Washington, DC, Sept. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) program has recognized six mid-career women for their leadership and mentorship at the annual C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium. In addition, Maxine Savitz, Vice President of the National Academy of Engineering and a former general manager with Honeywell, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her long history of clean energy leadership. An initiative within the Clean Energy Ministerial, C3E's U.S. program is a led by the U.S. Department of Energy in close partnership with the MIT Energy Initiative (MITei), which administers the Awards.
The U.S. C3E Awards recognize rising women in clean energy who have demonstrated leadership and high achievement within one of the six award categories and have the potential to contribute a great deal more over the course of their careers. This is the second year the C3E Awards have been given; the first C3E Award winners were named at the first C3E Symposium last year.
The award winners were nominated by their colleagues and selected by a panel of U.S. C3E Ambassadors, a group of about 30 distinguished senior professionals who have made notable contributions throughout the clean energy field. The six mid-career award winners also receive a $10,000 cash prize from MITei for their clean energy work.
The award winners are the following:
Innovation and Technology Development: Milo Werner
Werner is the Manager of New Product Introductions for Tesla Motors, where she is responsible for the successful launch of all new vehicle powertrain models--a job that includes developing and executing program schedules, driving cross-functional teams, and managing external relationships. Werner was responsible for the successful launches of the Tesla Model S, Toyota RAV4, and Daimler Smart Car.
Entrepreneurship and Innovative Business Models: Erica Mackie
Mackie is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of GRID Alternatives, the nation's largest nonprofit solar installer. She founded the organization in 2001 while working as a professional engineer implementing large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for the private sector. Her vision was to make the benefits of these technologies available to low-income communities that need the savings the most but have the least access.
Corporate Implementation: Kirsten Gunderson
Gunderson is a Senior Manager for Walmart's Energy Team, where she helps drive the successful deployment and management of Walmart's on-site renewable portfolio--advancing Walmart's goal to produce or procure 7 billion kWh of renewable energy globally by 2020, and the company's long-term goal to be supplied by 100 percent renewable energy. Last year, Gunderson led the installation of Walmart's first 1 MW on-site wind turbine in Red Bluff, California.
Policy and Advocacy: Rebecca Stanfield
Stanfield is an experienced professional in environmental advocacy and organizational development. Since July 2008, Stanfield has led the National Resources Defense Council's Midwest clean energy advocacy in a five-state regional footprint, with a goal of transforming electric utility rate and resource acquisition policies to spur a shift from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and renewable energy resources.
Advancements for the Developing World: Katherine Lucey
After a successful career on Wall Street, Lucey decided to give back. She brought her business acumen and passion for empowering women to Africa, creating a sustainable, market-based social enterprise--Solar Sister--that provides light, hope, and opportunity to women and their communities. Solar Sister combines the breakthrough potential of micro-solar lighting and energy with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network. Women become Solar Sister entrepreneurs, earning income to lift themselves and their families out of poverty and providing access to clean, affordable solar light to their communities.
Education and Mentorship: Kristen Graf
Graf is the Executive Director of Women of Wind Energy (WoWE), a national nonprofit that promotes the education, professional development, and advancement of women to achieve a strong, diversified workforce and support a robust renewable energy economy. Before working at WoWE, Graf spent five years as a Clean Energy Program Coordinator and Research Associate with the Union of Concerned Scientists in Boston. In these roles, she worked on renewable energy policy at the state and national levels, with a particular focus on wind and biomass.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Maxine Savitz
Savitz recently retired as the General Manager for Technology Partnerships at Honeywell, Inc. During her career at Honeywell, she oversaw the development and manufacturing of innovative materials for the aerospace, transportation, and industrial sectors. Previously, Savitz worked at the U.S. Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Conservation.
Savitz has served and continues to serve on many advisory boards, including the President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, and the Federation of American Scientists. This year she was also elected as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she is the vice president of the National Academy of Engineering. She holds a PhD in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College.
Learn more about this year's award winners: http://web.mit.edu/c3e/winners.html
C3E is an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, a high-level global forum to share best practices and promote policies and programs that encourage and facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy. www.cleanenergyministerial.org