CWEEL Governing Board – Solicitation for Applications for Open CWEEL board position 2023-2025 Term

The Governing Board of the Council on Women in Energy & Environmental Leadership (CWEEL) is seeking to fill two (2) CWEEL board positions effective April 1 2023.  Each CWEEL board member is responsible for leading a functional area or program in support of the CWEEL mission.  The board position will be replacing the current board member for (1) the CWEEL Mentorship Committee Chair & (2) the CWEEL Scholarships & Awards Committee Chair.  This is an extraordinary opportunity for individuals who are passionate about equity in the energy sector, are called to support the success of women in our industry and CWEEL, and have a track record of volunteerism and leadership.  CWEEL’s mission is to provide a network for women in the energy and environmental industries. We support career development for professional women, mentoring for young and aspiring women to pursue technical education and careers in the energy and environmental fields, and scholarships on a global level. CWEEL is a division of the nonprofit Association of Energy Engineers. 

CWEEL is governed by a volunteer Governing Board.  The board serves to establish and fulfill the mission and objectives of CWEEL. The board sets policies; provides oversight and management of the organization; and participates in the execution of the strategic plan. CWEEL Board Structure   

There are currently 11 board positions, as follows:

1.      Membership – US

2.       Membership – International

3.       Programs & Events – US

4.       Programs & Events – International

5.       International CWEEL Groups

6.       Career Advancement

7.       Chapter Liaisons

8.      Marketing, Communication & Social Media

9.       Mentor Program – OPEN

10.    Awards, Scholarships & Student Enrichment – OPEN

11.     Fundraising & Corporate Sponsors

The CWEEL board members each serve a three-year term.  Each board member chairs a CWEEL committee, and the committee meetings are held as determined by each Committee Chair but no less than quarterly.  Service on CWEEL’s board of directors is voluntary and without remuneration or reimbursement for administrative support, travel, and accommodation costs in relation to board members’ duties. CWEEL board meetings are held monthly.

Board Member Responsibilities

• Regularly attend board meetings (minimum 8 of 12 meetings per year) and important related meetings with voting on board matters
• Makes a commitment to participate actively in committee work – including developing and managing committees
• Volunteer for and willingly accept assignments and complete them thoroughly and on time
• Stay informed about committee matters, prepare for meetings, and review and comment on minutes and reports
• Get to know other committee members and build a collegial working relationship that contributes to consensus
• Is an active participant in the committee’s annual evaluation and planning efforts
• Participate in fundraising for the organization. 
• Attend at least one (1) AEE Conference in person annually – AEE East, AEE West and AEE World

Descriptions of the open positions are provided below. 

CWEEL Mentoring Program – the Council for Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL) offers a mentoring program to support men and women in their career development in energy efficiency, renewable energy, utilities and energy technology fields.  Topics are provided by the Mentoring Program Committee and vary month-to-month as a guideline for the mentoring teams.  The Mentoring Program Committee is responsible for all aspects of the success of this program – including oversight and support of our mentors and mentees, continuing improvement to the Mentoring Program’s best practices and procedures, promotion of the program to solicit participation by both mentors and mentees, and effective pairing of mentors and mentees. 

This board position is ideal for an individual who is passionate about helping others to develop their full potential through one-on-one and small group mentoring.  The ideal candidate will also have leadership skills to recruit, develop, strategize with and lead the Mentor Program Committee members.  More information about the CWEEL Mentoring Program is provided here: https://cweel.org/mentoring-program/

CWEEL Awards & Scholarships

CWEEL offers two CWEEL Champion awards each year to one US and one international CWEEL group that shows exemplary support of the CWEEL mission at the local level.  Awards are given to the AEE chapter that is the CWEEL champion and to the CWEEL Chapter Liaison, Chapter Lead, or other local chapter Member that has been the strongest advocate and CWEEL volunteer in that local chapter.  The Committee is responsible for soliciting and reviewing all applications for the CWEEL champion awards and making the recommendations to the CWEEL governing board for approval in a timely manner.

CWEEL helps fund higher education of female students in STEM studies.  We provide scholarships  that are distributed through the AEE Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit organization.  The committee is responsible for soliciting and reviewing all applications for CWEEL scholarships in accordance with standard processes and working closely with the AEE staff to make recommendations of award.  The committee also works closely with the CWEEL fundraising committee to raise funds for scholarships each year. 

As a new initiative, we will be focusing on increasing women’s participation in the AEE Awards program and will look to this committee to develop CWEEL’s efforts to achieve this goal. Information about this program can be found here: https://www.aeecenter.org/membership/awards/

The CWEEL Committee chair is responsible for recruiting and developing the CWEEL Awards & Scholarships committee, providing leadership and strategic planning, and interfacing with the other associated committees.  The committee chair has overall responsibility for achieving the goals of the committee.

Application Process
If you are interested in applying for this position, please provide the following information:

·          The board position for which you are applying along with a statement of experience and skills to meet the qualifications and responsibilities for this position (see above descriptions)

·         A statement of your goals and purpose for applying to the CWEEL board

·         A copy of your CV/bio

·         A statement that you will commit to:

·         Becoming/remaining an active member of the Association of Energy Engineers and CWEEL during your term;

·         Attending at least one CWEEL Board Meeting each year in person (there are three in-person board meetings held in conjunction with AEE’s three US conferences).   If you have any concerns with meeting this requirement, please explain in your application

·         Two written references (preferably at least one from an active AEE member and/or CWEEL member)

Applications are due to Laurie Wiegand-Jackson, CWEEL Board Chair, via email at [email protected] no later than Friday March 31. 2023  

The CWEEL Board expects to make its selection in April 2023 with the new board position effective immediately.