Publish Date: April 14th, 2025
Celebrating 20 years of transforming energy and transforming business allows us to highlight some of the people who have been with us for double-digit years. The folks who have helped build Namaste Solar into what it is today and whose experience helps us thrive. In this spirit, we caught up with Gary, the 18th employee of Namaste Solar, to chat about the early days, the current days, and everything in-between that make up his 18+ years at Namaste Solar.
What’s your role at Namaste Solar?
I’m a co-owner and a Residential Sales and Design Specialist. I’ve been in this current role about 12 years.
How long have you been with Namaste Solar in total? And why were you first interested in working here?
I’ve been with Namaste Solar since August 28th, 2006. So, that’s 18.5 years.
I was the 18th employee. And when we started there weren’t specialized roles like there are now. Everyone had their hands in everything. Originally, I did interview for a role that’s similar to the one I have now. And once I got the job I realized that I had never worked in solar hands-on and that I wanted to get my hands dirty by getting out there installing solar for a bit. I was interested in learning about the product that I was going to be selling and designing. Doing that, I really just fell in love with being outside, working with my hands, and the kind of camaraderie that comes with the installation crew.
So, I ended up being an installer for several years and made lead installer on the residential side. I did that work for about 6 or 7 years before my body told me that it was time to get off pitched roofs. I then transitioned to the Residential Sales and Design specialist role.
What brought me to Namaste Solar and the solar industry specifically is the policy side. I was working on the policy side of renewables prior to Namaste Solar. The main campaign I was working on was a bill to pass Amendment 37, which was Colorado’s first renewable energy standards. The bill would require major utilities to meet 10% of their energy needs through renewables by 2010.
I knew at that point that there’d be a pretty large solar market, so I started looking around at different companies, and Namaste Solar stood out in terms of employee-ownership and value alignment. I’m thankful to have gotten in the door so early.
I stumbled into the work and fell in love with the industry and the company, and it’s become home.
“Being non-commissioned really frees me up to take that educational approach and try to figure out what the customer is truly in the market for and try to meet their needs to the best of our ability.”
What motivates you to get up and go to work?
Basically everything I do, I just want to make my family proud. I’m a big family man. And the work that we do here every day motivates me, too. When I’m long gone, I want my kids and grandkids to be able to talk about me as a pioneer, as someone who was really blazing the trail for a better world.
What is something about your job that most people don’t know?
I think a lot of people don’t know how much of a technical emphasis the sales role has at Namaste Solar and therefore, how much technical expertise our sales advisors have. This particular role goes above and beyond what a lot of companies have in similar sales roles. Generally, sales roles at other companies are all about selling the project and letting the project management or operations team deal with everything else. But this role at Namaste Solar requires more of a technical deep dive – it’s how we’re able to work with such high-integrity and limited change orders. I really like that aspect of it because from a customer experience perspective, it lessens curveballs getting thrown at customers later down the road.
In solar, salesperson doesn’t have the best connotation. But when working with me people quickly realize that I’m an educational resource. I’m here to take a dive into the technical side of solar and their specific circumstances to truly figure out what the best fit for the customer is. Being non-commissioned really frees me up to take that educational approach and try to figure out what the customer is truly in the market for and try to meet their needs to the best of our ability.
What’s been one of your proudest moments working here?
I’m very proud to represent the company in general and everything we stand for. But I think specifically, early on in the company in 2008 when we were invited by the President Obama to attend the stimulus package signing was a really proud moment.
He had just been elected, and people were dancing in the streets. And then he came to Denver, and I was 10 yards from the President. I even shook his hand. It was awesome to be highlighted by the President because of the solid work we had done right from the beginning of the company.
It was pretty surreal, to be honest with you, and still is to this day.
What were your first days at Namaste Solar like?
We were about a year and a half into the company when I was hired as the 18th employee. It definitely was unique being there from what I call the beginning. We had a weekly Wednesday meeting where the entire company would sit around a relatively small conference table. Namaste Solar feels like family still, but now it’s a really large family. Back then it was so small. We were a tight knit group of people that extended beyond the workplace. As early employees, we watched kids be born and grow up. So, our families grew up together, too. My daughter was a year and a half when I started at Namaste Solar and she’s now 20 years old. It’s just kind of crazy to see how far we’ve come.
What was your favorite thing about the early days of Namaste Solar?
The connection throughout every aspect of the company. Nothing could happen at the company without me knowing it, good or bad.
What’s something you really like now?
The flexibility. And our community giving program. I love that we give back to the community that supports us.
How has Namaste Solar helped you develop your skills and career?
Prior to this I just had things that I considered jobs and never considered a career until I found Namaste Solar. It gave me a purpose and direction in terms of something that I had enough passion about to commit to and turn into a career.
The general idea of solar, that we’re able to get this amazing source of power to tap into, and doing it in the way that Namaste Solar does all make this more than a job. And 18 ½ years later, this is somewhere that I want to retire from. In today’s world, a lot of people do things for a bit and then move on. And for me, I’ve found a home. I found something that I truly love. And the cherry on top is the way we do business and the way Namaste Solar operates.
“In everything we do at Namaste Solar, we just want to do things in a responsible manner, and I think that’s a really powerful word in our mission statement.“
What advice would you give recent new hires?
Speak up. In this company setting, you have a unique opportunity to have your voice heard. One of the best opportunities for me to continue to grow is to hear new perspectives. New perspectives don’t come from the “old timers.” So, I think that would be my advice. Feel empowered, even though it can be intimidating to speak up. Make sure your voice is being heard because those new perspectives bring so much value to the company and give us new direction that those who have been here longer just aren’t thinking of.
One of our core values is “come as you are” and part of that is working to build a culture where people feel able to be their full selves. How have you experienced “come as you are” at Namaste Solar?
I grew up in blue collar Western Pennsylvania, and I love sports. Some would say I’m a jock. Generally, that’s not the type of person that Namaste Solar attracts. But I feel very accepted for who I am and what my interests are. I’ve never been pressured to be any different than I truly am. And that kind of acceptance goes across the board.
It’s a very diverse kind of culture and very accepting. And I think that’s a really important part of being able to show up and be at your best.
What parts of our mission do you most connect with?
All three parts really resonate with how I want to operate overall. But I think the one that resonates the most is the word “responsible” in the “responsible use of solar” part. There are times when I’m working with someone and when I pull up the satellite imagery, I can’t even see their rooftop through a canopy of trees. And what’s unique about working at Namaste Solar is that I feel empowered to tell that person that solar is not a good fit for them and that they’re better off investing in energy efficiency projects.
Commissioned salespeople might try to sell this person solar anyway, which is irresponsible. In everything we do at Namaste Solar, we just want to do things in a responsible manner, and I think that’s a really powerful word in our mission statement.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I grew up wrestling in Pennsylvania from a young age. I started when I was five years old and continued through high school. And now I’m a wrestling coach. There are so many things I love about the sport of wrestling that just translate into life in general and in being successful in life. You’ve got to have a strong work ethic and be resilient.
I coach basically every level youth from four years old to high school. I’m a high school wrestling coach in my hometown. I love being a mentor for the kids by teaching them wrestling technique but also showing them an example of what it means to be a young adult and live life in a really great way.
If you could pick one superpower, what would it be?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a little bit more of an introvert. I like taking the backseat and observing. So, I would probably say I’d love to be invisible. An extra perk of invisibility would be to get into sporting events and concerts for free and just walking in with no one seeing me. So yeah, having invisibility might be a cool thing.
