These days, amid rocketing power prices and the ongoing threat of blackouts, more people are aware of the need for energy conservation. But Heather Fritz has been thinking that way since the 1980s.

Back then she envisioned a win-win situation for utilities, vendors, customers and the financing company she worked for by developing finance packages applicable in the field of energy efficiency.

Fritz has been a pioneer in the niche market of leasing and financing energy-efficient products and equipment — everything from lights, heating, ventilation and air conditioning to the latest in high-tech energy management systems. Today the 34-year-old is president of her own company, an equipment financing firm with 15 employees spread between its Solana Beach headquarters and a Boston branch office.

Fritz launched Leasing Innovations Inc. in 1992. The company provides financing for all types of businesses looking to buy capital equipment, from telecommunications and computers to furniture and vehicles. Over the past nine years, the firm has grown from a $10,000 investment into a $50 million business with clients across the country.

Fritz packs a lot into life: running her own company, caring for a husband and two young children, and still being involved in many community organizations. She gives both time and money to the San Diego Padres Foundation for Children, San Diego Toys-For-Tots program, and the Vista Unified School District.

The death of her mother 10 years ago led to her support for the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, and she supports the National Cancer Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Multiple Sclerosis Association and the Rancho Coastal Humane Society of Encinitas.

— Frank Nelson