Sharon Buydens first served on the Board of Directors as Secretary and newsletter editor for the El Paso Solar Energy Association (www.espea.org) starting in 1989 (under her previous name). After learning about passive solar home design, and teaching workshops, attending events, promoting solar on Earth Day committees, she designed and built a passive solar straw bale house in Nebraska. Upon returning to El Paso in 1999 she became EPSEA's Project Manager for three bi-national and EPA grants to install solar water distillers in border colonias, and was first female EPSEA President in 2001. Today Sharon writes books and teaches others about the many practical aspects of solar energy.