WCEE's Annual Awards Celebration
Every year, WCEE honors a Woman and Champion of the year. Created in 1985, the Woman of the Year award honors a woman of recognized and national and/or international stature who demonstrates exceptional leadership in her professional life and serves as an inspirational role model for other women. The Woman of the Year must demonstrate exceptional leadership in her professional life and inspire other women to develop and excel. WCEE created the Champion Award in 1998 which recognizes an individual who has made a meaningful impact as a mentor and advocate for women, helping support the next generation of leaders. The Sparks Award was launched in 2022 and celebrates women whose leadership, evolving expertise, and innovative approaches continue to drive transformative change across our industries.
WCEE Awards Reception 2026
WCEE's 2026 Awards Reception is Monday, Nov. 16 at 6pm at the beautiful National Union Building in downtown DC.
Learn more about the event and register here.
We would like to thank our sponsors for making this event and all of the events that WCEE hosts possible.
Woman of the Year recipients include:
2025 Secretary Melanie Kenderdine, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department of New Mexico
2024 Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, U.S. Representative
2023 Vicki Arroyo, Associate Administrator for Policy at EPA
2022 (Co-recipients) Brenda Mallory, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality & Gina McCarthy, Former White House National Climate Advisor and EPA Administrator
2020 Miranda Ballentine, CEO, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA)
2019 Colette D. Honorable, Partner, Reed Smith LLP
2018 (Co-recipients) Judge Susan L. Biro, EPA & Judge Carmen A. Cintron, FERC
2017 Sue Kelly, President & CEO, American Public Power Association
2016 The Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator
2015 Cheryl A. LaFLeur, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
2014 Deb Frodl, Global Executive Director, Ecomagination at GE
2013 Kristine L. Svinicki, Commissioner, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
2012 Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
2011 Constance H. Lau, President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric Industries
2010 Maggie L. Fox, President & CEO, The Alliance for Climate Protection
2009 Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association
2008 Linda Fisher, Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont
2007 Eileen Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Strategies for the Global Environment
2006 The Honorable Mary L. Landrieu, U.S. Senator
2004 Kathleen McGinty, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection
2003 Sheila Slocum Hollis, Managing Partner, Duane Morris, LLP
2002 Nora Mead Brownell, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
2001 Carol Dinkins, Esquire, Vinson & Elkins
2000 Kathryn Fuller, President, World Wildlife Fund
1999 Patricia McGowan Walk, U.S. Circuit Judge, District of Columbia Circuit
1998 Elizabeth Moler, Executive VP, Exelon Corporation
1997 Mary D. Nichols, formerly Asst. Administrator, U.S. EPA
1996 Alice M. Rivlin, Federal Reserve Board
Champion recipients include:
2025 Abigail Ross Hopper, President & CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association
2024 Meade Harris, Co-Founder & CEO, Dynamo Energy Hub and Founder and CEO of the Hawthorn Club
2023 Tom Kuhn, President and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute
2022 (Co-recipients) Ralph Cavanagh, Energy Co-Director, NRDC & Steve Mitnick, Executive Editor at Public Utilities Fortnightly
2020 Vicky A. Bailey, USEA Board Executive Chairperson
2019 Paula Gold-Williams, President & CEO, CPS Energy
2018 Adam Sieminski, Center for Strategic & International Studies
2017 Robert Marlay, Director, Office of International Science and Technology Collaboration, U.S. Department of Energy
2016 Charles A. Menzie, Principal Scientist, Exponent, Inc
2015 Christine Tezak, Managing Director, ClearView Energy Partners, LLC
2014 Greg E. Aliff, Vice Chairman & Senior Partner, Deloitte LLP
2013 David K. Owens, Executive VP, Business Operations, Edison Electric Institute
2012 Clint Vince, Chair, SNR Denton
2011 Mike Nigro, CEO, MJ Nigro Consulting, LLC
2010 Suedeen Kelly, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
2008 Branko Terzic, Global & US Regulatory Policy Leader, Energy & Resources, Deloitte Services LP
2007 John Rowe, CEO, Exelon Corporation
2004 Patrick Henry Wood III, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
2002 Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
2001 The Honorable Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Senator
2000 Charles Curtis, United Nations Foundation
1998 Kevin Ewing, Partner, Bracewell & Patterson
Sparks recipients include:
2025 Áine Folan, Manager, Capacity and Power Markets, Karbone; Sarah Greenberg, Associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Energy and Climate Solutions Practice; and Brittany Kelm, Senior Policy Advisor, National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC)
2024 Pooja Shah, Senior Consultant in DNV’s Renewables and Power Grids Advisory
2023 Karin Herzfeld, Senior Counsel for Transmission to FERC Chairman Willie Phillips and Athanasia Arapogianni, Associate Director, BRG
2022 Esther Wozniak, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Samantha Childress, Schneider Electric, and Jennifer Morrissey, Dentons