| Powering Arizona’s EV Future Through Community, Education, Advocacy & EVents |
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| | AUGUST 2026 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 8 |
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| Historic Route 66 Centennial Flagstaff EV Ride & Drive is Back! Join Us! |
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| Check out our website’s EVENT CALENDAR and RSVP to get involved - attend, volunteer!
September 19, 2026 | Route 66 Centennial Flagstaff EV Ride & Drive, Flagstaff
September 26, 2026 | Special Event, TBA
October 1, 2026 | SRP Local Roots elEVated, Tempe (volunteer!)
October 3, 2026 | Phoenix EV Ride & Drive (NDEM), Glendale
October 14, 2026 | City of Phoenix Employee EV Ride & Drive, Phoenix (volunteer!)
October 17, 2026 | October EV Rally to Winslow, Winslow
October 25, 2026 | Sedona EV Ride & Drive, Sedona
October 26, 2026 | Arizona Forward Summit EV Ride & Drive, Tempe
November 7, 2026 | Local First Fall Festival, Phoenix
January 15-17, 2027 | Maricopa County Home & Garden Show EV Showcase, Phoenix
January 16, 2027 | OdySea Aquarium EV Showcase, Scottsdale
January 30-31, 2027 | Asian Festival EV Ride & Drive, Mesa
February 27, 2027 | Cave Creek Ride & Drive, Cave Creek
April 30-May 2, 2027 | Route 66 Fun Run “Electrify the Run,” Kingman |
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| DRIVE Electric Arizona Launching Northern Arizona Chapter |
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DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona to Connect EV Owners, Communities, Businesses and Destinations Across the Region |
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DRIVE Electric Arizona is pleased to announce the formation of DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona (DENA), a new regional chapter bringing electric vehicle owners, enthusiasts, community leaders and organizations together across Northern Arizona.
DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona will serve a large and diverse territory stretching from Flagstaff and Williams north to the Grand Canyon and Page, south to Sedona and the Verde Valley, and east along Historic Route 66 through Winslow and Holbrook.
To make sure this expansive region has strong local leadership, DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona will be led by three co-chairs—one representing each of three geographically distinct areas: Coconino County, the Route 66 communities, and Verde Valley. |
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| Together, the three co-chairs will help build one connected Northern Arizona EV community while ensuring that events, partnerships and priorities reflect the needs and opportunities of each part of the region. |
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Three Regions. Three Launch Events. One Northern Arizona Chapter. Each of DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona’s three areas will kick off with its own sponsored launch event this fall, giving EV owners, community leaders, businesses and residents across Northern Arizona an opportunity to get involved close to home. September 19 — Coconino County
Centennial Route 66 Flagstaff EV Ride & Drive
Historic Downtown Flagstaff October 17 — Route 66 Communities
October EV Rally & Showcase
Winslow October 25 — Verde Valley
EV Ride & Drive
Sedona These three events will introduce DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona throughout the region and begin building the volunteer network that will power the chapter going forward.
Bringing Northern Arizona Together
DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona will bring EV owners and enthusiasts together with community leaders, educational institutions, EV dealerships, businesses, utilities and tourism destinations to increase understanding of electric vehicles and help support the development of the EV infrastructure Northern Arizona needs.
The chapter will also build a network of local volunteers who can share their real-world experience with EVs and help educate and advocate for electric transportation throughout the region. This grassroots approach is at the heart of DRIVE Electric Arizona: people who actually drive electric vehicles talking with people who want to learn more about them.
The three-co-chair structure will help DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona maintain the grassroots character across a territory encompassing very different communities—from Flagstaff and the high country to Historic Route 66 and the communities of the Verde Valley.
Continue learning about DRIVE Electric Northern Arizona events and community… |
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| VOLUNTEER PROFILE: Rachel Culin |
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| Helping Arizona Discover the Fun of Electric Driving |
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For Rachel Culin, helping someone understand electric vehicles often starts with a very simple invitation: Get in. Drive one. See what you think. That philosophy has made the lifelong Mesa resident an enthusiastic volunteer with DRIVE Electric Arizona and the Valley of the Sun Electric Vehicle Association—and it reflects exactly what our Ride & Drive events are all about. “We’re not selling anything,” Rachel says. “We just want everyone to drive an EV and see what it’s like.” |
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And Rachel knows firsthand how powerful that first drive can be. Her own EV journey began at a public Ride & Drive during the Tempe Arts Festival in 2010, where Nissan was giving people the opportunity to experience an electric vehicle.
Five years later, Rachel had a 2012 Nissan LEAF of her own.
She chose the LEAF because it was quirky, affordable, used recycled materials in its interior and fit perfectly into the more sustainable lifestyle she wanted for her family.
Today, Rachel drives a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV and still has that original 2012 LEAF. Every once in a while, she also gets behind the wheel of husband Peter Culin’s Rivian R1S. |
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| Rachel driving a Nissan LEAF at the Tempe Arts Festival on December 5, 2010. |
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Meet Rachel’s “Sleeper EV”
Rachel has a nickname for her Bolt EUV: the “sleeper EV.”
Why? Because at first glance, people don’t necessarily realize it’s electric. |
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| Rachel with her Chevrolet Bolt EUV the day she brought it home. |
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“The body style resembles the older model Chevy Trax,” she explains. “Some people do a double-take and some are shocked that it’s all electric.”
Then she opens the doors. The surprisingly roomy interior often produces another surprise.
It’s a perfect example of why Rachel believes experiencing an EV in person can accomplish something specifications, advertisements and online debates simply can’t. |
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| From EV Owner to EV Ambassador
Rachel became involved with Valley of the Sun Electric Vehicle Association along with Peter after meeting John Martinson through the Tesla Club. At the time, their family owned both a Tesla Model 3 and Nissan LEAF, and they were interested in connecting with the broader EV community.
When DRIVE Electric Arizona started, Rachel began helping in an executive role and has continued volunteering ever since.
These days, you’ll find her at Ride & Drives, setting up events, staffing community outreach tables and answering questions from people who are new to EVs.
Her favorite part? “Meeting new people who come to events, sharing experiences and matching drivers with a vehicle similar to what they currently drive or own.”
That last part is important.
Someone who drives a pickup may want to experience an electric pickup. A family with an SUV may be more interested in an electric SUV. Someone looking for an inexpensive commuter car may discover that a used EV fits their budget better than they expected. Rachel wants people to have options.
“EVs Are More Affordable Than They’ve Ever Been”
One misconception Rachel especially enjoys correcting is that electric vehicles are simply too expensive.
“Some people still believe that an EV is out of their budget,” she says. “I like to show them that EVs are now more affordable than they ever were.”
With many makes and models now available on the used market, she points out, shoppers may be surprised by the deals they can find.
But Rachel isn’t trying to convince someone to buy a car that day—or even necessarily to buy an EV. She wants them to have enough firsthand experience to make an informed decision whenever their next vehicle purchase comes along.
“Even if our attendees can’t buy a new car today,” she says, “they will have the knowledge and the experiences to help them decide in the future.” |
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| | Charging Where You Live: What’s Working for Arizona’s Apartments and Condos |
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Roughly one in three U.S. households lives in a multi-unit dwelling (MUD)— apartments, condos, townhomes. For EV drivers, that's the toughest charging gap left to close. You can't run a cord out a third-floor window, and most leases and HOA rules weren't written with charging in mind.
The good news: Arizona has real, working examples of MUD charging done right and some cautionary tales that show exactly what to avoid.
Why This Matters More in Arizona |
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| Phoenix-metro renters and condo owners are a fast-growing share of EV shoppers. If home charging isn't available, workplace and public charging have to fill the gap, which is more expensive and less convenient than plugging in overnight where you already park. Getting MUD charging right isn't a nice-to-have; it's what determines whether a big slice of the market can go electric at all. |
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What Separates a Successful Project From a Failed One
A widely shared account from a Phoenix-metro renter is a useful cautionary tale. His complex installed two shared chargers as an amenity, which was fine for the first three or four EV owners. As more residents bought EVs, the wait got longer. When one charger broke, management let it sit dead for over a month because they didn't want to keep covering the electric bill. That's the failure pattern: shared, unbilled chargers that scale to zero as demand grows, with no plan for who pays for electricity or upkeep.
Contrast that with Bella Victoria and Bella Encanta in Mesa, built by Hudd Hassell with local developer, Bela Flor. Every unit gets its own private garage and its own Level 2 charger — no sharing, no waitlist, no shared meter dispute. It cost more to build in from day one, but it worked because it was designed as infrastructure, not bolted on as an amenity.
Said EV owner and builder Hudd Hassell, “from the perspective of a typical renter, onsite charging can be a terrible experience, negatively affecting overall EV adoption within the market segment. Our goal was to change that, and I believe we found success with a private, Level 2 charger in every unit.”
Bella Victoria and its sister property Bella Encanta in Mesa, Arizona, feature built-in Level 2 electric vehicle charging ports wired directly into the private, attached garage of every single rental unit.
How the EV Charging System Works
• Direct Billing: Each garage charging outlet ties straight into the individual unit's electrical meter. • Utility Integration: Residents pay their own power usage directly through SRP (Salt River Project) rather than paying a community markup or shared commercial station fee.
• Off-Peak Savings: Tenants can program their vehicles to charge during overnight off-peak hours to minimize electricity costs and minimize burden on the grid.
• Power Specs: Each garage is equipped with a dedicated 50-amp circuit and 200-amp service panel capability to support fast Level 2 charging for various EV models.
The pattern that holds up: metered or networked chargers with clear billing, sized for future demand — not just today's handful of EV owners — planned in before construction, not retrofitted after residents start asking.
Continue reading about MUD charging and how to ask for charging where you live… |
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| | We have an exciting calendar of EV events this year and we’d love your help! Please check out our Calendar and join us as a volunteer or EV owner at our public and private events. Your participation will make a real difference as we work toward bringing EV awareness and education to our communities! |
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| | DRIVE ELECTRIC ARIZONA CHAPTER UPDATES |
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| 35 EVs Take on Mt. Lemmon! |
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| What a great day on Mt. Lemmon!
DRIVE Electric Arizona’s EV Rally to Mt. Lemmon brought together electric vehicle owners and enthusiasts from across the Phoenix and Tucson regions for a scenic drive, good conversation, and a chance to enjoy one of Southern Arizona’s most beautiful destinations.
EV drivers joined from communities throughout the Phoenix metro area and Southern Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Queen Creek, Tucson, Marana, Sahuarita and surrounding communities.
Groups gathered at meetup locations in both Chandler and Tucson before heading toward Mt. Lemmon, with a few participants joining the group directly on the mountain. It was great to see EV owners from different parts of the state converge for one shared adventure. |
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| Our group made its way up the Catalina Highway toward the base of Ski Valley, enjoying the dramatic changes in scenery and temperature that make the Mt. Lemmon drive so memorable.
The rally gave attendees time to visit, compare vehicles, share ownership experiences and talk about electric driving in Arizona. Events like this are as much about building community as they are about the cars themselves.
At the top of the drive, the group gathered near the Iron Door Restaurant at the base of Ski Valley for a picnic and some time together. |
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| The restaurant was incredibly accommodating to our group and provided private picnic space for the gathering. Having a dedicated area where everyone could relax, eat, visit and enjoy the cooler mountain air made the afternoon that much better.
For most of the day, the weather was beautiful. Then, in true Arizona mountain fashion, a dash of rain and even some hail arrived to cap off the picnic and give everyone a memorable finish to the afternoon.
Thank you to everyone who brought their EV, joined the drive, helped organize the rally and spent the day with us.
It was wonderful to see EV owners and enthusiasts from across the Phoenix and Tucson regions come together to share the road and enjoy a day on Mt. Lemmon.
We’re already looking forward to the next DRIVE Electric Arizona adventure.
See you on the road!
Read the rally recap here! |
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| ABOUT DRIVE ELECTRIC ARIZONA
DRIVE Electric Arizona is Arizona's statewide "Drive Electric" program developed as an Arizona non-profit corporation under the DRIVE Electric USA Initiative. With grant funding from the Department of Energy, and in partnership with 27 states across the country, DRIVE Electric Arizona's mission is to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Currently, DRIVE Electric Arizona’s three chapters are Valley of the Sun, Native Nations (formerly Three Rivers Tribes), and Route 66 Kingman.
Launched in January 2024, the all-volunteer organization and its partners educate consumers, utilities, utility regulators, and government officials. DRIVE Electric Arizona engages auto dealers and fleet leaders, in addition to assisting with EV infrastructure planning.
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| | | CALL TO ACTION!
Support DRIVE Electric Arizona
As we work to grow Arizona's EV community, there are many easy ways to support DRIVE Electric Arizona: • please share this newsletter • engage on our social media sites • participate in EVents • make a donation |
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| | | | FORCE FOR GOOD Arizona Impact for Good is a membership organization devoted to uniting nonprofits and philanthropy across the state. DRIVE Electric Arizona is working with AZ Impact for Good to strenghen our all-volunteer efforts to advance our mission to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles throughout Arizona. |
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| | | | | Help us sustain our momentum by tagging us in your posts
and using the following hashtags! |
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| #DriveElectricAZ #VOTSEVA
#indigenousEVowners
#Route66EV
#driveelectric |
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| #electricvehicle
#eva
#deaz
#electrified #zeroemissions |
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