Home Energy Loan Program Associate

About Mid Hudson Energy Transition

Mid-Hudson Energy Transition, Inc. (MHET) is a not-for-profit community-based organization that empowers municipalities, their residents, and businesses to own and share renewable energy, create healthier buildings, and join in community wealth-building to strengthen the resilience of the Hudson Valley in the face of climate change. We engage and build on the active involvement of communities, with particular emphasis on low-income and communities of color that are being harmed first and worst by climate change.

Location(s): Hybrid, based in Kingston NY or the Hudson Valley

Duration: 3 months with the possibility to extend to 6 months

Hours: Flexible. 15-18 hours a week for full time students. Eligible intern snot taking classes can work up to 40 hours per week.

Compensation: $22 - $25/hour

Mid-Hudson Energy Transition, Inc. (MHET) is a not-for-profit community-based organization that empowers municipalities, their residents, and businesses to own and share renewable energy, create healthier buildings, and join in community wealth-building to strengthen the resilience of the Hudson Valley in the face of climate change. We engage and build on the active involvement of communities, with particular emphasis on low-income and communities of color that are being harmed first and worst by climate change.

The HELP Intern will support the ongoing implementation and refinement of MHET’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)—an innovative, equity-centered financing model designed to make home energy upgrades affordable and accessible for low- and moderate-income households. The intern will conduct applied research, support operational improvements, and assist in developing tools and materials to strengthen the program’s impact and scalability. The intern may also assist with tasks related to the HELP Fund, MHET’s green community investment fund, which capitalizes the loan program.

• Research:
• • Conduct research on empathetic banking and equitable lending models
    , including community development financial institutions (CDFIs), credit unions, and other institutions that use alternative underwriting or enhanced borrower support for low- and moderate-income populations. Summarize findings in a written memo.
  • Research wealth-building incentive models and create tangible financial benefits for HELP participants.
  • Contribute to the creation of a financial literacy toolkit tailored to HELP borrowers, potentially including short videos and educational materials on basic personal finance concepts.
• Operational Improvements:
• • Identify opportunities for automation
    , focusing on 3–4 repetitive, high-volume tasks, and propose low/no-code tools to increase efficiency.
  • Add to pilot journal and action tracker to log weekly challenges, process observations, and improvement ideas; facilitate a monthly case debrief to capture lessons learned.
• Impact & Communications
• • Support impact measurement and data management
    , including auditing data collection systems, ensuring accuracy of key metrics, and helping to design a dashboard for tracking program progress.
  • Support development of borrower case studies based on interviews and program data, highlighting the financial, comfort, health, and environmental outcomes of completed HELP projects.
  • Publish blog posts and/or short written pieces for MHET’s website, newsletter, and funder/investor communications.
• HELP Fund:
• • Assist with HELP Fund fundraising tasks such as events, grant writing, prospect follow-up, marketing, where needed.

• Strong interest in equitable finance, community wealth-building, and sustainable housing.
• Research and analytical skills, including comfort with both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Excellent written communication and organizational skills.
• Initiative and curiosity to explore creative solutions to systemic barriers in clean energy financing.
• Familiarity with data analysis, process mapping, or low/no-code tools is a plus.