October 27, 2025 – Portland, Ore. – The Board of Directors of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) has announced the recipients of the 2025 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards.

The annual awards recognize professionals across the region for their contributions to advancing energy efficiency through strategic leadership, effective collaboration, and long-term service. This year’s ceremony will be hosted as a hybrid event in Portland, Ore. on Monday, December 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Pacific).

Winners were selected from peer nominations in three categories: Rising Star, Innovative Collaboration, and Lifetime Achievement. Each honoree has demonstrated measurable impact through their work, helping to strengthen energy efficiency efforts across the Northwest.

The 2025 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award winners are:

• Rising Star: April Cannon, ASK Energy
• Innovative Collaboration: Holly Braun, with NW Natural
• Tom Eckman Lifetime Achievement: Ken Robinette, South Central Community Action Partnership (SCCAP)

In addition to the three peer-nominated awards, the Chairperson’s Award is determined by NEEA’s Board Chair and Executive Director and recognizes individual dedication and commitment to advancing the alliance’s work. This year’s Chairperson’s Award recipient is:

• John Hairston, Administrator and CEO of Bonneville Power Administration

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, and to this year’s nominees for their incredible demonstration of leadership in energy efficiency.

2025 Nominees:

Leadership in Energy Efficiency Rising Star Award:

1. Lydia Bazikos, Bellevue 2030 District (formerly)
2. April Cannon, ASK Energy
3. Rebeca Enriquez, NW Natural
4. Kim Stevens, Puget Sound Energy
5. Joseph Wachunas, New Building Institute

Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award for Innovative Collaboration:

1. Holly Braun, NW Natural
2. Clean Buildings Accelerator Program: Katie Costley, Puget Sound Energy; Amy Fowler, City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment; Graham Goodman, Seattle City Light; Kelsey Lewis, Snohomish PUD
3. Clean Buildings Team: Dillon Ackerman, Annalyn Bergin, Luke Howard, Jeff Rasmussen, Emily Salzberg and Donny Westfall, Washington State Department of Commerce
4. Cyrus Collins, Evergreen Consulting Group
5. Lindsey Diercksen, LD Consulting
6. Ecotope: Omer Ali, Jon Heller, Henry Odum and Scott Spielman
7. Empower Me: Hana Gregory, Francesca Hays, Ihsan Kassa, and Nasiya Odawa, Kambo Energy Group
8. Garden Park Apartment Project: Shelly Carlton, Energy Trust of Oregon; Adam Gage and Neil Grigsby, NEEA; Ben and Sam Larson, Larson Energy Research; Rick Hodges, Portland General Electric; Trisha Paul, Amarna Energy (Energy Trust Subcontractor); David West, Innovative Housing Inc.;
9. High-Performance, High-Capacity Heat Pump project: Jamie Anthony, Debra Bristow, Amy Burke, Mike Cohan, Nathan Kelly, Tony Koch, and Keshmira McVey, Bonneville Power Administration; John Bush and Regina Hong, OTS Energy; Matt Booth, Washington State University Energy Program; Bob Davis, Ecotope; Erin Connor, KEEL Energy; Christopher Dymond and Aaron James, NEEA; Ben Larson, Larson Energy Research;
10. Michael Ivanovich, ACMA
11. Jaguar Land Rover at Redfox Commons: Jim Brown, Instant Group; Nathan Clark, Fortis Construction; Samra Egger, Cummings Group; Beth Jamieson, Brightworks Sustainability; Anna Langley, Langley Investment; Kelsey Loverro and Amalia Mohr (project lead), LRS Architects; Paul Rathbone, Jaguar Land Rover
12. Perry Tech “Building Our Future” Scholarship Fundraising Campaign: Tressa Lucas, Perry Technical Institute
13. Andrea Rydberg, Best Buy
14. Seattle City Light Midstream HVAC+ Open Q Proposal Team: Lynea Baudino and Tiffany Brundage, Seattle City Light; Lars Henrikson (formerly Seattle City Light)
15. Snohomish PUD Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program: Jerusha Bond, Washington Energy Services; Joe Fairey, Harts Plumbing; Allison Grinczel (project lead), Snohomish PUD; Tom Hagar, Washington Water Heaters; Michael Hoag, Albert Lee; Garett Valenzuela, C+C; Mike Kirk, Fast Water Heat; David Richardson, Judd & Black
16. Prerna Tomar, Samsung Electronics America
17. The Eugene Mission Weatherization Project: Sharyl Balthrop and Rustin Roundy, The Eugene Mission; Esteban Montero Chacon and Marc Hashagen, Homes for Good; Steve Divan and Danielle Stafford, Oregon Housing and Community Services; Rebeca Enriquez and Tavia Henley-Storm, NW Natural; Bill Hough, Eugene Water & Electric Board;  
18. Tom Smith, Puget Sound Energy
19. University of Washington’s Center for Integrated Design: Heather Burpee, Chris Meek and Teresa Moroseos, University of Washington Integrated Design Lab
20. Washington State Capitol Campus Decarbonization Report: Justin Burwinkle, Lauren Donley, Veronica Guerrero, Scott McVey and Justin Pape, Millig Design Build; Jon Lyons, Roby Poche and Oliver Wu, Washington Department of Enterprise Services

Tom Eckman Leadership in Energy Efficiency Lifetime Achievement Award:

1. Rob Boteler, Electrical Apparatus Service Association, Inc. (EASA)
2. Bruce Manclark, Earth Advantage
3. Ken Robinette, South Central Community Action Partnership (SCCAP)
4. Dan Wildenhaus, Center for Energy and Environment

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NEEA is an alliance of more than 140 utilities and energy efficiency organizations working on behalf of over 14.5 million energy consumers across the four Northwest states.

Since 1996, NEEA has taken a market-driven approach to energy efficiency that is grounded in data, collaboration, and rigorous evaluation. NEEA works to transform markets by filling information gaps and identifying and removing barriers so that the market can align around evolving electric and natural gas energy efficiency needs.

Media Contact:
Carolyn VanWinkle, NEEA