Happy new year to all our NEWIEE members, volunteers, and friends! As we launch into a new decade, NEWIEE is reflecting on near term and long-term goals for the organization and I wanted to share one of our key goals with you.

As those of you who participate in our Annual Meeting in November heard, we’re focusing in on how to build racial diversity.  Our aim is that in five years’ time, women with different racial backgrounds are on NEWIEE’s board, are NEWIEE members, and are on the podium at NEWIEE events. We’ll be working to ensure that discussions and efforts that specifically support women of different racial backgrounds – encouraging their recruitment, retention, and promotion in the energy and environment sectors – are integrated into NEWIEE programming and activities, and are an intrinsic part of NEWIEE’s impact. In the coming year we will assess how NEWIEE can engage and support women with racially diverse backgrounds, and we’re planning several events this year where we’ll build a dialog on this.

That’s part of our longer-term vision for NEWIEE. But more immediately, there’s the excitement of NEWIEE’s 10th Awards Gala on 4/30/20 at the Westin Copley Square in Boston! There’s still time to nominate a woman who has notable accomplishments in the environment or energy field – please submit your nominations by 1/17. We look forward to seeing the crowd that gathers annually to honor women in our field.  Look for more information, including sponsorship opportunities, in February.

If you have been reflecting on your own professional trajectory as we enter this new decade, remember there are plenty of ways to connect and learn through NEWIEE, as well as opportunities to give back and help support other women in their careers. Our local chapter events in western New England, Rhode Island, Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine provide ways to build relationships with local colleagues, and our Rising professionals group works across the region to support those who have entered the field in recent years. You can also give a little time but have a big impact by signing up to be a mentor. Finally, if you are hiring, please remember that the NEWIEE jobs board, under the Career Center section of the website, gets a lot of traffic and can help you reach diverse applicants.