GC Green

What they do

GC Green is a service-disabled veteran, Native American, and woman-owned small business championing renewable energy and resiliency projects in underinvested communities. Founded by Liz Perez—an enrolled member of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians—and headquartered in Poway, CA, GC Green’s mission is to bring clean energy access and economic opportunity to Indian Country.

Liz, also of Salt River Pima Indian and Mexican descent, was the first in her family to finish high school and college. She was inspired to work on renewable energy after serving in the U.S. Navy.
“I was the first woman in my family to join the military—as a way out of poverty, drugs, alcoholism,” she said. “Enlisting right at the start of 9/11 meant I grew up overnight overseas as a 19-year-old combat veteran. I was seeing our dependency on coal and oil; convoys were getting blown up during refueling.”

After coming home, Liz spent another nine years in the military, after which she struggled to transition to civilian life. During the recession, as a single mom, Liz became unhoused and unemployed.

Eventually, she found her purpose. “I want to increase energy efficiency to reduce wars.”

In December 2024, Liz was honored as a Clean Energy Hall of Fame Tribal Champion by the California Energy Commission.

“I get the most joy working with Tribes with fewer resources,” said Liz.

GC Green is certified as a Native American Owned Business (NAOB), Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Minority and Women-Owned Enterprise (MWBE), and a Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE). GC Green is also designated as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the California Department of Transportation and a Section 3 Business by the San Diego Housing Commission, and is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Why we invested

Many rural California Tribes lack access to EV charging infrastructure, limiting the adoption of electric vehicles. GC Green is working to install an EV hub on the Tule River Indian Reservation, which would provide Tribal members and visitors more reliable charging access and help demonstrate the financial and sustainable potential of such technologies on Tribal lands.

The project also helps meet state goals of developing fast charging stations along East-West travel corridors to enable long-distance EV trips.

“The reservation is one of the last main places to stop to charge on the way up to the national park area in the Sierras,” said Liz.
While the impact is promising, the early stages of clean energy projects can be hard to finance conventionally. Capital from the Indigenous Futures Fund augments grant funds, enabling GC Green to pay for equipment and labor to complete the project.