Dustin Lester – Principal Inspector

This month’s Employee Spotlight is…

Dustin Lester – Principal Inspector

 

1. Where did you grow up? Where do you reside now?

I grew up in Bowmansville, a small town in Lancaster County, PA. I currently live in Exeter, a small town outside of Reading, PA.

2. What did you want to be when you grew up (when you were a child)?

It obviously didn’t work out, but I wanted to be a professional baseball player.

3. What guided you into the energy efficiency industry?

My job prior to PSD was at an insulation company that completes work for the WARM program, I spent 16 years there before joining PSD in 2022.

4. What does a day in Dustin’s life at PSD look like?

I am in the field on average two days a week completing inspections for the various programs in SEPA (Southeastern PA) including PGW and PECO. When I am not in the field, I review inspections and provide support to my field staff as well as providing support for the program managers of each utility. I also conduct reviews and trainings for each of the contractors who are working in each of the programs. Once a month, I also meet with each program manager from PECO and PGW to discuss trends, issues, and possible remedies to issues observed in the field.

5. Our company has five core values (Integrity, Passion, Collaboration, Vision, and Making an Impact). Which of these values resonates most with you and the work you do at PSD?

Integrity and making an impact. In the low-income weatherization industry, it is easy for contractors to not always “do their best” since the customer usually doesn’t know what is being done and much of the work is not always visible to the customer. Unfortunately, in the 19 total years I have spent in the industry, I have seen many contractors who lack the integrity to do the proper job since it may be difficult. It takes integrity to do the right thing or, in this case, do the right job when no one is looking, and no one may see the outcome. The contractors with integrity lead me to the next value, making an impact. I have personally seen and heard from multiple customers the impact receiving weatherization measures such as new heating systems or additional insulation, to name a few can have on their lives. In some cases, it is literally a life changer when a family is now able to heat their home more costly and have money left for other needs.

6. What is your favorite PSD-related memory?

It would have to be the 25th anniversary in-person celebration in Ithaca. It was an honor to meet so many talented people as well as the coworkers I frequently interact with virtually every day.

7. What do you do when you aren’t at work? Do you have any interesting hobbies? 

I spend a lot of time on the baseball field, I am heavily involved with both of my sons’ baseball teams which pretty much has evolved into a year-round hobby. During the summer my boys and I frequently go tubing down the river.

8. Do you have any pets?

My wife and I have a tuxedo cat who is named Chow.

9. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas because it is the one time of year when almost everyone is in a pleasant or cheerful mood. I also enjoy spending extra time with my family due to the extended time off from school and work.

10. Favorite travel destination? Or dream travel destination?

Of places I have been more than once, Key West is my favorite destination. A dream destination would probably be some adventure through Europe. I think it would be neat to witness in person all the different historical places over there that I have only seen on TV.

11. Favorite musician/genre?

I am currently into EDM but I also enjoy hip-hop and classic rock.

12. What’s the top item that is still on your bucket list? Have you checked anything cool or fun off?

Besides traveling to Europe, I would love to observe killer whales in the wild from a boat (big boat) in Alaska or somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. As far as checking anything off, I attended a large 3-day EDM music festival in Miami last year which was pretty cool.

13. What is an interesting thing about yourself that not a lot of people know?

I’m not that interesting, to be honest, what you see is what you get. I have a Batman symbol tattooed on my chest if that counts.

Thank you, Dustin! We appreciate you taking the time to do this and are excited to have people get to know a little more about our employees here at PSD.