2021 was a pivotal year for CWEEL. Our incredible Board worked hard to create new chapters, expand mentorship, and spread the word of this division within the AEE and energy efficiency communities. These goals could not have been exceeded without Allison Shea and Charlotte Wagner. We thank them for their service and accomplishments while sitting on the board.
Charlotte Wagner graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in December of 1990 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. She has over 27 years of experience in the building energy efficiency industry, currently serving at the executive management level developing cohesive teams. Ms. Wagner is currently the General Manager, Southern California Branch, Schneider Electric, US Digital Buildings. Her certifications include the P.E., LEED AP BD+C, CEM, and CA General Contractor’s A license.
She has been involved in SWE (Society of Women Engineers) for over 30 years and is a Life Member, Fellow, and Distinguished Service Award recipient. She is currently the co-lead of SWE’s Late Career and Retiree affinity group, which she helped to found. Ms. Wagner is a Board Member and Mentor Committee Chair of the Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL) of Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).
2021 Accomplishments
- There are 15 active mentor/mentee pairs, summarized in the table. # of matches increased from 8 to 15 in 2021. Started off as just one match in 2019.
- All mentees have been matched.
- Published one case study in 2020, added 2 in 2021, for a total of 3. Link to case studies: https://cweel.org/mentoring-program/
- Advertised program to CWEEL newsletter.
- Sent bi-monthly email update to mentors and mentees, with topic suggestions.
- Established committee with bi-monthly meetings, had 6 meetings in 2021.
- Developed written procedures to make it easier for future chairs to carry on the program.
Ms. Shea supports development and deployment of work provided by Limbach Company in the MidAtlantic area, with a focus on strategic engagement and integrated solutions delivered directly to the end-user operational and energy stakeholders. In this role her work includes management and oversight of others creating multi disciplined mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and energy programs for both public and private sector partners.
Alison has more than thirty years of energy consulting, project development, and energy program management experience. Her direct expertise includes energy strategy, energy efficiency and demand-side energy management, and includes experience with distributed and renewable energy generation – including cogeneration and solar.
Alison holds a mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Tech, and is a Certified Energy Manager. She sits on the Advisory Boards of the Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) and Renewable Maryland Project, and on the Board of CWEEL as the Membership (US) Committee Chair.
2021 was a pivotal year for Membership in all of the following ways:
- It marked the first year for a formalized membership committee with regular meetings and attendance. The committee was responsible for rolling out several tools and initiatives
- Coming out of the CWEEL Lead and CWEEL Group rollout to chapters in the winter of 2020, we saw the addition of our first (and several) CWEEL Leads and created tools that assisted with CWEEL Lead onboarding at the Chapter level
- We launched our first CWEEL Groups! (in spite of the pandemic and limited opportunity for face:face networking)
- We onboarded our first CWEEL Corporate member (DNV) and established a regular meeting cadence designed to create value for DNV. As a result, DNV employees are actively engaged in multiple CWEEL committees