A focus on empathy, equity, and innovation propelled Momentum to be a great place to work.
Shawn Garvey and Mark Filimonov founded Momentum in 2005 as The Grant Farm. Since those early days, the company has blossomed into one of the nation’s premier commercialization partners for clean-tech innovation. Momentum has supported more than $6 billion in funded R&D and technology demonstration projects — from securing funding for major emissions-cutting projects to managing advanced technology demonstrations — Momentum is shaping the clean-tech landscape.
None of these achievements could happen without a committed and talented team. Momentum CEO Shawn Garvey intentionally and purposefully built the team an environment where people could thrive.
In 2018, Garvey and Filimonov brought on Matt Hart as a partner and chief operating officer. Hart furthered the founders’ vision of an intellectually safe and supportive place for people to grow careers and families.
As the company grew, leadership rolled out new policies to support parents, with expanded health care reimbursements and family leave. Every employee is encouraged to develop their skills further with a $2,000 annual continuing education stipend.
During the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, employees worked from home, and the company hosted wild and silly virtual parties. During this time, the Momentum team more than doubled, meaning many employees only knew the company virtually.
As the employees became vaccinated, Momentum leadership had strong health and safety guidelines and stocked the office with rapid at-home COVID tests.
“Keeping our people healthy, both mentally and physically, has been a huge focus for our team this year,” explained Hart. “We have worked hard to safely open the office on a voluntary basis for those who seek a work environment distinct from their homes. Our staff has led virtual and in-person hangouts, trivia parties, and we are on the verge of our first Momentum cooking show. I’m inspired and impressed by the creativity and thoughtfulness of our team in finding ways to build opportunities for social engagement and celebrate our ability to change the world together.”
Andrea Swanson joined in 2019 as a project manager and has grown with the company. She now heads up the project management team and oversees some of the company’s largest projects.
“Shawn and Matt saw my potential and fostered it. They allowed me to try new things and grow my skills,” said Swanson. “Momentum is a great place because the leadership team believes in the mission of the company and encourages growth and collaboration between team members.”
Another area Momentum has focused on is diversity and inclusion. Shawn looked at the founding team and knew he wanted his company, as it grew, to reflect the communities it serves. The leadership team is committed to hiring diverse candidates and training everyone on equity and inclusion in the workplace. This summer the entire team underwent training by The Justice Collective to better identify and speak out against bias in the workplace.
In the end, employees at Momentum feel heard, supported, and valued. As a result, they rated Momentum highly on a Sacramento Business Journal survey of the best places to work in Sacramento. The result was Momentum being honored at this year’s Sacramento Business Journal Best Places To Work awards, October 14, 2021.
“This honor means so much to me personally,” said Garvey. “We built this company to be a great place to work, and this award is confirmation we’re on the right track.”
Want to join the Momentum team? We’re actively hiring account executives and project managers.