Women’s EV Night

Celebrate International Women’s Day at the eMERGE Women’s EV Night

For women by women.

When it comes to buying an electric vehicle (EV), it still appears to be a man’s world. In fact, up to 70% of EVs are purchased by men, despite typical car ownership falling along typical gender lines.

We know that more women tend to be early ‘environmental adopters’ than men. That doesn’t appear to be the case when it comes to EVs .

In this webinar, all of our experts are women.

Over 8,000 new vehicles are sold in Guelph every year, but very few are electric. Every EV that’s purchased (instead of a gas or diesel vehicle) reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 4 tonnes per year. That’s massive.

This webinar is designed to help ‘normalize’ the idea of new and used EV ownership for women. This will be informative, casual and fun without getting too far down in the weeds.

We’re bringing together one of the country’s leading experts on EVs: Cara Clairman, Chief Executive Officer from Plug’nDrive. She’ll be joined by local EV owners Mary Cameron and Beverley Fretz, our eMERGE EV Ambassadors. They have made significant contributions in their careers, their impacts on the environment and their families.

By the end of this webinar, we want women to feel more comfortable in taking EV ownership seriously. Consider it an icebreaker.

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In celebration of International Women’s Day, all local registrants will receive a chance to win a water heater blanket. Raffle Draw closes March 8, 2022 at 6:00 PM. Registrants will have their names entered into a draw to win a water heater blanket for their home.  Note: winner must be able to pick up the water heater blanket in Guelph

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Join us for the

eMERGE Women’s EV night:

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

With our presenters:

• Cara Clairman Chief Executive Officer, Plug’n Drive
• Mary Cameron, eMERGE EV Ambassador
• Beverley Fretz , eMERGE EV Ambassaror

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About our presenters:

Cara Clairman , CEO of Plug’n Drive

CARA CLAIRMAN is President and CEO of Plug’n Drive, a non-profit that is accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) to maximize their environmental and economic benefits.

Cara has taken Plug’n Drive from an idea to a thriving non-profit, recognized as a leader in the EV space. In 2018 Plug’n Drive’s Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre was selected as Canada’s 2019 Top Project by the Clean 50 Community.

Cara has more than 20 years of experience working in the environmental and sustainability fields, including 12 years working at Ontario Power Generation, initially as OPG’s environmental lawyer and later in the role Vice President of Sustainable Development. Prior to joining OPG, Cara spent five years practicing environmental law with the Torys law firm.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall and a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from Queen’s University.

Cara is the 2017 recipient of the Women in Renewable Energy’s ‘Woman of the Year’ award. She is currently driving the 100% electric Tesla Model 3.

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eMERGE EV Ambassadors:

– Mary Cameron, eMERGE EV Ambassador, Chevy Bolt (used)

Mary has been helping us through the pandemic as an ER doctor and vaccinator in the ICU at Guelph General Hospital. At the same time she’s raising 4 kids and says “I used to be the one to teach them everything, but more and more the roles have reversed and my kids teach me so much.”

When it comes to the environment, she’s been eating more of a plant based diet with dairy and meat only as an occasional treat, and has planted about 100 trees (provided by Trees for Guelph) in her yard over the past several years. She is also in the midst of renovating their house to be heated with an electric air source heat pump. Her husband also decided to buy a used EV after seeing the benefits of Mary’s car.

Her household includes a cat, a dog, 5 backyard chickens and tens of thousands of honeybees (but the bees stay outside).

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Beverley Fretz, eMERGE EV Ambassador – Nissan Leaf (used)

Beverley has spent her career working in education and training and is now at the University of Guelph as a Manager of Program Development for OpenEd Continuing Education.

The Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ scandal provided her with the perfect opportunity to trade in her VW diesel for a used (2014) EV Leaf. While she regrets not getting an EV with more range, the more humble Leaf does the trick for local ‘out and abouts’. And she can even fit her family of five – and the dog – in the car.

While hoping the future will include another used EV vehicle with more range, Beverley can’t imagine ever driving a gas vehicle again. She recommends EV driving for anyone who wants to reduce their environmental impact, save money, access the best parking spots (EV charging stations), and drive a vehicle that heats instantly (a winter bonus!).

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Aleena Singh, Moderator

As a UX/UI Designer, she works with small businesses helping them leverage technology to thrive during the pandemic and afterwards. Aleena joined eMERGE Board of Directors last January 2021 and since then she is an active member with an outstanding contribution to our organization .

In her spare time she’s passionate about nature, gardening and considers herself a “serial hobbyist” (apparently that has nothing to do with Cheerios). She has just completed her first embroidery project, crocheted a blanket, knitted a sweater that’s taken more than 3 years and is now learning how to restore furniture!

Nature and gardening have a special place in her heart. She’s in the process of hiking the Bruce Trail, tried cross-country skiing this winter and planning to grow fruit, flowers and vegetable garden on her small balcony this summer.

She’s excited about being on the board because she “loves the impact eMERGE has within the Guelph community. It’s constantly working to help Guelphites learn about how to take action towards 100% renewable energy! I’m passionate about supporting local, engaging our youth in environmental stewardship, diversity and inclusion, and social justice.”

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Why is eMERGE pushing EVs?

There are many ways to fight climate change.

But when it comes to transportation planning our approach at eMERGE is quite clear. Society has to take an approach that prioritizes 1) walking and then 2) cycling followed by 3) electrified public transit and finally 4) electrified personal transportation (cars).

ICE vehicles have no place in this century. The quicker we can take them off the road the better. Implementing transportation plans takes time and needs to be done properly. While the planning is ongoing, we need to accelerate the switch to EVs.

Over 8,000 new cars are sold in Guelph every year. Getting these car buyers to make the change to an EV gives us results now. Each purchase means that we cut four tonnes of climate change pollution per year. This approach buys us some time to keep pushing the envelope on transportation planning at the same time.