2023 brought many new challenges, exciting changes, and initiatives that strengthened our teams.
As the year comes to a close, we reflect on what an amazing year it has been for Cascade Energy and our fellow Cascadians.
Our Portland headquarters is moving! We are headed to the historic Kress Building in Downtown Portland. After months of work across several teams, we are officially moved in and getting ready to welcome our PDX-based staff to the new space.
2023 marks our second year as an employee-owned company! For us, being an employee-owned company means that our values guide our work. Each employee-owner goes above and beyond to help contribute to our shared success. We are proud to offer the benefits of ownership to each employee, elevating our company culture and efforts towards better.
2023 brought the start of our Women’s Employee Resource Group, officially named GROW (Guiding Remarkable and Outstanding Women). The mission of GROW is for members to empower one another’s personal and professional growth by building an inclusive culture, providing an opportunity to discuss and solve commonly faced issues, and educating members on strategies and philosophies that will help them be the best versions of themselves. Throughout the year, GROW has hosted regular events to discuss personal and professional growth, learn from women in leaders both in and outside of Cascade.
In July, twenty Cascadians descended upon Detroit to attend the ACEEE’s 2023 Industrial Summer Study to engage in important discussions, learn from experts, and network with industry leaders.
This year’s event included an Industrial Heat Pump (IHP) Workshop where we were invited to present on the future of IHPs, and the motivations and barriers to implementation we are facing in the field.
From the connections made at the Summer Study, Cascadians Steve Koski and Doug Heredos were invited to see an Industrial Heat Pump in action while in Denmark this fall. Learn more about their insightful trip here.
In 2022, Cascade Energy announced a named scholarship with the Renewable Energy Scholarship Foundation (RESF), a 501(c)(3) public non-profit that provides undergraduate and graduate college-level academic scholarships for students demonstrating success in pursuit of any aspect of renewable energy.
In the Spring of 2023, the Scholarship was awarded to Ashe Kamin! Ashe is a third-year Ph.D. student in Chemistry at the University of Washington, where they are broadly interested in the design and synthesis of new molecules and materials with applications in next-generation energy storage devices.
In our continued partnership with De La Salle High School’s Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) we welcomed two groups of interns to the Portland office in 2023. This will be our tenth year as part of the CWSP!
We are continuously impressed with the maturity and capability of the students we work with and have enjoyed being part of their educational experiences.
In August, four Cascadians attended iUrban Teen’s iEngineer STEM Camp at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus. The iEngineer program is designed to provide underprivileged students with the opportunity to explore the field of STEM in a hands-on, experiential environment.
Another program of iUrban Teen that Cascade participated in was their iEngineer internship. Over the summer, we had Joelle Iyasele complete an engineering internship in our Portland office. Joelle worked alongside Cascade engineers, gaining real-world, hands-on experience that enhanced her understanding of data analysis and engineering.
On October 11, 1993, our three founders Marcus Wilcox, Mike McDevitt, and Rob Morton logged their first hours as Cascade Energy employees.
30 years later, with over 200 Cascadians across the US we are more ready than ever to face the challenges of reducing carbon emissions and helping industry become energy efficient.
We celebrated this milestone with an anniversary video and some of our Cascadians continued the celebration into Halloween! Check out this incredible Spirit of ‘93 group costume.
We said goodbye to one of our three founders this year. In September, Mike McDevitt retired from his position as Director of Analytics but remains on Cascade’s Board of Directors. We are incredibly grateful that Cascade still benefits from his ongoing experience and wisdom.
In December, Rob Morton, the final of three founders still actively working with Cascade, announced a change in his role as well. He will be moving into a part-time Special Projects role beginning in 2024. We look forward to having his continued expertise and guidance on our Strategy and Products team.
Cascade Energy continues to grow, and we welcomed 33 new hires to our team this year, and we’re still growing!
Thank you to all who collaborated with us, partnered with us, and trusted us with their decarbonization and energy efficiency goals. And a big thank you to all Cascadians for the dedication you bring to work every day.
We can’t wait to see what 2024 brings!
