Workforce development

EV Ambassadors

By Aaron He, NorCal Clean Cities Project Manager

What is EV Ambassadors?

As part of the workforce development initiative of the Clean Mobility in Schools (CMIS) Grant from CARB, NorCal Clean Cities and Communities, in partnership with Green Technical Education and Employment, created the EV Ambassadors program in November 2024 to hire students from Twin Rivers USD high schools to become subject matter experts and advocates for EVs, alternative fuels, and sustainable transportation. The primary objective for the EV Ambassadors was to attend and table at various community events to engage with attendees and speak with them about electric vehicles.

How did EV Ambassadors come to be?

The process of implementing the program from its inception took around five months. During this time, Aaron He of Clean Cities and Kamiron Belton of Green Tech collaborated to develop an online training curriculum for the Ambassadors to complete before their first event. The training, set up in Google Classroom, consisted of four sections of learning material (articles, videos, etc.) and unit quizzes at the end of each section to test the students’ comprehension. It covered the basics of how EVs work, an EV’s range and state of charge, battery management, common misconceptions, and state and federal incentives to support EV purchasing. The final section required the students to write a short report on an interesting EV incentive.

In March 2025, the EV Ambassador program began taking applications. Six students were selected for the first cohort, from Grant High School and Highlands High School. Their first community event was a site launch at the Bonnie Pannell Community Center for Our Community Car Share, an EV rideshare program offered by the Sac Metro Air District. There, the Ambassadors experienced staffing an informational booth and engaged with other community organizations, including SacBreathe and the Air District.

For the rest of the pilot period, which ended in June, the Ambassadors attended a total of 7 events, reaching over 500 attendees. They also completed a public speaking training in April. The two largest events were Earth Day at Southside Park, attended in partnership with SacEV, and May Day in Del Paso Heights. At Earth Day, the Ambassadors greeted attendees at “Electric Avenue,” where SacEV members displayed electric cars including a Ford Mustang Mach-E and several Rivian trucks, and promoted SMUD’s EV ride and drive.

Current status of the program

Following the pilot period, two Ambassadors stayed with the program. Clean Cities and Green Tech submitted a proposal to continue the project, and it was approved by the Air District and CARB. The two remaining Ambassadors attended two more events, in August and October, both in partnership with the Clean Cars 4 All team from the Sac Metro Air District — a community day at Grace Baptist Church and the Oak Park Black Film Festival — promoting Clean Cars 4 All, a scrap-and-replace program that helps income-qualified Sacramento residents buy electric vehicles.

To expand the program, Clean Cities and Green Tech recruited the next cohort through classroom presentations at Grant High School, and nine more EV Ambassadors were hired. In December and January they completed the online training plus in-person EV and “green careers” training at Cal EPIC, where instructor Ash Dalal covered how EV motors work, levels of charging, gear ratios, and solar charging. At the end of January the students toured CARB Headquarters in downtown Sacramento to learn about the agency’s regulatory role, career paths, and air-monitoring work.

Goals and accomplishments

The primary goal has always been to give students at Twin Rivers high schools a workforce-development opportunity and exposure to emerging technologies, while increasing visibility and awareness of EVs and alternative-fuel vehicles across Sacramento. For many students, EV Ambassadors was their first job. As one Ambassador shared: “When I started, I knew very little about cars, but I’ve gained a strong understanding of how plug-in hybrids, fully electric, and hydrogen vehicles work. Through creating an FAQ sheet and engaging with the community at events, I’ve built confidence using both English and Spanish, strengthened my public speaking, and connected directly to my career goals.” In total, the fifteen Ambassadors have completed over 150 hours of subject-matter training and reached over 500 attendees across 10 events.

Concluding thoughts

The Ambassador program has been a great learning experience for all involved and has been well received by partner programs and TRUSD. It gives students the chance to learn about new technologies and gain work experience for their future careers. NorCal Clean Cities thanks everyone involved in the inception, implementation, and operation of the program — the Ambassadors, program managers, and the TRUSD and Prospect SV staff who worked with us on the CMIS grant.

To learn more about the EV Ambassadors program, please contact ahe@norcalcleancities.org.