For nearly 17 years, Meghan McMillen has built her career in weatherization, growing from an administrative coordinator to Director of Weatherization Programs and Services at Community Housing Partners (CHP) Energy Solutions. Over that time, she has developed not only operational expertise, but also a deep understanding of how policy, governance, and collaboration shape the field. Today, she brings that perspective to three boards that influence weatherization work across Virginia and nationally.
McMillen serves as Board Chair of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (AECP), as a board member of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council (VAEEC), and as a board member of Energy Outwest. Each role reflects a different layer of the work, from supporting local agencies, to shaping statewide advocacy, to contributing to national professional development.
Her initial motivation for board service was straightforward but intentional. “I wanted to have some influence on what the weatherization network looked like in Virginia,” she said. “And I wanted to learn and also teach.” That mindset continues to guide her leadership.
As Board Chair of AECP, McMillen helps guide an organization that supports Virginia’s 13 weatherization agencies, including CHP. Those agencies vary widely in size and capacity, making broad representation essential. “It’s really important to have representation from the smallest agency to the largest,” said McMillen, who added that AECP is based in Floyd, Virginia. “That way decisions aren’t made in a vacuum.”
In a policy environment where energy affordability and efficiency remain central concerns, that collective voice plays an important role. “The advocacy that comes out of these boards is what keeps driving weatherization,” McMillen explained. “It keeps influencing weatherization and energy efficiency, not only in Virginia, but nationally.”
Her service on the board of VAEEC expands that advocacy into broader energy policy conversations. Through this role, she brings hands-on programmatic and administrative experience into discussions that affect how weatherization is funded and supported. She also speaks candidly about the responsibility of governance. “Board membership and participation is huge,” she said.
Nationally, McMillen’s involvement with Energy OutWest broadens that perspective. The organization hosts a biennial conference dedicated specifically to weatherization, bringing together practitioners from across states and territories. As a board member, McMillen helps shape conference programming and gives presentations on operational leadership topics that are often overlooked, sharing CHP’s experience while learning how other agencies approach similar challenges. “The programmatic and administrative side of weatherization gets forgotten far too often,” she said. “There’s no set training for how to run a program. How we learn is through peers.”
That commitment to shared learning reflects a broader philosophy about professional growth. “You can only grow so far within this circle,” she said. “You have to expand in order to grow more.”
Through her board service, McMillen expands that circle by connecting frontline program experience with statewide advocacy and national collaboration. She understands the day-to-day realities of running a weatherization program, the complexity of nonprofit governance, and the importance of advocacy that reflects real program experience. That combination allows her to contribute meaningfully in rooms where decisions are made and bring those conversations back to CHP and the broader network of agencies and communities they ultimately affect.
Founded in 1975, Community Housing Partners (CHP) provides quality-built, responsibly managed, service-enriched homes for low-income individuals and families across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Through its mission to create homes and communities that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable, CHP has been a leading advocate of affordable housing development for 50 years. CHP’s activities include real estate development, construction, energy services and training, asset management, property management, realty and homeownership, and comprehensive resident services.