Help & Advice

Clare is the Advice Lead at PEC, managing major projects to tackle fuel poverty alongside residents and partner frontline organisations. She is immensely proud of the team, their work and its services, which include community drop-ins, crisis support, income maximisation, and supplier mediation.

Clare has lived in Plymouth since 2011 and came to the area from Norfolk, where she led campaigns for biodiversity organisations, local authorities and charities. She is one of PEC’s experts on funding bids and partnerships, and also develops creative climate action programs in the city.

When it comes to work, she is passionate about joining up local services to reach the people in need of them. Outside of work, she’s a little green fingered and handy with a paint brush.

“I’m lucky enough to go out each day and meet people who want to make life better for themselves and for those around them. What more could I ask?“

Rae has been working with vulnerable people with multiple and complex needs for many years. She has worked in residential, custodial and community settings and is dedicated to ensuring that those who are isolated, marginalised and / or living in poverty are fairly represented and supported to enhance their quality of life, take accountability for their actions and become integrated members of their community.

Despite being a qualified and experienced manager, counsellor and therapeutic supervisor, Rae has chosen to return to casework as she particularly enjoys the challenges of working within a team on the front line. This combined with a passion for environmental issues makes Plymouth Energy Community a brilliant place to work.

In her personal time, Rae enjoys being in nature, cooking (and eating), travelling, listening to music, writing, embroidery and learning to play the guitar. She also enjoys comedy and laughs – a lot!

Christine is originally from Cranwell, and spent her formative years moving around the UK before settling in Plymouth at the age of 11. She was delighted to join PEC in October 2020, after gaining considerable experience supporting those most vulnerable in society in her previous roles.

Having always felt passionate about the impact of government policies on families and individuals lives, she completed a degree in Social Policy, gaining a First Class Honours with the Open University. She then went on to work in numerous roles, including in a Women's Refuge, volunteering at Plymouth Mind, working as a Life Enhancement Advisor at Twelve's Company, working for the Alzheimer's Society and has spent the last 4 years working within the management team of a domiciliary care agency.

In her spare time Christine likes to play music, is in a band playing saxophone, and has several guitars and ukuleles that she plays, without an audience! She also endeavours to keep fit by swimming, being a gym member, and loves waling in nature with her much loved pug!

Katie has lived in several places around the UK and New Zealand, but spent most of her childhood in Surrey. After many happy childhood holidays in South Devon, she moved to Plymouth to study Psychology in 2011. She immediately knew she wanted to make the city her home, and has lived here for most of the last decade. Katie has worked in the dementia care sector, and while studying she took a variety of summer jobs including the London Olympics and (her favourite) Tinside Lido. Katie joined PEC from Citizens Advice, which is where her desire to help people manage their energy use was born. Katie loves to find ways to save money or bring more money in, hunting out the best deals in order to help people change their lives for the better.

Outside of work, Katie enjoys computer games, wild swimming, going to gigs and spending quality time with her cats.

Kate is from Plymouth and loves the City and is fortunate to live within walking distance of the Hoe.

She has had a varied career which includes administrative roles in different Civil Service departments, mental health support work with the NHS and spent many years in a management role for a private domiciliary care company. More recently she has enjoyed working for Plymouth City Council in Central Library as a Customer Advisor.

Having gained a degree in Community Studies, Kate is keen to work in a job that makes a positive difference to people and their lives. Kate also feels strongly that work should give you a warm glow and a sense of purpose. Her administrative role at PEC ticks all the boxes!

Kate cares about the environment and is a keen recycler and is trying to reduce her carbon footprint. She litter picks when walking with her dog and in her spare time enjoys reading, roller skating and spending time with her family and friends.

Justin joined the PEC team in September 2017. He coordinates PEC’s energy team to install simple energy efficient measures and provide advice. He also works behind the scenes to develop new opportunities.

With a Natural Sciences degree from the University of Bath, he enjoys communicating technical information in an uncomplicated and engaging way. He has used these skills delivering fuel poverty projects at the Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol between 2013 and 2017 and before this worked briefly for Good Energy.

After a 9 year stint of dabbling with living on the fringes of the South West, in Bristol, Justin has returned to Devon where he was born and grew up. Living in Dawlish, he is enjoying being able to live and work right next to the sea.

Jason was excited to get the opportunity to join PEC and work within a team that shares a strong ethos built around helping people and fighting the climate crisis. His role combines his experience gained in property renovation with his previous role as a science teacher.

In the four years between teaching and joining PEC, Jason was fortunate to have been the main carer for his boy and girl twins, until they started school.

With an Environmental Studies degree and an HND in Agriculture, Jason has always been drawn to the outdoors and worked in biological pest control before it was trendy.

He grew up in the South East with Lancastrian parents and continued to move around, settling in Plymouth in 2011, after spending a year teaching English in the Northern Spanish region of Asturias.

Katie was born in Essex, but raised in Cornwall and has made Plymouth her home for the past 6 years. She joined PEC in October 2020 after completing a customer services apprenticeship with Plymouth City Council. She is now an Energy Advisor on the FutureFit team and loves how she is able to make a difference, helping people to get out of fuel poverty and feel more confident dealing with their energy needs.

As a massive bookworm, her head is usually in either a fiction book or a textbook as she is also studying a part-time Psychology and Counselling degree with the Open University alongside working with PEC. In her spare time she loves to go to the theatre with her undefeated favourite musical being Hamilton – with Les Mis in a close second!

After completing the PEC Pals programme in 2017, Didier joined the team in May 2019 as PEC Assistant Advisor. He has a degree in Ocean Sciences from the University of Plymouth and more recently obtained a Masters in Marine Renewable Energy. After a brief spell working at the University, he has spent more than 17 years working in the language industry.

Recently Didier decided to work in the energy sector in a bid to contribute to a fairer low carbon world and in the belief that he can “make a difference” however small it is.

In his spare time, Didier enjoys cycling, running and walking his dog. He has also set himself the task of building an “eco-pod” which is well under way as well as a small electric boat powered solely by renewable energy… although there is no word on a launch date!

Sophie joined PEC in September 2023 to support the delivery of the Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) programme. She previously worked for another local social enterprise and was  also a Director of Plymouth Social Enterprise Network.

Sophie grew up in a coastal village on the outskirts of Plymouth and loves all that the city and surrounding countryside and beaches have to offer. In her spare time, she enjoys getting out and about with her husband, young daughter and two stepsons – they all enjoy camping, especially in more remote places, ideally with the opportunity to light a campfire and do some exploring in nature!

Maria loves the community-centred approach PEC has and is passionate about the environment and mitigating climate change. She is grateful for the opportunity to support members of the community and contribute to the city’s environmental wellbeing.