry's personal experience growing up with a mother who didn't receive livable wages.There are a lot of problems that need to be solved in the climate space — from fixing broken EV chargers like ChargerHelp!, to recycling EV batteries for other purposes, to developing shade structures that significantly cool homes and more.
I don't think that you can have a good business if your frontline workers or the folks that are working directly with your customer are not well taken care of.And that approach is leading to big returns.