Isabel Baird
Washington State Department of Commerce | Workforce Development Program Manager
Speaker
Track D: Clean Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities
Session D1: Funding Opportunities for the Energy Transition
March 11, 2026 | 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
The BEACON Fellowship Project: Accelerating the Clean Buildings Flywheel in Washington
Thousands of building owners across Washington are or will soon be navigating pathways to comply with Washington’s first-in-the-nation Clean Buildings Peformance Standard (CBPS). In partnership with the Smart Buildings Center, Strategic Energy Innovations, and San Timoteo Energy Associates, the WA State Department of Commerce has launched the BEACON Fellowship Project—a groundbreaking initiative to support building owners and operators with their CBPS compliance. The BEACON Project is specifically designed to support building owners who lack staff and resource capacity to comply with the CBPS, while simultaneously accelerating the clean buildings flywheel in Washington.
The first cohort of BEACON fellows began in June 2025. In just the first six months, BEACON fellows have worked with building owners spanning multiple counties, conducting targeted outreach to a variety of entities across the state and supporting hundreds of buildings on their path to compliance.
In this presentation, we will share the successes, impacts, and lessons learned from the BEACON Fellowship Project, highlighting the benefits of investing in a workforce who can provide quality technical assistance and customer support to create a more energy efficient future.
Speaker Bio
Isabel manages the BEACON Fellowship Project at the Washington State Department of Commerce where she supports the implementation of the Clean Buildings Performance Standard and advances strategies that expand the clean buildings workforce in Washington state. Her work in climate policy is centered around community outreach, and program development and implementation. Isabel holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Northeastern University.