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Publish Date: October 7th, 2024
We caught up with Keenan Luebbers for this solar spotlight. Keenan celebrated 10 years with Namaste Solar just last month! And in those 10 years, he’s been in many different roles and developed his skills and expertise. We’re so grateful to have him in our organization. For him, it was a happy coincidence to find Namaste Solar and align with this company that has been there through every big decision he’s made in his life. Read on to learn about his incredible journey.
What is your role at Namaste Solar?
I’m the Residential Operations Manager. I support our office and admin roles within the residential EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) and residential service teams. I’m primarily responsible for overseeing the entire process from point of sale up to installation – including site audits, design, engineering, and permitting. I also primarily help drive implementation and education surrounding new product, design, and engineering technologies and the coordination between my team, residential sales, and residential installs.
You’ve been here for over 10 years. Could you summarize your journey?
I started off on the builder new construction (BNC) team. I did the first BNC installation at Namaste Solar. I’ve bounced around, mostly doing install stuff. Spent a few years on BNC, two years on residential, and I’ve done a handful of commercial installations, too. After a while, I moved into a project management role. And I did that for a few years. It’s where I learned the ropes of code and design aspects. And it’s where I interacted with inspectors and AHJs (authority having jurisdiction) like a local building department. And then a couple years ago, right around the reorg time is when I transitioned into my current role as a Residential Operations Manager.
"And I really take pride in being able to make other people’s lives easier. Whether it’s removing obstacles or helping with tricky or complex situations."
Why were you first interested in working here?
Well, this isn’t my first solar gig. I spent about a year and a half working for another company. I was laid off from there. And I spent the summer after that going back to what I was good at, which is working on and building motorcycles. I quickly realized why I wanted to leave that industry – it was killing a passion of mine. So, I looked around for any installer opportunity in the Denver area, and Namaste Solar popped up. So, I applied. I had a really good conversation with the hiring manager at the time and they hired me on the spot. It’s pretty simple really. I wanted to be in solar and they gave me an opportunity.
What motivates you to get up and go to work?
At a fundamental level, I’m in this industry because I have a desire to leave this place better than I found it. And there are many ways to achieve that. It’s much harder to leave a lasting impression, professionally – on a grand scale. That’s probably the overarching reason. And on a micro scale, it’s the people I work with and the teams that I support. Being here for so long, I’ve developed such close relationships with so many people from around the company. And I really take pride in being able to make other people’s lives easier. Whether it’s removing obstacles or helping with tricky or complex situations. I just want to help in more ways than one.
What is something about your job that most people don’t know?
I support, essentially, the office administrative staff for the residential install and service departments. I’m not necessarily super involved with the day-to-day management or support of our field folks. I deal, primarily, with administrative design and engineering. It’s often interpreted that I help with install folks, and people do come to me for all sorts of reasons.
What’s been one of your proudest moments working here?
I can’t necessarily boil it down to one thing, but during the years I spent as an installer and crew lead, I had a lot of apprentices test for and achieve their electrical license. That’s a huge accomplishment because I took them under my wing and taught them what I know about electrical code and doing things the proper way. As I moved into more of the office atmosphere, that transitioned into providing mentorship and guidance for folks hoping to achieve their NABCEP. So, I do a lot of one-on-one study sessions with folks from around the company helping them prepare for the exam, which is a really tricky and difficult one. It’s really just seeing other people learn, grow, and recognize real potential while hitting real milestones in their lives. That’s what’s super meaningful to me. Being a part of that and helping them usher themselves along that journey.
What’s the most unique part about working at Namaste Solar?
The different avenues for collaboration. I can’t think of another business model or company that would fully support and encourage collaboration like we do here at Namaste Solar. Everybody has their day job here. But we encourage collaboration between other departments and like-minded folks. We encourage branching out and trying to get a broad range of perspectives before making decisions. And zooming out to the cooperative level, the collaboration opens up so many more possibilities. To me, that’s what’s truly unique about Namaste Solar – the level of cooperation, collaboration, and general regard for each other that we have here. My professional experience in the solar industry is limited outside of Namaste Solar. But I think you recognize when you have something good, and you don’t let it go.
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 at work. How have you experienced “come as you are” at Namaste Solar?
To my core, some of my favorite things to do are to tinker on mechanical things that happen to burn dino fuel and are very loud and not fuel efficient. And that’s one of the reasons I’m in this industry. So, that I can offset some of what my other choices are doing. I don’t have an electric vehicle. I don’t drive fuel efficient vehicles. And that can be seen as controversial in this industry. And yet, I still feel that people here are genuinely intrigued by what I do in my free time and the hobbies that I have. People consistently ask me about them or ask me about my latest project. I feel nothing but support for it because it’s a creative outlet for me.
On other levels, I feel that I have smoothed out the roughness in the sharp edges to my personality and the way I communicate over the years. I haven’t always been a great communicator. I was very blunt, very direct, very honest. And the people here that have guided me and mentored me have allowed me the space to grow as an individual. And that meant becoming a truly effective communicator and someone that people can trust to come to, even for conflict resolution. So I think that’s another really good example of come as you are. Here, it’s like, “Hey, you don’t need to have everything figured out.” And on a personal or professional level, we’re here to help you achieve true success in the industry, in your career, and in yourself. You can learn and grow with the rest of us.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
First and foremost, I like hanging out with my dog. She’s my best friend. Her name is Roach. She’s a couple years old. Contrary to most people’s first thought, she’s actually named after a horse from one of my favorite video games of all time. Not any other roach that we might be familiar with. When I’m spending time outdoors, spending time in nature, off roading, rock crawling, or playing music, she’s there – right by my side. She’s got severe separation anxiety. I possibly do as well. That might be the reason she’s always tagging along.
Also, exploring the backcountry and places seldomly seen or traveled, that’s really big for me. I think the other big thing that provides holistic wealth in my life is music. Playing, writing, and performing music. If I’m not out in the garage tinkering or playing with my dog in a park, I’m probably playing music in some way, shape, or form.
How has Namaste Solar helped you develop your skills and career?
I knew a little bit about the electrical trade and how to install a residential system when I came here. But Namaste Solar has entrusted me to be in different positions. That’s really helped me to hone, not only my technical skills, but my people skills and leadership skills. We talked a little bit about how I’ve been able to build my communication and ability to navigate really complex situations where emotions are flying and opinions are strong.
Namaste Solar is directly responsible for placing me in positions throughout my tenure that have also allowed me to grow and develop my design and technical expertise and receive all the certifications that I have. After 10 years, I ran for my first board of directors election back in May, and I’m proud to be serving as an internal representative on our board of directors. I’m really excited to grow and build my business acumen and to broaden my perspective on what it means to be successful in business and successful in this industry.
What parts of our mission do you most connect with?
I think it’s about creating holistic wealth for ourselves and our community because very seldomly do we see mission statements from companies that purposefully carve out the space to provide meaningful, lasting impact for their communities. And recognizing that can be in conflict with driving the bottom line. Sometimes the best decision that honors our mission statement isn’t the most beneficial decision from a profit perspective. I think we all try to toe that line, and it’s tricky because we have so many different stakeholders that we’re trying to do right by. There’s no magic arrow for that. Every circumstance is different, and we do really well at trying to live by that while making a lasting impact in our communities, not just for ourselves.
What advice would you give recent new hires?
Talk to people. Introduce yourself. Ask them the same questions you’re asking me right now. Learn about the people that you’re working with. Learn about what makes them happy in their role and why they’re in this industry. I think the camaraderie that we have here and the familial ties that we build is one of the things that make us so strong as an organization. And without new people bringing that same energy and caring for it in the same way, we will lose it. And in turn, by having meaningful conversations with people, you might be able to avoid mistakes they have made. So, learn from other people’s mistakes as well.
Do you have a favorite song/album/artist right now?
It’s tough because I listen to pretty much everything. And it depends on my mood. I can go from blues to country to the gnarliest of metal to Katy Perry in a single day. If I had to pick an artist right now, it’d be a tie. There’s an awesome folk bluegrass band out of Portland called the Bridge City Sinners. They’re a melting pot of so many different genres and they’re so unapologetically themselves. They’re kind of carving their own genre out of it. The other one I’d suggest is BILMURI. They’re an amazing metal band, probably my favorite that I’ve heard in recent years. They are groovy and have these amazing, catchy melodies. Just beautiful voices. And they have a dedicated saxophonist, where they have sax solos in metal, and it works so well.
If you could pick one superpower, what would it be?
That’s so easy. To talk to animals. I want to talk to animals because I want to have a conversation with my dog. Like, are you happy? Do you get enough walks? Do you like your food? Does anything hurt? How can I make your life better? Hands down. I’d take that over everything else combined.
