AWWI is excited to welcome the Board of Directors Executive Committee for 2021:
Chair: Keith Harrison, Southern Power
Vice Chair: Joy Page, Defenders of Wildlife
Treasurer: John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists
Secretary: Christi Calabrese, EDP Renewables
Keith is General Manager of Environmental Affairs at Southern Power, which joined AWWI as a Partner in 2017. Keith was elected to the Board in 2019 and has been active in supporting research and collaborative activities. “Southern Power is proud to be an active Partner in AWWI’s important work, and I am honored to serve as Chair alongside my fellow Board members this year to advance AWWI’s mission,” Keith told AWWI. “I believe AWWI is a unique organization with a passionate Board and dedicated partners. This year, I look forward to working together to deepen the partnership between industry, the conservation community, and our research partners. Our focus will be to prioritize and produce critical science and facilitate the outreach needed to expand credibility among stakeholders essential to accelerating the responsible development of clean energy resources while conserving wildlife and habitat.”
Joy is Director of Renewable Energy & Wildlife at Defenders of Wildlife, where she leads Defenders’ renewable energy team which focuses on facilitating wildlife co-existence with wind and solar development. Defenders joined AWWI as a Partner in 2011. Joy has served on AWWI’s Board since 2019 and has played a leadership role in many collaborative initiatives, including AWWI CEO/Executive Leader Forums. Read our full conversation with Joy below.
John, Senior Energy Analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Christi, Director of Permitting and Environmental Affairs for EDP Renewables North America, will continue their roles from 2020.
AWWI also welcomes new Board member Johann Walker, Ducks Unlimited. Johann is the Director of Operations, Great Plains Region for DU, which joined AWWI as a Partner in 2020. “I’m excited to join AWWI and bring some of Ducks Unlimited’s perspective and resources to this important mission,” shared Johann. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the partners and working with them to use science to help guide wildlife conservation and renewable energy development.”
Read more about the 2021 AWWI Board.
A Conversation with Joy Page, 2021 Vice Chair of AWWI’s Board
AWWI: Why do you and your organization participate in AWWI?
Joy: AWWI serves two critical roles for my organization: first, the convening role of AWWI has led to a solid foundation of trust, relationships, and understanding. We all represent different organizations with different perspectives, priorities, and values, and AWWI has allowed us to find common ground and alignment in spite of these differences. We don’t always agree, but we are able to have the critical conversations needed to align our efforts where possible. The second is the science. AWWI has filled an important role in various aspects here. They are not only actively pursuing their own peer-reviewed science, but they are also providing third party infrastructure to facilitate other researchers, such as through the Wind Wildlife Research Fund, various grants, and the AWWIC database. My organization finds it incredibly valuable to have a say in the priorities of this research so we are collectively tackling the most pressing challenges for wind-wildlife and policy implementation.
AWWI: What challenges and opportunities do you envision for AWWI over the next few years?
Joy: We are facing the one-two punch of biodiversity and climate crises, but face significant opportunity with a new administration committed to taking on these two crises with aggressive renewable energy goals and strong biodiversity goals. The new administration has already made strong renewable energy development commitments, and we believe that they will wholeheartedly embrace the congressional resolution of conserving 30% of land and water by 2030. However, our federal government is incredibly siloed – and we will fail on both of these counts unless we align our biodiversity conservation and renewable energy strategies and break down these silos with integrated policies. The science is clear: renewable energy-wildlife co-existence is possible and critical to the future of this planet – and AWWI must play a clear role in amplifying that message.
AWWI: Why were you interested in serving in a leadership role on the AWWI Board?
Joy: I couldn’t sit on the sidelines during this critical moment, and I am committed to the administration’s success. I believe AWWI is called to play a pivotal role in that success. I am a mother of two young children, and not a day goes by that I don’t worry about the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises or how high the stakes are.
AWWI: What do you envision for AWWI this year, and what are your main goals in serving in a leadership role on the AWWI Board?
Joy: AWWI is a science-based organization. I am hopeful that this year AWWI can expand its reach, secure its credibility, and leverage increased federal resources and partnership. With the opportunities under the new administration, it will be more important than ever that AWWI is looked to as a trusted voice and we have the capacity to meet the needs of stakeholders and decision makers through sound science and united voices. As incoming Vice Chair of the AWWI Board, my main focus will be to further secure the credibility and impact of AWWI over the next year.