CEE hosts Minnesota Women Empowered in Energy event
今年9月, CEE had the honor of hosting the third Minnesota Women Empowered in Energy Event to bring women in the energy space together 和 celebrate 和 学习 about the role 和 impact women have on the industry. The event series was started by Commissioner Katie Sieben, Chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, to bring women in energy together to recognize the contributions women make to the field, provide a platform to 学习 from their experiences, 知识, 和见解, 和 to highlight 和 grow the community of women, supporting each other in the field. I had the privilege of helping to organize 和 lead this tremendous event, along with two of my favorite energy policy experts, 琥珀色的李, an experienced regulatory attorney in the energy sector, 和 阿里Eilers, CEE’s manager of legislative affairs.
In attendance was a diverse group of women from all corners of the energy industry 和 related fields, including policy advocates, 监管机构, 太阳能安装程序, 工程师, 社区组织者, 律师, 能源审计, 和 students considering energy careers. Minnesota Representative Patty Acomb, who serves as Chair of the Climate 和 Energy Finance 和 Policy Committee 和 the Ways 和 Means Committee, as well as the House Climate Action Caucus, provided an inspiring 和 personal keynote address. 在她的演讲中, she addressed some of the many important energy policies she championed in the MN legislature, including policies to decarbonize Minnesota’s electric system, advance building efficiency 和 electrification, 和 introduce federal funding to accelerate clean energy investments in our state.
Representative Acomb explained that everything she has 学习ed, especially regarding the importance of energy conservation, she 学习ed growing up in the Minnetonka-Shorewood area 和 the impact that the community could have, 有好有坏, on the beauty 和 fortitude of the natural l和scape. She emphasized the importance of community service 和 involvement in sustaining our energy 和 natural resources for generations to come. Representative Acomb stressed how vital it would be to introduce, 包括, 和 amplify more diverse voices in this conversation, locally 和 across the nation. For us to meet the dem和s of our current 和 future energy l和scape, we need to identify 和 heed the expertise of those who have been historically excluded from the dialogue 和 decision-making.
The keynote was followed by two expert panels. The first panel on policy work was moderated by Lauren Bethke of the Minnesota Public Utilities 和 led by Dr. Roopali Phadke, a professor of Environmental Studies at Macalester College, 路易丝Miltich, Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources, 和凯拉·克里斯滕森, the executive director of the Minnesota Conservative Energy Forum. The second featured practitioners of energy efficiency 和 related work 和 was moderated by Shonda比德尔, CEE’s Director of Program 和 Business Development. 在从业者小组中, we heard from Janiece Watts, Director of Culture 和 Partnerships, 能源获取, 和 股本 with Fresh 股本, Rachel Wagner from Just Housing, 朱莉·沃克, the Senior Director of Legislative 和 Regulatory Affairs at Nextera. The panels were an expansive discussion of research, 环境政策, renewable energy installations, innovative energy efficiency technologies, 还有更多. The panel was a testament to the connections, 信息共享, 和 novel ideas that can come from bringing together women in the energy industry.
The next event for Women Empowered in Energy will be held in early 2024 和 hosted by Great River Energy. CEE will post those details on our website 和 social media pages when they become available. The staff at CEE is thrilled to be part of this vibrant 和 growing community of women energy professionals 和 to welcome new women to the industry. We thank Chair Katie Sieben for her vision 和 leadership in starting this important series of events to provide women a venue to celebrate, 学习, 和 deepen our connections with other women in our industry.