One element of the strategic plan is raising baseline knowledge on relevant and timely energy and environmental matters and explaining in plain language how and why these matters are relevant from the perspectives of various stakeholders, including regulatory bodies such as FERC and state legislatures, non-profit environmental compliance organizations, private sector energy and digital infrastructure enterprises, and more.

As such, WCEE is launching “Fundamentals and Current Issues,” a new series that provides an overview of energy and environmental topics while exploring emerging issues. This value-focused series is created for impact, providing accessible know-how for newer members to our sector to improve their understanding while also delving into the complexities that are relevant to more experienced executives navigating decisions on these matters in real time. 

To introduce the series, we’re hosting our first hybrid-format “Fundamentals and Current Issues” experience on Thursday, February 26th from 12:00 noon to 1:15 pm (ET). This event will focus on wholesale electric markets and emerging issues related to new large loads, including data centers. WCEE Board Member Emma Nicholson will explain the functions of U.S. wholesale electricity and capacity markets, why it has been challenging for the electric industry to meet the rapidly growing needs of new large loads, and related affordability concerns for retail electricity customers. Emma Nicholson, a Principal at Charles River Associates, is a PhD energy economist and expert in the regulation and design of wholesale electricity markets. Click here to register for this event.

Look out for future events this year on a variety of timely topics on energy and environmental issues and please reach out to our board or staff if you would like to suggest particular topics of interest to you!

We look forward to seeing you soon at a WCEE event.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for WCEE’s Annual Awards Celebration as we honor energy and environmental leaders for their outstanding achievements and support of women!

Register here: https://www.wcee.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2003742

Thursday, November 20, 2025

The National Union Building

918 F Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

*Sponsors receive a select number of free tickets for employees.

Interested in becoming an event sponsor? Please contact WCEE’s Fundraising Chair,  Jo Thapa !

About Our 2025 Honorees:

The Woman of the Year Award (WOY) honors a woman of recognized stature in the energy and/or environmental fields.  A WOY awardee must demonstrate exceptional leadership in her professional life and have an ongoing commitment to  serve as an inspirational role model for other women to develop and excel.

Melanie Kenderdine,  Secretary for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Ms. Kenderdine leads a cabinet level department focused on clean energy, energy conservation, mitigating emissions from oil and gas production, mining and minerals, state forests, and state parks. From 2017 to 2024, Ms. Kenderdine was Principal, at the Energy Futures Initiative, a think tank focused on analysis of technologies, policies, and business models for deep decarbonization of the US and global economies and energy systems, which she established with Former U.S. Energy Secretary Moniz, and Joseph Hezir (former DOE CFO).

Ms. Kenderdine has served as the Energy Counselor to the Secretary, Director, Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, U.S. Department of Energy from 2017-2024, where she founded and managed DOE's Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA). Before that, Ms. Kenderdine helped establish the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), where she served as Executive Director from 2007-20213. MTEI conducts energy policy analyses and studies and raises and distributes energy research funds across the Institute. While at MITEI, Kenderdine started the C3E Symposium series, a joint MIT-DOE program to support the careers of women in clean energy with cash prizes; she served as a DOE C3E Ambassador for 10 years and is now an Ambassador Emeritus. 

Ms. Kenderdine served as the Vice President of Washington Operations for the Gas Technology Institute from 2001 to 2007, providing strategic direction for GTI, a performing laboratory for the U.S. natural gas industry. While at GTI, Ms. Kenderdine, with the support of its CEO, established a separate not-for-profit company, the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Ms. Kenderdine also served in several positions as an appointee at DOE from 1993-2001 including Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary, Director of the Office of Policy, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. She previously worked as an independent political consultant while raising her young son and as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director in the Office of Congressman Bill Richardson.

She is a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council and has served on the boards of the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, and Our Energy Policy.Org. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and past Board Chair of the Alliance of Hope, an organization that provides support for the survivors of suicide loss. She was named by National Journal as one of the top five most influential people in energy policy in 2014. In 2020, Ms. Kenderdine was named by ALLY one of the top Voices of Energy in 2020 in the Sustainable Energy category.  As a global energy expert, Ms. Kenderdine has given lectures and speeches around the world. 

The Champion Award honors an individual who has served as an important mentor to women in the energy and  environmental fields. The WCEE Champion works to ensure women in the profession are provided with opportunities  to succeed. They help bring up the next generation of leaders in our sectors.

Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade organization for America’s solar and storage industry. Ms. Hopper is a visionary leader who has transformed SEIA into an advocacy powerhouse and the leading voice for the U.S. solar and storage industry, a $70 billion force in our nation’s economy.

She is known for overseeing tremendous industry-wide growth in the solar and storage space, most notably, the sector’s employment of 280,000 people in the industry, the quintupling of the solar module manufacturing capacity in the U.S., and the adoption of business-friendly policies that promote American energy dominance. Ms. Hopper has been named in The Hill’s Top Lobbyist list since 2020 and has been featured in hundreds of media outlets across the country. She is also working to shepherd the next generation of the solar workforce by championing diversity efforts in the industry and through her Solar Sisters initiative. Under her tenure, SEIA has received numerous awards for its work and company culture and was named by the Washington Post as a 2023 and 2024 Top Workplace and a Best Nonprofit to Work For by the Nonprofit Times.Ms. Hopper currently serves on the board of directors of RE+ Events, the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth, the Consumer Energy Education Fund, and Earthday.org.

Before joining SEIA, Ms. Hopper was the Director of the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, where she led the agency that oversaw the leasing and development of all offshore energy, from oil and natural gas to offshore wind. She also served as the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), and as the Energy Advisor to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Ms. Hopper graduated Cum Laude from the University of Maryland School of Law and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College.

She is the very proud mom of three children and loves to read, ride her Peloton, and lie on the beach, all while drinking decaf Dunkin.

The Sparks Award honors women sparking innovation and significantly impacting their organization or profession in  the early stages of their career or after a significant career transition. The Sparks Award focuses on women in the first decade of their career, whether in the early years of their professional life or after a career shift or return to work.

Áine Folan, Manager, Capacity and Power Markets, Karbone. 

Áine manages Karbone’s power and capacity practice, specializing in reliability constructs and trading. She focuses on market fundamentals and portfolio strategy across North American power markets. She is an expert on market design and hedging strategy—trusted by clients, respected by peers, and increasingly sought after to speak publicly alongside industry veterans. She has spoken at high-profile events like the American Clean Power PowerCast and the WSPP Operating Committee Meeting. 

Áine holds a bachelor’s degree from Babson College.

Sarah Greenberg is an associate in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s energy and climate solutions practice. Sarah helps independent power producers, clean energy project developers, industry associations, and investors navigate an increasingly complex energy sector. Sarah regularly represents clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and she provides strategic advice to entities seeking to interconnect with and participate in the organized wholesale electric markets. 

Before entering private practice, Sarah worked in the Office of General Counsel at FERC, where she served as the lead attorney on Order No. 2023, a landmark rule intended to improve the generator interconnection process. She also provided counsel on matters involving wholesale electricity market design and transmission planning and cost allocation.

Brittany Kelm is a Senior Policy Advisor on the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) in the White House. She oversees all oil and gas activity in this role, which encompasses all domestic production and pipeline infrastructure projects. Additionally, her portfolio includes international affairs issues pertaining to US LNG and crude exports for the NEDC.

She previously worked for Shell USA where she represented Shell in Washington, D.C. on the federal team, supporting Shell Midstream and Deepwater business, and worked the Downstream, Trading and Supply, and Chemical business. She has also worked in a Strategic Planning & Public Policy role in Corporate Development for Valero in San Antonio, TX and began her career in the oilfields of the Permian Basin in Midland, TX working upstream for Noble Energy (now Chevron). Prior to going in-house with Noble Energy, she was a Landman throughout the Permian counties, including New Mexico. 

Brittany attended the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in Government and Communications. She was active in the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) and spent her time serving in the 83rd Legislative Session and also interned in Senator Cruz’s Federal office.