Edison Electric Institute Board issues awards for environmental leadership, power industry workforce

Through its latest Thomas A. Edison Legacy Awards, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Board of Directors chose to honor former White House National Climate Advisor Regina McCarthy and retired International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) International President Lonnie Stephenson.

For McCarthy, the legacy award recognized outstanding environmental leadership and her life’s work to advance climate policy. She served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Obama administration from 2013-2017 and returned to the White House under the Biden administration. Although she retired from her role as the first White House National Climate Advisor and leader of the Climate Policy Office last year, EEI honored her, among other things, for overseeing a slew of investments in infrastructure and aspects of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which brought major gains for climate and clean energy efforts in the United States.

“We applaud Gina’s leadership and salute her for our successful working partnership to accelerate progress on clean energy and climate issues,” Tom Kuhn, EEI president, said. “Her vision and tireless engagement made it possible to pass the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the robust clean energy tax package included in the Inflation Reduction Act. This historic legislation will make the clean energy transformation more affordable for the customers and communities we proudly serve. Getting this new set of policies and tools right was not easy, and Gina played a critical role in helping to shape them.”

On another side of the equation, Stephenson was similarly awarded for decades of service to organized labor and the electric power industry. Stephenson helmed IBEW from 2015-2023, finally retiring last week. He worked his way up in the industry from a start in 1975 as an apprentice inside wireman, gradually becoming involved in committees in his local union, then vice president and ultimately president from 1987-1992. He continued at Rock Island Local 145 until he was appointed International Representative of IBEW assigned to the Sixth District, after which his leadership roles continued.

His tenure as IBEW’s president showcased a strong labor-industry partnership, growing union membership, new safety protocols, greater diversity commitments, and advocacy for new infrastructure laws.

“Lonnie is an exceptional leader for the IBEW and a trusted advisor to many leaders throughout Congress, the White House, and the electric power industry,” Nick Akins, executive chair of American Electric Power, said. “His steady leadership has been invaluable during the extraordinary challenges we have faced, particularly over the past few years. I commend his commitment to safety and his work throughout the pandemic to ensure that new safety protocols were in place and that our workforce was recognized as essential by our government partners. This was critical to our ability to respond to record-setting hurricane and wildfire seasons safely and effectively. I congratulate him on a tremendous career of service.”