Michelle Moore

Michelle Moore is author of “Rural Renaissance” and CEO of Groundswell, a 501(c)(3) that builds community power by eliminating energy burdens and increasing economic opportunity with community solar, resilience centers, residential energy efficiency, and pioneering research. A social entrepreneur and former White House official with roots in rural Georgia, Michelle is a relentless agent for change. Her accomplishments range from cutting the government’s energy bill by $11 billion and deploying 3.2 Gigawatts of new renewable energy for President Obama, to developing LEED into a globally recognized brand for USGBC.

Michelle also serves as a Senate-confirmed member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors and as Secretary of the Board for the Interdenominational Theological Center. Her work is rooted in her faith and the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

27 Articles

Taking the (EV) School Bus

Michelle Moore Mar 29, 2024

I took the bus to and from school until I was old enough to drive. When the bell rang, and we’d pour out of school, dozens of yellow school buses would be lined up waiting for us with their engines idling. Particularly on hot and humid days, the diesel fumes would be suffocating, and I’d often end up with a headache by the time we pulled out of the school’s drive. If you rode the bus, you may have similar memories, too.
An Honorary Hoosier

Michelle Moore Feb 29, 2024

At last year’s Roadshow, I missed a very wonderful connection thanks to the somewhat enigmatically labeled “XNA” airport code for the Northwest Arkansas Airport – which you can and should read all about in this month’s article from Bill Brown.
Letter from Michelle Moore, CEO, Groundswell

Michelle Moore Jan 10, 2024

Santa came early last year when the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS launched the “Direct/Elective” Pay Pre-Filing Tool, which enables nonprofits, including rural electric cooperative utilities, municipal governments, and other qualifying organizations to “pre-file” for solar and other clean energy tax credits. This game-changing new policy was a major topic of conversation at the Roadshow, so we wanted to share a few resources to help you go after the value of these tax credits.
Serving with Joy

Michelle Moore Dec 20, 2023

A few years ago, Groundswell developed a Statement of Values that has guided our organization ever since. Every single member of our team contributed, including Fellows and members of our Board. We live out our values every day through what we do and how we do. This includes the way we measure the impact of our work as a team and as individuals. As we have reflected on the past year, it seems very appropriate to share some of the good stuff we got done together through our values as a framework.
Let Us Give Thanks

Michelle Moore Nov 23, 2022

As we all wind down the work week and gather together around the Thanksgiving table, I wanted to invite you all to share in my expression of gratitude for the good work Let Us Give Thanks we’ve been able to do so far this year.
Celebrating Labor Day: A Brilliant Future for the Clean Energy Workforce

Michelle Moore Sep 02, 2022

The past few weeks have been filled with good news about clean energy jobs. Solar is part of the story, but what we’re seeing is a much more significant transformation of how we power our economy and bring good jobs to communities around the US.
The Jones Family Legacy Of Leadership

Michelle Moore Aug 26, 2022

The Jones Family legacy on the Southside of Chicago is built on integrity, technology, manufacturing, and jobs. Family patriarch Jerry T. Jones grew up in Mississippi, earned a Ph.D. in physics, and became one of the first Black scientists at NASA before founding Sonicraft in the 1970s.
Amidst Historic US Investments in Infrastructure and Clean Energy, Groundswell CEO Shares a Roadmap for a Rural Renaissance

Michelle Moore Aug 19, 2022

This week, my first book – “Rural Renaissance,” published by Island Press – arrived in bookstores everywhere. It offers a practical, and I hope inspirational, roadmap for using clean power to revitalize our hometowns. It also coincides with a wave of investment in rural power that America hasn’t seen in a hundred years.
A Values Revolution

Michelle Moore Jan 25, 2021

Systems produce outcomes according to the values on which they’re founded. So, if you want to transform the outcomes or change the system, you’ve got to go deep to its roots and transform the values that define it.
A Year of Revelation: Let the Light In!

Michelle Moore Dec 23, 2020

Twenty-twenty has been a year of revelation. Whatever polite veneers may have once masked the injustice, fear, rage, want, and inequities that have been daily on display, those veils have been ripped away by a relentless year.
Giving Thanks in Defiance of a Trying Year

Michelle Moore Nov 25, 2020

“Regret looks back. Fear looks around. Worry looks in. Faith looks up.”
What you do is who you are.

Michelle Moore Jun 18, 2020

What you do is who you are. I believe that is particularly true in this moment. We lament the murders of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. We cry out together in solidarity for restorative justice. But what are we going to do, individually and corporately, to dismantle more than four hundred years of systems upon systems that have deeply institutionalized racism in this country? We can say that black lives matter, but until black lives matter is true of the lived experience of every American, there’s urgent work to do.