The leading industry resource for diverse talent, careers, and culture celebrates top leaders, teams, and companies powering the energy transition
The 7th annual GRIT Awards and Best Energy Workplaces from ALLY Energy honor people and organizations making an impact on energy, sustainability, and the climate. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant recognition in the energy industry worldwide. Nominations are open to the public. The shortlisted finalists include leaders, teams, and companies with representation across the globe in oil and gas, power and utilities, wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, climate tech startups, and academia.
After being inundated with nominations and applications from individuals and organizations across the world, the team of judges has narrowed down the list of finalists. Winners of the highly coveted awards will be announced at an Oscars-style red carpet lunch on October 26 at The Bell Tower in Houston. This year’s sponsors include ChampionX, Ovintiv, Baker Hughes, NES Fircroft, Southwestern Energy, TGS, Wood, DLA Piper, Energy Ogre, Steel Blue, Energy Capital HTX, and Innovation Map.
Tickets are available, as are sponsorship opportunities.
“Every year, we are astounded at how many impressive, committed people are demonstrating leadership and grit in their work to advance the energy transition and build more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces,” says ALLY Energy CEO Katie Mehnert. “This year is no exception. This is the time to celebrate so many crucial achievements that may otherwise go overlooked in the energy sector and in broader society.”
In addition to praising the grit it takes to innovate and achieve change, the awards also celebrate “GRIT” as an acronym for growth, resilience, innovation, and transition. They highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in transforming the energy sector.
Only through a wide array of experiences, perspectives, and ideas will the sector flourish and innovate, leading the world to an era of Energy 2.0.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners are honorees who have distinguished careers championing change in energy and climate in the private or public sector in the areas of technology, policy, and workforce.
- William J. (John) Berger, Chief Executive Officer, Sunnova Energy International, Inc.
- Rhonda Morris, Vice President, and Chief Human Resources Officer, Chevron
- Amy Chronis, Vice Chair, US Energy & Chemicals Leader, Houston Managing Partner at Deloitte LLP
This year’s finalists follow in the footsteps of executives, entrepreneurs, and government leaders and they include.
The Professional Award
- Alex Loureiro, Scientific Director at EnerGeo Alliance
- Allie Thurmond, Asset Manager at Equinor
- Catherine Fuller, Senior Learning Strategy Leader at Baker Hughes
- Crystal McNack, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor at Enbridge Inc.
- Dani Milling, Gulf of Mexico Environmental Engineer & Mexico HSE Coordinator at Chevron
- Diego Barreto, CFO Americas Region at Baker Hughes
- Gayle Bowness, Technical Director Studies at Wood
- Katie Zimmerman, Decarbonization Director, Americas at Wood
- Kim Sabate-Strazde, Interim DEI Programs Manager at Baker Hughes
- Krithika Kannan, IT HSE & Security Manager at Occidental
- Lynn Buckley, Supplier Diversity and Business Development Sourcing Leader at Baker Hughes
- Mark Klapatch-Mathias, Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls
- Megan Suggs, Project Manager at BASF
- Natalie Valentine, Director - Business Performance at Worley
- Prajakta Kulkarni, Pricing Agreement Management Digital Platform Lead at Baker Hughes
- Priscilla Enwere, Senior Well Engineer at Rano-Accrete Petroleum Development Company
- Samantha Howard, Senior Organizational Development Specialist at Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline
- Syed Fahim, Global ESG Lead at SLB
- Tane Bates, Regional Operations Manager at Certarus LTD
- Ujunwa Ojemeni, Senior Policy Advisor - Energy Transition & Technical Assistance Delivery at E3G - Third Generation Environmentalism
- Yogashri Pradhan, Reservoir Engineer at Coterra
The Executive Award
- Andy Drummond, Executive Vice President Exploration and Development at Woodside Energy
- Cara Hair, SVP of Corporate Services, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Helmerich & Payne
- Claire Aitchison, Executive Operations Leader at Baker Hughes
- Emma Lewis, Senior Vice President USGC Chemicals & Products at Shell
- Jeremy Campbell-Wray, Strategic Accounts and Enterprise Growth Market Executive at Baker Hughes
- Kathy Eberwein, Chief Executive Officer at The Global Edge Group
- Kim Holder, Senior Executive of Digital Technology at Baker Hughes
- Leveda Charles, Director of PMO & Business Enablement at Baker Hughes
- Maggie Seeliger, SVP & Global Head of Strategy, Energy & Resources at Sodexo
- Max Chan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Officer at Enbridge
- Megan Beauregard, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary, and Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Enel North America, Inc.
- Nikki Martin, President at EnerGeo Alliance
- Pamela Skaufel, Vice President of Procurement at ExxonMobil
- Sarah Delille, Vice President of US Country Management at Equinor
- Shiva McMahon, Executive Vice President International Operations at Woodside Energy
- Soma Somasundaram, Chief Executive Officer at ChampionX
- Toby Begnaud, Chief Commercial Officer & SVP of Oilfield Services and Equipment at Baker Hughes
- Trevor Mihalik, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Sempra
- Whitney Eaton, EVP, People & Sustainability at TGS Energy
The JEDI Award, sponsored by Ovintiv
- Alex Fleming, Senior Manager at Deloitte
- Doug Peck, Head of Reserves at Woodside Energy
- Jason Limerick, Sustainability Strategy Lead at Woodside Energy
- Melina Acevedo, Associate at D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments & Partnerships Lead at Latinxs in Sustainability
- Shengke Zhi, Director for Growth and Development at Wood
The Entrepreneur Award
- Charli Matthews, CEO at Empowering Women in Industry
- Mandeep Patel, Founder at ElecTrip
- Mike Francis, Co-Founder and CEO at NanoTech
- Nick Valenzia, Founder at Leafr
The ESG & Climate Champion Award, sponsored by ChampionX
- Andrea Hepp, Deal Lead at Shell
- Brittney Marshall, Senior Advisor, Climate Strategy and Policy at Woodside Energy
- Freya Burton, Chief Sustainability Officer at LanzaTech
- Gabriel Rolland, Vice President, Corporate QHSE at TGS Energy
- Lisa Larroque Alexander, SVP, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer at Sempra
- Misty Rowe, Global CCUS Account Manager at Halliburton
- Sandhya Ganapathy, Chief Executive Officer at EDP Renewables North America
The Gritty Girl Award
- Deepasha Baral, Student at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
The Best Affinity Group, Employee Resource Group Award, sponsored by Southwestern Energy
- Baker Hughes, Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF)
- Baker Hughes, Generation STEM
- Baker Hughes, D&I Group Celle
- Baker Hughes, Parenting Tribe
- Baker Hughes, Pride@Work
- Baker Hughes, Multicultural ERG
- ChampionX, PLAN
- ChampionX, PRIDE
- ChampionX, RISE Gender Equity ERG
- ChampionX, SEED
- Ovintiv, Leveraging Inclusion, Networking and Knowledge (LINK)
- Sempra Infrastructure, Growing Responsibilities and Opportunities for Women
- Shell, WAVE - Women Adding Value Everywhere
- Shell, Mobility Americas DE&I Council
- TPI Composites, LEAP for Women
- Women's Energy Network Houston
- Wood, Launch
- Wood Mackenzie, Pride Working Group-Americas
- Woodside Energy, EmBRace - Employees Beyond Race
- Woodside Energy, Spark
- Woodside Energy, VIBE LGBTIQ+ Employee Resource Group
- Worley, PRIDE@Worley
The Best Energy Team Award
- Advisian Material Handling
- Baker Hughes, Sustainability Team
- ChampionX, Asset Integrity Team
- ChampionX, Brunei Supply Chain
- EIC Rose Rock/Rose Rock Bridge
- Halliburton Labs
- NOV Marketing
- Sempra Infrastructure
- Syzygy Plasmonics, Rigel Manufacturing & Launch Team
- TGS New Energy Solutions
- Aera Energy LLC
- Baker Hughes
- ChampionX
- Consolidated Asset Management Services
- EDP Renewables North America
- Enel
- The Global Edge Group
- Shell
- Solar Energy Industries Association - SEIA
- Southwestern Energy
- Sunnova Energy International, Inc (6-time finalist)
- TGS Energy
- Wood
- Woodside Energy
Finalists can find out about the next steps by visiting our finalists page and FAQ here.
ALLY Energy is a global energy workforce company that accelerates careers and skills for an equitable energy transition. ALLY provides a talent and culture marketplace and human capital consulting services that enable companies, to attract, develop, and build the energy workforce and workplace of the future.
Media Contact
Media Team, ALLY Energy, 281-741-5482, support@allyenergy.com
