The leading industry resource for diverse talent, careers, and culture celebrates top leaders, teams, and companies powering our world and the energy transition.

ALLY Energy is proud to announce this year’s winners for the 7th Annual GRIT Awards and Best Energy Workplaces.  These awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant recognition in the energy industry worldwide. Nominations are open to the public. The 58 winners were selected from shortlisted finalists that included 60 leaders, 32 teams, and 14 companies with representation across the globe in oil and gas, power and utilities, wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, climate tech startups, and academia.

“This year’s GRIT Awards and Best Energy Workplaces winners are a diverse cohort of game-changing entrepreneurs, gritty leaders, collaborative teams, and companies committed to combatting climate change. The energy workforce is doing great things to transform our energy ecosystem and we’re excited to spotlight exceptional talent and culture,” said Katie Mehnert, Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy.

ALLY Energy is committed to a fair and equitable process to assess candidates more equitably. Winners are selected through a blind application review by external judges.

2023 GRIT Award Winners on Vimeo

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

The JEDI Award

• Jason Limerick, Sustainability Strategy Lead at Woodside Energy
• Melina Acevedo, Partnerships Lead at Latinxs in Sustainability

The Executive Award

• Cara Hair, SVP of Corporate Services, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Helmerich & Payne
• Emma Lewis, Senior Vice President USGC Chemicals & Products at Shell
• Jeremy Campbell-Wray, Strategic Accounts and Enterprise Growth Market Executive 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.
• Sarah Delille, Vice President of US Country Management at Equinor
• Whitney Eaton, EVP, People & Sustainability at TGS Energy

The Gritty Girl Award

• Deepasha Baral, Student at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies

The Professional Award 

• Alex Loureiro, Scientific Director at EnerGeo Alliance
• Crystal McNack, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor at Citgo
• Dani Milling, Gulf of Mexico Environmental Engineer & Mexico HSE Coordinator at Chevron
• Diego Barreto, CFO Americas Region at Baker Hughes
• Katie Zimmerman, Decarbonization Director, Americas at Wood
• 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
• 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

The Entrepreneur Award 

• Charli Matthews, CEO at Empowering Women in Industry
• Mike Francis, Co-Founder and CEO at NanoTech

The ESG & Climate Champion 

• Andrea Hepp, Deal Lead at Shell
• Brittney Marshall, Senior Advisor, Climate Strategy and Policy at Woodside Energy
• Gabriel Rolland, Vice President, Corporate QHSE at TGS Energy
• Sandhya Ganapathy, Chief Executive Officer at EDP Renewables North America

Best Energy Team 

• Advisian Material Handling
• Halliburton Labs
• NOV Marketing
• Sempra Infrastructure
• Syzygy Plasmonics

Best Affinity Group, Employee Resource Group 

• Baker Hughes, Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF)
• ChampionX, RISE Gender Equity ERG
• Ovintiv, Leveraging Inclusion, Networking & Knowledge (LINK)
• Shell, WAVE – Women Adding Value Everywhere
• TPI Composites, LEAP for Women
• Women’s Energy Network Houston
• Wood Mackenzie, Pride Working Group-Americas
• Woodside Energy, EmBRace – Employees Beyond Race
• Worley, PRIDE@Worley

Best Energy Workplaces 

• Aera Energy LLC  (6-time winner)
• Baker Hughes  (3-time winner)
• ChampionX (3-time winner)
• EDP Renewables North America (2-time winner)
• Enel (2-time winner)
• Shell
• Southwestern Energy
• Sunnova Energy International, Inc (6-time winner)
• TGS Energy (2-time winner)
• The Global Edge Group
• Wood
• Woodside Energy

2023 GRIT Awards Sponsors

About the Author
Sydney is a graduate of the University of Houston and the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship – the #1 ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship in the nation. She has experience in business and marketing strategy, go-to-market strategy, product development, and entrepreneurship. She has supported business development and strategy for startups, nonprofits, CPG businesses, and technology-based companies. Throughout her career, she has found a deep passion for impact, especially when paired with innovation. She is truly passionate about cultivating an environment that embraces creativity, challenges the system, and drives tangible results while creating a palpable impact. As a results-driven individual with a proven track record in project management, she takes pride in her ability to lead cross-functional teams, optimize processes, and drive successful strategic outcomes.