ICAST has proudly hosted members of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) since 2021. Their hard work and dedication help us reduce low-income households’ energy burden, preserve affordable housing, and fight climate change.
Mitch Labe
Policy Research VISTA
Mitch joined ICAST in August 2024. He assists the policy research team in staying up-to-date with the latest policy trends and changes in states nationwide. He graduated from Michigan State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Then he went on to a one-year master’s degree in management at the Ross School of Business. He says, “Helping save our planet from climate change has been a passion of mine for the last four years. ICAST is doing its part to be a factor in the change to cleaner and renewable energy. Therefore, it was an easy decision to join ICAST since my work is directly helping our cause.”
When not in the office at ICAST, Mitch can be found hiking and spending time outdoors.
Maria Baig
Marketing Research and Content Development VISTA
Maria joined ICAST in April 2024. She holds a BS from Georgia Tech and has a background in tech consulting. At ICAST, she develops, audits, edits, and optimizes current content and marketing materials. Maria cares deeply about environmental justice and felt drawn to ICAST’s mission of serving disadvantaged communities.
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Many of our VISTA members decide to stay with us full-time after their VISTA tenure is complete. Here are some of our ICAST teammates who have recently graduated from the VISTA program:
Cas Kraft
Energy Engineer
Cas joined ICAST in February 2023 as the Marketing Research and Content Development VISTA. They joined the team full-time in February 2024. They hold a BS in mechanical engineering and an MS in natural resources and energy policy from the Colorado School of Mines. Cas maintains ICAST’s library of past installations while performing solar modeling and energy savings calculations for potential retrofit programs. Cas feels connected with the company’s energy efficiency mission; they note that “The cleanest electron is the one that isn’t used.”
Nate Ingram
Junior Integrations Engineer
Nate joined ICAST in August 2023 as an AI Specialist and joined our team full-time in August 2024 as our Junior Integrations Engineer. Nate’s duties have expanded beyond AI integration to include various IT engineering challenges, such as automation and efficiency for internal logistics. He felt drawn to ICAST’s mission of uplifting disadvantaged communities and decided to stay after his time as a VISTA ended. Nate holds a BS in data science from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Destiny Galeano
Policy Coordinator
Destiny joined as a VISTA member in 2022 as the policy research VISTA, the position Mitch Labe now fills. In November 2023, Destiny joined the ICAST team full-time as our policy coordinator for the business development team. Destiny holds a bachelor’s degree in policy, law, and society from Unity Environmental University. Initially, Destiny worked in community outreach and education, working with disadvantaged youth in the public school system. She notes, “Historically underserved communities lack the resources, finances, and basic necessities to facilitate a healthy, safe, and supportive learning environment. Attempting to address this, in the best way I know how is to uplift the entire family – not just the student.” Her desire to address the root cause of educational inequity led her to ICAST, an organization she is proud to belong to: “As I became more acquainted with ICAST and my team, I saw how much passion each person has. Our individual talents and personal history have us all working together towards a common goal—equity, inclusion, and uplifting communities traditionally excluded from progress. The truth is, I didn’t expect to be here now, but I’m happy I am. My time here has given me opportunities to learn and explore with a team that I’ve grown to love—how could I possibly have left when there’s still so much more work to do?”
For Destiny, her experience with the VISTA program and her introduction to ICAST has been life-changing: “From the bottom of my heart, I encourage more people to look into AmeriCorps’s VISTA program. Maybe you’ll find what you love doing, too.”