Michelle McGeoy

Founder

Solar Richmond

An entrepreneur from an early age, McGeoy got her first taste of operating a business at age 11 running the school store. Years later, Michele’s most prolonged business adventure was Tailored Solution which developed database software for law schools. Over 40% of the law schools around the country used her software, with clients including Stanford, Yale, and Harvard. After ten years she sold the company and with proceeds from the sale, founded a non-profit to address the mounting digital divide. She also sat on the boards of United for a Fair Economy and Responsible Wealth, where she did national media work fighting a tax system that favored the wealthy. Eventually exhausted and discouraged from pursuits at her new start-up company, RH Solutions, Michele retreated to her basement with a meditation cushion and a yoga mat to do some deep soul searching. Michele had solar panels installed on her home years before there was even a rebate program and realized that this was the field for her. She started working for Real Goods as a design technician but saw that the eco-divide was just as prevalent as the digital divide. She founded Solar Richmond in 2006 to bring the economic advantages of the emerging green economy to her community. Michele lives in Richmond with her vivacious 11 year old daughter.