The California Energy Commission honored six energy leaders at the 2024 Clean Energy Hall of Fame Awards Thursday for their leadership and outstanding achievement advancing the state's clean energy goals.
The fifth annual event featured special speakers and an award presentation followed by a reception in the California Natural Resources Agency building in Sacramento.
Short summaries of the awardees are below:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Gene Rodrigues
Assistant Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity
Manhattan Beach, California
Rodrigues is the Assistant Secretary of Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Electricity. He came out of retirement after being appointed by President Joe Biden to help make the country's power grid more reliable, resilient, and affordable.
Prior to DOE, Rodrigues spent more than 20 years at Southern California Edison as an attorney and eventually as an executive. He was vice president at ICF until he retired, helping utilities evolve their energy efficiency programs and helping to ensure utility customers benefited from the clean energy transition.
His father is Portuguese American, and his mother is of Japanese descent. They met when Rodrigues' father, who was in the military, was stationed in Japan. These multicultural roots instilled in Rodrigues an appreciation for diversity and expanding opportunities for all people, motivating him to represent the DOE on the federal interagency working group for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Tribal Champion Award
Elizabeth "Liz" Perez
CEO and President of GC Green, Native American Energy Services, and Veteran Energy Services Company
North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, California
Perez is a member of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the only Native American woman veteran to own and lead a licensed renewable energy development company. Her passion for sustainability and energy independence began during her time in the U.S. Navy, after which she founded three firms, including GC Green, Native American Energy Services, and the Veteran Energy Services Company. Over the past 15 years, Perez has focused on energy security for rural and marginalized communities, including more than 50 tribal nations and 4,500 nontribal customers across California. She has also served as a U.S. delegate to Israel and Japan to help advance clean energy and sustainability.
Clean Energy Champion
Dr. Fan Dai, Director
University of California, Berkeley, California-China Climate Institute, and Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
Berkeley, California
Dai is the director of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley. In her role, she has driven innovative research and collaboration between California and China on climate policy, securing more than $15 million in funding for climate research projects. These initiatives supported by Governor Gavin Newsom focus on U.S.-China climate cooperation and subnational climate action, advancing climate adaptation and mitigation efforts at a global scale. Her career started with China's global forestry initiative, and she served as senior climate advisor to Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and as senior climate change advisor at the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Christine Viterelli-Busby
Grants Manager, City of Arvin
Arvin, California
Viterelli-Busby is the grants manager for the City of Arvin, securing money to help transform her local community since she began grant writing in 2016. She has helped Arvin, a small rural city, become a national leader in clean transportation by obtaining nearly $50 million to invest in clean energy. Her work enabled Arvin to convert three diesel buses to electric, and to build microgrids and install public charging stations in convenient places such as the local Veterans Hall and park-and-ride sites.
Patricia Watts
President and CEO, Faith Com Inc. dba FCI Management
Cerritos, California
Watts is the president and CEO of energy and water consulting firm FCI. Following a 24-year career at Southern California Edison, she founded FCI in 1998, ramping up the firm's efforts during California's energy crisis in 2001 to develop and implement energy-efficient solutions across utilities and businesses. FCI is a nationally recognized, certified woman-owned, minority-owned corporation. Watts is a business leader dedicated to advancing equity and positively influencing the energy industry. Committed to her community, she serves on California African American Chamber of Commerce, the California Public Utility Commission's Low-Income Oversight Board, and the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council.
Youth Game-Changer
Julia Zeitlin
Founder, Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition (PASCC)
Palo Alto, California
The 18-year-old Stanford University student is the founder and chief advisor of PASCC. Her activism began at age 13 years when, after experiencing devastating wildfires firsthand, she founded the Palo Alto Chapter of the Sunrise Movement.
She has worked with local governments, making presentations on electrification programs to the Palo Alto City Council and implementing cooling solutions for heat-affected areas through the Bay Area Heat Mapping Campaign. She also interned with the Palo Alto Public Works Department in the Office of Sustainability and participates in Palo Alto's Climate Adaptation and Protection Working Group.
To watch a video of the Dec. 5 event and the awardees' stories, view the CEC's YouTube playlist.
Learn more about the Clean Energy Hall of Fame Awards.
About the California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies.
For more information
1516 Ninth St
Sacramento California
United States 95814-5512
www.energy.ca.gov
