With Energy to Spare

Howard Brooks and the Energy Resource Center keep families warm, safe, and more energy efficient

Howard Brooks is the kind of guy who knows how fortunate he is. He counts his blessings and consistently finds the ledger total under “things to be grateful for” in the black. And as a result, Howard’s focus is on improving other people’s lives that they can enjoy a piece of that gratitude too.

“You can complain about the world,” Howard says. “Or you can make it better.”

“I’m not a complainer.”

The spirit to give back, and to benefit the world and other people is simply innate in Howard Brooks. He is inspired by the people he meets each day, and he takes that energy and uses it to fuel his own acts of inspiration.

Howard grew up in Illinois, but these days he’s based in Colorado Springs where he is the Executive Director of the Energy Resource Center. The ERC helps Colorado families make their homes more efficient, to save money on utilities, and protect the environment. Keeping families from bankrupting themselves through high energy costs, and protecting nature are causes very close to Howard.

Remember: he wants to make the world better.

Before the ERC, he was an organizing member of the collaborative that started 211.org in Colorado, a service that makes finding human services information just three digits away, and Howard was VP of Pikes Peak United Way… another “make the world better” organization.While there, Howard also started the Quality of Life Indicators project in the Pikes Peak region, a way to quantify what works or needs work in the community.

He recently began a social enterprise at ERC to provide revenue for energy efficiency improvements for vulnerable families.

Howard Brooks is built for giving back, and he’ll take on just about anything if he can make a positive impact doing it. He’s energy-efficient, and Colorado is lucky to have him looking out for our families, homes and our shared slice of nature.

If you’re still not sold, here’s the quote Howard provided us as his favorite: “Humility does not mean you think less of yourself, it means you think of yourself less.”

LINK: ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER