WICE co-sponsored the Columbia University Women in Energy (WIE) 2011 Spring Event on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
WIE’s spring event brought together over 50 people, including some of today’s leading female voices within the energy sector to speak about sector trends. The event was a unique forum for energy professionals working in a diverse set of energy practices to converse on a range of energy issues.
Program
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Appetizers
6:30 – 6:40 p.m. Program Introduction
6:40 – 6:50 p.m. WICE/WIE Mentoring Program Introduction
6:50 – 7:50 p.m. Renewables Panel Discussion
7:50 – 8:00 p.m. Panel Q&A
8:00 – 8:30 p.m. Cocktails
Panelists (biographies included below):
Kimberly Diamond, Counsel, Lowenstein Sandler
Leslie Garrison, New Jersey State Director, Bluewater Wind
Hilary Forster, Energy Efficiency Senior Specialist, Consolidated Edison Company of New York (moderator)
Jennifer Kearney, Partner & Co-Founder, Gotham 360
Christine Weydig, Deputy Director, Office of Energy and Environment Programs, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
About SIPA Women in Energy (WIE)
SIPA Women in Energy (WIE) is made up of energy-oriented graduate students intent upon gaining dynamic careers in the energy sector, focusing on international energy management, energy finance, renewables development, environmental policy and law, and energy security, among other areas. A subgroup of the SIPA Energy Association (SEA) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, WIE supports women in the energy sector, an often underrepresented group within the field. In addition to partnering with other university-based women’s groups, WIE strives to create partnerships with industry practitioners and women’s business groups to expand its growing network of women in the energy field through a combination of joint networking events, mentoring opportunities, and skill-building activities. WIE recently established a mentorship program, along with WICE, pairing Columbia graduate students with female energy leaders to prepare students for professional energy careers.
Panelists:
Kimberly E. Diamond, Counsel, Lowenstein Sandler
Kim Diamond is a transactional lawyer in the New York City office of Lowenstein Sandler. She has represented financial institutions, asset managers, and funds in numerous complex multi-million and multi-billion dollar securitization transactions. Ms. Diamond mentors professionals in the U.S., the Netherlands, and the U.K. through Women of Wind Energy’s mentoring program. She is also a Vice Chair of both the Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources Committee and the Energy and Environmental Markets and Finance Committee of the American Bar Association. Ms. Diamond has delivered numerous presentations and has published a number of articles on wind energy, carbon trading, and wave energy. She is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan and Cornell Law School.
Hilary Forster (moderator), Senior Energy Specialist, Con Edison Company of New York
Hilary Forster is a Senior Energy Specialist for Con Edison’s energy efficiency department. She has a diversified undergraduate background in mechanical engineering and mathematical sciences. She also has a Masters of Business Administration from NYU with a concentration in sustainability, social innovation and impact, and finance. She has over seven years of utility experience at Con Edison, spending her last five years in energy management, renewable energy research, and energy efficiency program design and implementation. Mrs. Forster is involved in helping Con Edison offer attractive and successful energy efficiency programs to New York City and Westchester County residents – with key involvement from the initial design and cost benefit modeling phase, to the market research and implementation plan filed with the Public Service Commission, to the final program implementation and post program evaluation.
Leslie Garrison, New Jersey State Director, NRG Bluewater Wind
Leslie Garrison is an offshore wind energy developer at NRG Bluewater Wind. Ms. Garrison first worked with Bluewater Wind on the Company’s East Coast projects as it was first emerging as a pioneer within the offshore wind industry. She worked with the Bluewater team on stakeholder engagement and policy development in support of the Company’s project in Delaware, which ultimately succeeded in signing the first commercial-scale long-term power purchase agreement for electricity generated from offshore wind. Ms. Garrison has a degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan, which has allowed her to also focus on policy development in the Great Lakes region for NRG Bluewater. This work is ongoing and continues to generate a more conducive business environment within States and Provinces that have project development potential in the Lakes. A New Jersey native, she recently moved into the position of New Jersey State Director where she is managing the company’s project and outreach efforts in New Jersey.
Jennifer Kearney, Partner and Co-founder, Gotham 360
Prior to joining Columbia University as the Director of Energy Programs, Jennifer Kearney served as the Director of Energy Programs for New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital in the country. In this role, Ms. Kearney managed a $70 million energy procurement portfolio including power, renewable, natural gas, and fuel oil. In addition to procurement of supply, Ms. Kearney was responsible for the development and construction of a 7.5 megawatt synchronous gas turbine cogeneration system which was the first of its kind in the borough of Manhattan. Her efforts resulted in savings in excess of $11 million annually, and national recognition by the EPA as the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year six times (in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011). During her tenure at the Hospital, she was also involved in the development of two LEED rated buildings, one of which is certified “Gold,” making it one of only six LEED Gold healthcare buildings in the country.
Christine Weydig, Deputy Director, Energy & Environment Programs, Port Authority of NY & NJ
Christine Weydig is the Deputy Director for Energy in the Office of Environmental and Energy Programs at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christine has worked for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Policy and International Affairs where her tenure included a detail to the U.S. Department of State at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. She has over ten years of consulting experience, working on energy projects and capacity development initiatives for organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Programme. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs, concentrating in International Energy Management and Policy from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.
