On September 8, 2020, Citizens for Local Power (CLP) welcomed eight interns to launch the first Empower Kingston Green Jobs Internship Program. CLP has held additional Empower Kingston sessions in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

The diverse group of interns in the first program came from Kingston, New Paltz, Rhinebeck, and Saugerties. Thanks to the group of committed local contractors and specialists who showed them the ropes at their worksites and in online classes, each intern received a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the burgeoning field. For four weeks, the interns experienced different facets of our fast-changing energy system, spending three days a week working on job sites with a local contractor and two days attending classes.

Local contractors Anthony Aebi (Greenhill Contracting), Joe McDole (J’S Painting Service), building analyst Judith Karpova, and Marie Mazzucco (SunCommon) worked with CLP to plan the program. Scott and Marie Arnold (RYCOR) and Joe Gentile (Capitol Electric) joined them to provide onsite working experience in their specialties. 

The interns earned $15/hour for their onsite and classroom work. They each received tools and steel-toed boots for protection. An anonymous donor provided funding for the pilot program.

 At the end of the program, having gotten a solid overview of the field, the interns moved on to decide their next steps, with the advice and support of Ulster County, the Green Careers Academy at SUNY Ulster, BOCES, and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

"Having the opportunity to rotate with several contractors enabled us to get a broad-ranging experience and was useful for discovering the right area of Green Jobs to work in," an intern said.

Since 2020, 74 trainees have completed the Empower Kingston program. Most recently, Empower Kingston 2024 hosted Summer and Fall sessions with 21 green jobs alumni. The program is currently funded by Ulster County, the NoVo Foundation, and CHPE’s Green Economy Fund.