Green Team gains steam in Park City; providing training, creating jobs

Among the first women to graduate from the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1973, Adrienne Farrar Houel has given the green revolution sturdy legs in Bridgeport through Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises (GBCE), of which she is the founder, president and CEO.

Houel spoke to Westport Sunrise Rotarians about her Green Team work -- nurturing jobs in Bridgeport and, in the process, helping the environment and providing a source of income for many of the city's neediest residents -- last week.

"We are fortunate to have a green mayor in Bill Finch, who supports our work," she said.

That support has translated into a green renovation of the Bridgeport Library, a project that Houel is excited about.

"When it's finished, there will be solar panels on the roof," she said, adding: "Imagine that! A lot's going on in Bridgeport."

Houel has led GBCE, a community development unit, in creating community-run green firms. She also advocates for the creation of more green jobs in the Bridgeport area and across the state. The jobs the organization trains workers for range from a green recycling technician to an asbestos abatement technician, as well as certified home energy auditors.

Houel expressed her excitement about green demolition of old factories -- of which Bridgeport has many. In a green demolition, she related, 95 percent of the material can be recycled to benefit the economy. GE recently announced it will be doing just that with its industrial building on a 76.6-care parcel on Boston Avenue.

Among 60 graduates of the GBCE training, some 45 moved from graduation to jobs with paychecks, according to Houel. Not many training programs can match that record, she contended.

During 2010, 120 individuals are expected to participate in the program. Each year, as the program expands, the expectation is that more and more of Bridgeport's untrained residents will join the workforce.

GBCE is a 501(c) 3 organizattion. As such, the IRS has ruled that donations to the organization are tax deductible. Growth of the GBCE green incubator movement hinges on expansion of donations as a major factor, as Houel views the scene. To keep the movement rolling, Houel said, "We have to be ahead of the curve."

A part of this, she noted, is to tap into experts at the University of Bridgeport.

"We also must keep ahead of competitors in research and by clustering competencies," she said.

She also recommends giant leaps in tutoring the unskilled and getting them certified for OSHA competencies.

"Our biggest challenge," she said,"is getting those who come to us on the first rung of the ladder to success."

She said the objectives are:

"¢ To identify, fund and carry out training to prepare low- and moderate-income people for well-paying jobs with benefits in the green economy.

"¢ To develop and spin off green businesses that employ graduates of the organization's training programs.

"¢ To partner with the private industry for training and to assist graduates in founding small businesses after gaining skills and work experiences.

"We are energy conservation and environmental training specialists," Houel said. "Our courses and certificates are provided by qualified training personnel approved by the Connecticut State Health Department."

Headquarters for the GBCE Green Team is 1070 Park Ave., Bridgeport. The training office is located at 75 Washington Ave.,(United Way Building) Bridgeport.

For more information, visit www.greenteambpt.com