KEDC pushes Alliance for Women in Energy; program reaches out to young women

Good to see the Alliance of Women in Energy (AWE) getting some traction locally. This is a group established by the Kern Economic Development Corp. (KEDC) last year to provide a forum for women in the fields of solar, fossil fuels, utilities and wind energy. Trish Reed, one of the marketing officers over at KEDC, tells me there was a big turnout for the group's networking meeting this week, which was hosted by Susie Geiger of Oxy and Carla Musser of Chevron. Trish says Chevron also opened its wallet to help make this happen. Groups like this are important and provide terrific role models for the young women in our community, particularly given the huge role that oil, wind energy and natural gas play in Kern County. AWE also has an outreach and mentoring program for young girls in high school in an effort to promote careers in energy. In a community with a high school dropout rate nearing 25 percent and a dismally low percentage of college graduates, this is important stuff. Let's wish this group all the luck.