Suzanne Tegen

Assistant Director, Center for the New Energy Economy

2016 Government Award Winner

Suzanne Tegen is the Assistant Director to Colorado’s 41st Governor, Bill Ritter, Jr., at the Center for the New Energy Economy. The purpose of the Center is to educate, convene, and inspire decision-makers to create policies that facilitate America’s equitable transition to a clean energy economy. The Center is housed at Colorado State University, where Tegen works directly with state legislators and other decision-makers to educate them about economic benefits from renewable energy, grid modernization, electrifying transportation, and energy storage. She has authored reports on clean energy economics, wind energy stakeholder engagement, and the domestic hydropower workforce, and she co-wrote a report on clean energy policies for the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Clean Energy Solutions Center. She is updating the U.S. Department of Energy’s domestic wind workforce report, which shows that women comprise approximately 28% of the U.S. wind workforce, and racial and ethnic minorities comprise about 25%. She represents the United States in the International Energy Agency’s wind energy social acceptance task. Before joining the Center, Tegen served as the Technology, Engineering and Development Manager for Wind and Water Power at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where she managed a talented team of engineers and analysts dedicated to the responsible deployment of clean energy and microgrids around the world. She also played an active role in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition, inspiring students to work in the clean energy arena. Her early career involved working for the U.S. Antarctic Program at the South Pole and McMurdo stations and for the Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco. Tegen’s advocacy extends beyond her job requirements; she is passionate about mentoring and energy education, delivering diversity training for her staff, other women in clean energy, and youth. She is a founding board member of Women in Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) and serves on the Executive Committee. She educates students, teachers, and co-workers about the importance of diversity, climate science, and clean energy. She has a PhD in Energy Policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder.