BPA Scholarships Make Events Accessible to All

Each year, the Building Performance Association (BPA) awards scholarships to members of the home performance industry to attend our events. Known as the Mike Rogers Memorial Scholarship Fund, we have granted over $103,000 to nearly 200 participants.

The Mike Rogers Memorial Scholarship Fund was created in honor of a dear friend of the building performance industry, Mike Rogers. Rogers was a tireless advocate for the industry, and he was passionate about establishing a strong, diverse, and qualified workforce.

The primary criteria for the scholarship awards are:

• Diversity in regards to race, gender, and age.
• Financial need.
• Whether the applicant has attended association events in the past. Priority will be given to first-time attendees.

“Mike was larger than life,” says BPA’s Chief Operating Officer, Nate Natale.  “And man, did he love contractors. It was in his DNA. He never let our organization forget that it is always about the contractors.”

Because of Rogers, Natale leads BPA events with one question in mind: How will this help contractors? “That’s all because of Mike,” he says.

One such contractor who has received a scholarship through this fund is Marcy Cleveland, founder of Green Building Specialists. She attended BPA’s Clean Energy for Homes regional conference in June 2022. She shared the following kind words regarding her event experience and scholarship:

“First of all, the BPA Clean Energy for Homes conference in Saratoga Springs… What an amazing event! I had the opportunity to connect with so many people in person who I knew only online through various channels. Possibly my favorite was Bill from TEC! Pretty cool meeting one of the engineers behind the company who made my blower door!

I learned about remote virtual audits and spent a great deal of time talking to folks about low to middle income (LMI) customers and how to solve the problem of affordable decarbonization and electrification.”

Meeting and learning from industry leaders and peers is a foundational piece of regional and national BPA events—and something Rogers also valued both in work and in life.

“Personally, I learned so much from him,” says Natale. “He was an exceptional father of daughters and I listened intently when he talked about the gig (I have three), and I think I am better because of the wisdom he passed to me.”

Because of Rogers, we’re able to help make BPA events accessible to all. So, if you are in financial need or know someone who is, please apply. We are now accepting applications for the 2024 national conference taking place April 8-11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024.