On June 16, 2026, Dr. Therese Peffer and Rich Brown participated in the Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) Weatherization Technical Conference, hosted by the New York State Department of Public Service. Sharing lessons learned from the Oakland EcoBlock pilot, Therese and Rich highlighted strategies for effective community-scale decarbonization, including: sustained resident engagement, bundling home performance and low-power electrification upgrades, and leveraging the economies of scale associated with block-level retrofits.
Quoting author Stephen M.R. Covey, Therese noted that “change moves at the speed of trust”—a recurring theme with EcoBlock, as building trust across all levels—with the community, city, utility, and research team—has been critical to the project’s success.