Volunteer Profile: CJ Schmid
Fast answers, fast cars, and a fast-growing passion for helping Arizona drivers discover EVs. Yes, we are talking about CJ Schmid! As a DRIVE Electric Arizona and Valley of the Sun EVA event volunteer, CJ loves to talk about charging curves, battery myths, daily driving economics, and 0-to-60 acceleration with equal enthusiasm.
A native of Mesa, CJ works in information technology as an I.T. Systems Administrator for a global group of pet, beauty, and tattoo supply brands. He is also passionate about EVs. Give him a parking lot, a curious crowd, and a few honest questions about EVs, and he is in his element. Outside the EV world he also dabbles in photography, 3D printing, and electronic music shows. And, just to keep things interesting, he can speak some Mandarin Chinese!
CJ currently drives a 2024 Polestar 2 Performance: sleek, quick, and a little bit underappreciated by people who have not yet had the pleasure. But his first EV was a BMW i3 S, a car he chose not because it was ordinary, but because it absolutely was not. Raised on his grandfather’s 1970s Mini Cooper, CJ has always had a weakness for quirky small cars with personality. “Despite its flaws, limited range, and admittedly strange design, it (the i3 S) was an engineering marvel and a blast to drive,” he says. That early experience told him something important: electric vehicles were not just practical appliances. They could also be genuinely fun.
EV volunteer CJ Schmid and his 2024 Polestar 2 Performance. “The look on people’s faces when I put the pedal to the floor never gets old!”
That combination of fun and practicality still shapes the way CJ talks about EVs today. Ask what he loves most about driving electric, and yes, he’ll happily admit the classic answer: not paying for gas. “This year more than ever, I think people are seeing the real impact of relying on fossil fuels. The peace of mind in knowing I can drive where I need, when I need, without cutting my budget elsewhere when gas prices jump, cannot be overstated,” he explains. But CJ also stresses that the versatility of EVs is underestimated. “An EV really is a do-everything car. It can be a calm daily commuter one minute, a track beast the next, then haul everything home after a trip to IKEA,” he says. “I'm biased, but the Polestar 2 is a shining example.”
In addition to versatility, CJ believes that the affordability of EVs is often overlooked. His message to people who think EVs are only for the wealthy? “If I can do it, so can you. EVs aren't only for wealthy households. Used models are cheaper than ever and extremely low-maintenance, so the total cost of ownership can make the switch financially sensible for anyone. And the fear of a costly battery replacement is overblown: EVs built after 2015 have a battery failure rate lower than half a percent.”
CJ first connected with the organization back in 2020 at Concours in the Hills, where he met Peter Culin and other Valley of the Sun EVA members. Later, after getting his Polestar 2, he tracked the group down again online and was invited to show his car at an event. That turned out to be the turning point. Spending a day answering questions about EVs, talking cars, and helping people understand what ownership is really like was, in his words, some of the most fun he’d ever had. So he kept coming back. Since then, he has taken part in Ride & Drive events, event setup and logistics, community outreach and tabling, and helping answer questions from new EV owners and EV-curious drivers. He also enjoys something many volunteers love: the chance to see beautiful parts of Arizona along the way.
What makes CJ especially effective in public outreach is that he genuinely likes the conversation. He enjoys correcting the myth that EVs are somehow worse for the environment than internal combustion vehicles, and he clearly has a soft spot for helping skeptical people move from suspicion to curiosity. That gift has already had an effect close to home. CJ was the first person on either side of his family to buy an EV, and naturally that made him the experimental case study. As a result, a few rides around the block at a holiday gathering inspired a close relative to purchase their first EV. That is the kind of ripple effect volunteer outreach can have: one conversation, one ride, one changed mind at a time.
He is also optimistic about where Arizona is headed. CJ sees home solar as one of the state’s biggest EV opportunities, and he makes a compelling point: if any place should be charging cars with sunshine, it is Arizona. He has also seen an increase of fellow EV owners once his apartment complex installed EV chargers. More broadly, he hopes DRIVE Electric Arizona and Valley of the Sun EVA keep doing what they do best — getting more people, especially first-timers, behind the wheel of an EV and letting the experience speak for itself.
CJ says volunteering has given him something beyond the cars themselves: a sense of community and purpose. “Not enough can be said about being around like-minded individuals, working towards a goal that will improve the health of people and the planet,” he says. That may be the best way to understand why CJ keeps showing up. He loves the machines, sure. But he also loves what happens when knowledge becomes encouragement, when curiosity becomes confidence, and when a good conversation helps somebody take a fresh look at the future.