2018 Honorees 

The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing the impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of hydropower projects that have committed to environmental, cultural and recreational stewardship pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s criteria.

LIHI is the only third-party, independent body offering certification for any energy source in the US. They provide an unbiased review of hydropower projects that voluntarily apply and provide in-depth details on the impacts of their projects. States such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Oregon as well as national programs such as the Green Power Partnership and Green-e voluntary Renewable Energy Credit market require its certification for hydro. The board consists of a mix of NGO and industry-related individuals on our board, helping to ensure a balanced view.

On behalf of a coalition of energy, industrial and technology companies, labor unions, and environmental and energy policy organizations, RENEWPR worked with the Great Plains Institute (GPI) and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) to develop and coordinate a communications campaign in support of carbon capture technologies. The ultimate goal was to support and promote adoption of policy solutions related to carbon capture technologies, specifically the passage of legislation at the federal level to reform Section 45Q of the U.S. Tax Code to promote carbon capture for enhanced oil recovery, other forms of geologic storage and other beneficial uses of CO2 that reduce emissions.

Via a three-pronged approach including media outreach and engagement, social media promotion and coordination of a communications working group comprised of coalition members, RENEWPR's coordinated communications efforts ultimately built strong support for action on 45Q legislation and helped ensure its inclusion in the budget agreement passed by Congress and signed by the President on February 9, 2018.

Danielle is the Chief Technology Officer of GE Renewable Energy, reporting to the CEO.  In this role, she leads technical efforts to develop differentiated products and services across the broadest renewable energy portfolio in the industry, including on-shore wind, off-shore wind, solar PV, batteries, and hydro. Danielle is also currently the co-leader of the GE Women’s Network, a global organization focused on the recruiting, retention, development and promotion of talented women across GE.

Danielle was named as Chief Technology Officer for GE’s Renewable Energy Business in 2017—the first female GE Tier I business CTO in the history of the company.  

Among her many accomplishments in 2017, Danielle lead efforts to support and engage over 70,000 women across GE in support of individual career development and company-wide culture development as co-director of GE’s women’s network and sponsored the annual Women in Science and Engineering Symposium attended by over 2,000 women. She also led her team to develop Edge OS, a groundbreaking new operating system for industrial edge assets, enabling products, such as wind turbines and farms, to become ‘software-defined’. Such technology can help further lower the cost of renewable energy, speeding the energy transition and enabling the more rapid deployment of clean tech.