Six to Watch: Inaugural C3E Awards Recognize Leaders in Clean Energy

The inaugural C3E Awards—each carrying a $10,000 prize—were announced at the U.S. C3E Awards & Symposium at MIT last Friday, and recognized six mid-career women for their leadership and accomplishments in cleantech.

The six areas are:
            Innovation and Technology Development
            Entrepreneurship and Innovative Business Models
            Corporate Implementation
            Policy and Advocacy
            Advancements for the Developing World
            Education and Mentorship

Innovation and Technology Development
Jing Li, Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers University
Jing developed a family of nanostructured inorganic-organic hybrid semiconductors that have fundamental importance but also hold promise for use in clean energy applications, including in white LEDs. She has also developed a new type of high-performance and low-cost porous material that may become suitable for the capture of carbon dioxide from power plant flue gases. She gives a lot of time to programs to support better teaching of science on the K-12 level and girls in STEM. 

Entrepreneurship and Innovative Business Models
Judy Dorsey, President and Principal Engineer, Brendle Group
Judy was instrumental in the creation of the Colorado Clean Energy Cluster in 2006 and served as its executive director through last year. She was a key thought leader in creating the Fort Collins net-zero energy districts (“FortZED”), one of the world’s largest. Together with women from Denmark, France, and Italy, she was a co-creator of the International Cleantech Network, a global network of cleantech clusters.

Corporate Implementation
Liz Porter, Program Director, Information Systems and Global Solutions, Lockheed Martin
Liz served as Director of Energy Initiatives for Corporate Engineering and Technology at Lockheed Martin, overseeing the development of an Energy Solutions Center in Virginia, which opened in 2010, and has since hosted 10,000 visitors. She worked on the company’s “Go Green” efforts. Within the company she has advocated for the standard leadership rotations to include one in energy. She volunteers with STEM organizations, such as the Maryland Clean Energy Center and Spark 101.

Policy and Advocacy
Maggie Downey, Administrator, Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative
Maggie has been a longstanding administrator of the Cape Light Compact, an energy aggregator helping customers save $20 million annually on electric bills through efficiency gains, but saw a need to do more to stabilize energy costs while working toward CO2 reduction goals and developed the plan for a Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC), which now has 20 member towns and counties. Her skills as a thoughtful and clear communicator were cited.

Advancements for the Developing World
Laura Stachel, Co-Founder, Director, and Physician, We Care Solar
Laura is a public health physician who developed the “Solar Suitcase” to reduce maternal mortality by bringing clean light to clinics in developing countries where energy poverty left physicians to conduct C-sections by flashlight or kerosene lanterns. Pregnancy and childbirth complications claim the lives of 350,000 women a year. The easy-to-use portable systems have been introduced in health facilities in 19 countries.

Education and Mentorship
Tracey Holloway, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Tracey has played an instrumental role in designing and leading two key programs – first, the Global Stewards Sustainability Prize, one of the largest U.S. student innovation competitions, and second, the Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN). She co-founded ESWN in 2002 and it has since grown to over 1700 women in more than 20 countries.