An Invoking the Pause grant will allow Sandra Kwak, CEO and Founder of 10Power, and solar explorations expert Sofi Hoysal to bring a team to Haiti to participate in solar installations for local Haitian businesses. In addtion, they will implement an operations plan in conjunction with Presidio Graduate School students. The goal is to strengthen their relationship as leaders, while working side-by-side with community members to make a direct difference in climate change. Sofi, Sandra, and team will visit various sites in Haiti: the oceanside village of Jacmel, Haiti’s remote cloud forests, and the settlement of Canaan. In addition to having structured time to work on solar installations and community projects, there will be time for quiet and pensive reflection between members of this emerging collaboration.

Combining Sofi’s technical solar experience and Sandra’s entrepreneurial skills, they are designing a business model for solar finance that will provide clean energy to people living at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) which can be applied anywhere to help lift people out of poverty, while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions.