We are proud to announce that Soulful Synergy has been awarded $450,000 from the New York Power Authority (NYPA) as part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s $5 million statewide investment in clean energy workforce development. The funding will power our continued mission to open doors into the clean energy economy for residents of Westchester County and the Mid-Hudson region — with a focus on the communities too often left on the sidelines of the energy transition.
In the news: The award landed on the front page of The Journal News on April 6, where reporter Thomas C. Zambito spotlighted the New Rochelle students already training inside our New Rochelle Forward space — a preview of what this next round of NYPA funding will scale across the Hudson Valley.
A Vote of Confidence for Community-Led Training
Soulful Synergy is one of eight organizations across New York State selected to share in this round of NYPA funding, joining peers like the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, the Center for Employment Opportunities, Nontraditional Employment for Women, and others. Together, the cohort is charged with preparing more than 1,000 New Yorkers for in-demand careers in the rapidly growing clean energy sector.
New York is already home to roughly 185,000 clean energy jobs, and NYPA has now obligated more than $50 million across 39+ organizations statewide to ensure the workforce keeps pace with the state’s climate goals. Being selected alongside this caliber of partners affirms what our students, staff, and community already know: community-rooted training works.
“The $5 million in workforce investments will help ensure New Yorkers have the skills required to succeed in the state’s growing clean energy economy. NYPA is doing more than simply providing funding; it is working closely with its partner organizations to expand access to apprenticeships and technical career pathways across New York.”
— John R. Koelmel, Chair, New York Power Authority
“Partnering with community-based organizations and training providers strengthens New York’s clean energy talent pipeline and creates on-ramps to well-paying careers.”
— Justin Driscoll, President and CEO, New York Power Authority
“The $5 million in NYPA funding will help prepare more than 1,000 New Yorkers for those jobs of tomorrow.”
— Governor Kathy Hochul
What the Funding Will Do
The $450,000 grant will directly expand Soulful Synergy’s training pipelines in three priority areas:
- Weatherization — equipping trainees to make homes and buildings more energy efficient, lowering utility bills and carbon emissions across the Hudson Valley.
- Energy Efficiency — building the technical fluency our workforce needs to deliver on New York’s climate commitments.
- Building Electrification — preparing installers and technicians for the heat pump, electrification, and decarbonization work reshaping the built environment.
Through our first round of NYPA funding in 2024, we trained nearly 60 students for careers as HVAC technicians, heat pump unit installers, and other clean energy roles. This new round will train another 60 workers — building on that proven foundation.
Paired with the wraparound support Soulful Synergy is known for — career coaching, apprenticeship placement, and ongoing mentorship — this funding helps us meet students where they are and walk with them into long-term, family-sustaining careers.
Why This Matters for Our Communities
The clean energy transition is one of the largest economic opportunities of our lifetime. But opportunity without access isn’t opportunity at all. Our work has always been about ensuring that Black, brown, low-income, and historically excluded communities are not just included in the green economy — they help lead it.
This is what this funding looks like on the ground. As The Journal News captured last month, that’s students like Yulisa Ceja and Juan Mendoza — both seniors at New Rochelle High School — learning to handle a miter saw under the guidance of Soulful Synergy instructor Matthew Chacko inside our New Rochelle Forward training space. Multiply that classroom by 60, and you have the next round of NYPA-funded training in motion.
Co-founder Dwayne Norris put it plainly when the grant was announced:
“All of those things have to happen collectively, but we have to do that also in line with equity and making sure that individuals who have been historically left out of the process, underrepresented, or intentionally harmed in the process, now have a resource — a say in the way that the money and the projects are operating. That is what this means to us. We get to use this money to train people who deserve to be a part of the transition.”
— Dwayne Norris, Co-Founder, Soulful Synergy
That commitment is the engine of our mission:
“By advancing equitable economic systems, protecting our environment, and strengthening local capacity, we aim to build a world where resilience, justice, and shared prosperity are the foundation of thriving societies.”
This grant accelerates that mission. It means more free and low-barrier training seats. It means deeper partnerships with employers hiring right now. And it means more neighbors in New Rochelle, Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, and across the Mid-Hudson with the skills and credentials to step into clean energy careers.
What’s Next
Over the coming months, we’ll be:
- Expanding enrollment for our free training programs in weatherization, energy efficiency, and electrification.
- Deepening employer partnerships so graduates move directly into paid work and apprenticeships.
- Sharing student stories and program milestones as this grant takes shape on the ground.
Get Involved
- Interested in training? Visit our Courses page to explore upcoming cohorts, including our free programs.
- Employers hiring in clean energy? Let’s talk about pipeline partnerships.
Funders, partners, and community members? Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for regular updates.
We are grateful to Governor Hochul, the New York Power Authority, our state and local officials, and — most of all — to the students and community members who make this work possible. The next chapter of New York’s clean energy economy is being written right here in our communities. We can’t wait to keep building it with you.
— Soulfully,
The Soulful Synergy Team
Read more
Governor Hochul’s announcement: governor.ny.gov
Front-page coverage in The Journal News / lohud.com by Thomas C. Zambito: “New Rochelle program lifted by $450K state investment” (April 6, 2026).