Staff Spotlight: Meet Wyatt Atkinson
Welcome to the next installment of our Staff Spotlight feature, where we share a brief interview to introduce you to some of our amazing staff members here at GRID Bay Area! This month we’d like to introduce you to our North Coast Solar Installation Supervisor (SIS) Wyatt Atkinson. “Team player” is an understatement for describing Wyatt and hopefully you get the chance to visit our North Coast office to work with him. Plus, he might just get his dog to grab you an ice cold soda pop from the fridge while you’re at it. Keep checking back to meet more fabulous GRID Bay Area staffers!
Preferred pronouns?
He/him/his
How did you come to GRID?
I was in my last semester of college (which the Navy paid for) and I was working for a development company that did consulting for tribes. The Spokane Tribe has their own tribal utility and while I was interning they had Solar Energy International (SEI) come out and everyone got NABCEP entry level certified. Then GRID came out and we were able to install solar on 4 homes. While they were out, I met the SolarCorps at that time, Austin and Kaly. Learning about what they did seemed like it was right up my alley. Fast forward to January, I had graduated and had applied for the SolarCorps Construction Fellow position in the North Coast Bay Area satellite office.I did that for a year and was kept on in the North Coast as an SIS now. I’m just shy of being with GRID for 2 years!
What GRID value most resonates with you?
Collaboration, because it’s about being part of a larger group working towards a common goal. But really also trustworthiness – it’s easiest to act on the grounds of honesty.
What is your favorite GRID moment?
There are so many. That’s always a hard question to answer. It’s just the repeated meet and greets with the homeowners and building those relationships. One favorite though was a recent install in Point Arena where team members Bruce and James came out from the Bay Area. The install was on the reservation there and it’s BEAUTIFUL. We were joined during the day by the families going solar, and everyone was excited about changing the perspective toward renewable energy. The day ended with us all camping out in a cabin, cooking dinner and hanging out. That’s a part of true collaboration. It was great.
What’s a fun fact about you?
My dog, Eve, can retrieve beverages from the fridge. If I had to do a different job, it would just be raising puppies. I’m hoping to get another puppy soon. That puppy energy…. I really love it.
