Electric vehicle advocate, adventurer, technology evangelist, businessman, computer expert and Tesla road warrior Chad Schwitters recently became Plug In America’s newest board member. PIA’s multi-talented new guy hails from Redmond, Washington where his oh-so-green garage houses not one, not two but THREE plug-in vehicles. Chad has served his state by helping to educate the public about the immeasurable benefits of alternative transportation. He’s served the EV community by working with PIA and organizing events for the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association.
Chad is as comfortable hiking in the Cascades as he is in a business suit and has endorsed cleaner, less polluting transportation for over 20 years by walking, biking, busing, carpooling and motorcycling. He started riding a motorcycle to work in 1984 “primarily because it got better mpg.” He then began taking the bus, practicing the old-fashioned art of destination walking and also had his family’s 2005 Prius converted to a plug-in hybrid. But what really “moves” Chad these days are his two 100% electric vehicles — a Toyota RAV4 EV and a Tesla roadster. In fact, last April Chad’s brilliant yellow electric Tesla actually moved him all the way from Seattle to San Diego and then back again. If you’d like some of the inside scoop on his EV road trip adventures, feel free to shoot him an email: chad@pluginamerica.org. He’ll be pleased to hand out recommendations on hotels, RV campgrounds and places to plug in.
PIA president and fellow Washington state resident Dan Davids frequently works side-by-side with Chad at EV advocacy events. Dan declares, “Chad is an inveterate entrepreneur and accomplished businessman. He is not short on great ideas, and we are fortunate to have him join our organization and board.”
Should you question why Chad is such a resolute champion of electric vehicles, here’s Chad’s short answer: “There are lots of good reasons to drive an EV: Pollution, climate change, energy independence, geo-political stability, reduced maintenance, the economy. The question then is not so much why there are so many batteries in my garage as why NOT?”
Be sure to stay tuned to Plug In America’s official blog site for some words of wisdom from this ultimate EV adventurer / advocate.
Posted by Linda Nicholes
Photos courtesy of Chad Schwitters and Autoblog Green
