Women in Solar: Ashley Deitrich

March is Women’s History month. As a tribute, we wanted to highlight a few of the amazing women that are helping Cypress Creek to power a more sustainable future, one project at a time. This week we are excited to feature Ashley Deitrich, Project Manager on our Project Execution team. Ashley oversees the Engineering, Procurement and Construction teams that take our distributed generation projects from plans to solar energy production!

What does it mean to you to be a woman in clean energy?
Being a woman in the solar energy field is a rewarding and exciting experience that offers numerous opportunities to make a positive impact on the environment and society. They bring unique perspectives and skill sets to the industry, and are playing a crucial role in advancing the transition to a more sustainable and clean energy future. Women in solar energy are also building supportive networks and communities, and are actively mentoring and inspiring the next generation of women leaders.

What is the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Early in my solar career, I had the opportunity to work with strong and knowledgeable male and female mentors who pushed me to engage and learn about anything I was passionate about in the renewable energy field. This led me to get up on roofs to take measurements, take an electrical class, start training for my NABCEP certification, and get in front of a room full of people to talk about solar, how we can best install it and how it benefits our communities. My mentors taught me to engage in my work by finding ways that I can improve myself to lead in a meaningful way and to not be scared of taking on a new challenge, even if I don’t have previous knowledge or experience.

What advice do you have for other women working in or looking to work in clean energy?
The solar industry is young with immense opportunities for women of all educational backgrounds to step in and gain incredible experience. I’ve worked at a variety of companies within the solar industry, from residential to engineering to construction, and I’ve found that each company provided a unique learning opportunity and insight into what I enjoy working on and where I want to continue growing my career. I highly recommend speaking with other women in the career path that you aspire to about their experiences, their day-to-day and their career trajectory. Once you figure out your path, dive into new job opportunities and use the knowledge you’ve gained to incorporate what you’re most passionate about into your career. If you’re willing to work hard, set ambitious goals, take risks, and seek out opportunities for growth and development, you can find a meaningful and rewarding career within renewable energy.

Cypress Creek employees embody 5 core values: Care, Courage, Creativity, Conviction, Collaboration. Pick one and tell us what it means to you?
As a project manager, I believe ensuring collaboration across disciplines and groups is one of the biggest roles we play to ensure the success of a project. Your colleagues will have different perspectives and knowledge that will frame their response differently to a question; I always strive to ensure that everyone feels heard and their concerns addressed before coming to a resolution on an issue.

What is something outside of work that people would find interesting about you? (Any unique hobbies, special skills, party tricks. etc.)
I really enjoy designing, planting and maintaining gardens.