WorldWide Drilling Resource

The 2018 Women in Geothermal Awards Adapted from Information by Women in Geothermal In 2013, at the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, Women in Geothermal (WING) was created. It is a vol- unteer, nonprofit organization promoting the education, professional development, and advancement of women in the geothermal community. Since then, the organization has expanded to over 48 countries. Recently, the inaugural WING Awards were presented to four worthy recipients. The awards highlight the organization’s core values: Courageous, Empowering, Open, and Caring. Courageous Award - Susan Petty, cofounder of AltaRock Energy, U.S. Susan has spent her career challenging the conventional knowledge of EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) and developing breakthrough energy technologies. She isn’t afraid to try new things. When ideas fail, she shares the failures with others in the industry to promote learning. Her successes are equally exciting as her team redefines what EGS looks like with their imaginative new ideas. Empowering Award - David Lopez, CEO of LaGeo in El Salvador. Since Dr. Lopez took over the role of president, he developed activities to encourage women empower- ment in the electrical sector, and one of them is the unconditional support to the formation of WING El Salvador in June 2017. He empowers women in geothermal power plants to perform activities traditionally performed by men. Female participation in geothermal plants has grown by 20% since his arrival. He is currently working on an agreement with El Salvador’s Ministry of Education to support WING women who have not finished high school, which will contribute to women empowerment. He promoted the creation of special centers to care for the children of LaGeo employees. This gave women peace of mind knowing their children were protected and cared for while they were working. Additionally, he created Proyecto VIDA, the largest reforestation project in the country. This project involved growing more than 6 million plants in the basins of influx rivers and in the areas of the geothermal power plants of the country. Proyecto VIDA has a policy that 70% of the jobs created must be performed by women. More than 3000 jobs have been created through Proyecto VIDA. Open Award - Albert Genter of Electricité de Strasbourg (ES) in France. Albert is responsible for a lot of successful collaborations. He focuses on the strengths and skills of the men and women on his team to get projects accomplished. By creating a positive and cooperative working environment, everybody feels free to make their own decisions. He is open to suggestions and values successful performances. In addition to sharing his knowledge, he remains open to technical and scientific inputs from his team. He encourages growth by taking time to listen to ideas and never forcing his own direction. His method of teamwork provides the team with the freedom to learn on their own while bol- stering their confidence. Caring Award - Nenny Saptadji of ITB in Bandung/ Indonesia. Nenny has worked hard to not only help her stu- dents in academia, but in many other aspects. Often referred to as the peo- ple’s godmother, she would often do fundraising to help students pay their tuition fees. Some of those students have gone on to become leading pro- fessionals in the geothermal and oi l industries. She also established the self-awareness program in ITB. Nominated by their peers, these awards give recognition to those chang- ing the future of the geothermal indus- try. 21 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2019 Albert Genter and his team in Strasbourg, France. GEO