Every year, WCEE honors a Woman and Champion of the year. The Woman of the Year Award was created in 1985 to honor a woman of recognized stature in the energy and/or environment fields. WCEE created the Champion Award in 1998 to recognize the importance of mentors for women professionals and to honor those individuals who have championed the advancement of women in our industries. In 2022, we honored our inaugural class of Sparks Awardees. This new award honors women sparking innovation and impacting their organization or profession in the early stages of their career or after a significant career transition.

We would like to thank our sponsors for making this event and all of the events WCEE hosts possible.

Woman of the Year recipients include:

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

2005 (did not hold WOY event because moved event from fall to spring)

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:

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