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Reflecting back: A decade of the Women with Hydro Vision awards

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Reflecting back: A decade of the Women with Hydro Vision awards

This year marks the 10th class of winners of the Women with Hydro Vision awards, presented annually at HYDROVISION International to recognize deserving women who have made and/or are continuing to make significant contributions to the hydroelectric power and dams industry.

A highlight of this program, besides recognizing many influential and impressive women from around the globe, is hearing their perspectives and stories, which many share at our Women with Hydro Vision lunch and awards ceremony.

To date (minus 2020, when no winners were named due to the COVID-19 pandemic), 51 winners have been named from eight countries. And four more women will receive this award at HYDROVISION International 2024. Come meet them at the Women with Hydro Vision lunch on July 17 in Denver, Colo., U.S.

To recognize this 10-year milestone, I asked some of our inaugural class of winners (from 2014) to share their highlights, perspectives, accomplishments and advice.

What are a couple of key highlights of your career in hydropower and dams?

Linda Church Ciocci said, “There are so many, it is hard to select.” Church Ciocci, now executive director of the Hydropower Foundation, was executive director of the National Hydropower Association when she received the award. She served in this role with NHA for nearly 30 years and said this was certainly one of her highlights. Serving in this role alongside her colleagues, she said “made it so very special. I enjoyed each and every day.” For other highlights, she points to winning legislation to improve some of the licensing woes for U.S. hydropower. Although they were small incremental improvements, “They were hard won,” Church Ciocci said. Another highlight of her career was being a recipient of NHA’s Dr. Kennth Henwood Award for a lifetime of achievement.

Deborah Linke, president of Linke Consulting, said she never in her wildest imagination thought she would spend over 50 years working in hydropower and related fields. It all started with a visit to the Glen Canyon Dam and Powerplant when she was 12, and she vividly remembers the “distinct hydro plant smell and sounds:” smells of wet concrete and equipment oil and the “constant rumble and thunder of the turbines.” Linke wore “13 different hats” during those years. These are: environmental assessment, civil engineering, Colorado River water marketing, water contract negotiator, power marketing, power rate-setting, member of the operating committee for a reliability council, project manager for an enterprise-wide finance and maintenance management system, facilitator of change management, leader of the Bureau of Reclamation’s power portfolio, member of the International Hydropower Association council, director of the Hydro Research Foundation, and senior consultant.

Specific highlights include collaboratively developing the Hydro AMP procedures with Hydro-Quebec, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration. And she’s proud of developing and implementing the Hydro Fellows Program, which provided exciting new entrants to the hydropower workforce. Linke said she also enjoyed developing performance goals, then meeting them, during the National Performance Review. “As I reflect on these, the common threads are collaboration and developing long-term working relationships among diverse participants,” she said.

And winner Jeanne Hilsinger, now executive chairperson, director of development at Mavel, a.s., was president of Mavel Americas Inc. when she won the award. A couple of her career highlights are Mavel’s 25th anniversary event celebrated in Prague with employees, suppliers and customers and the commissioning of Mavel’s first turbine in the U.S. at Holyoke Gas & Electric’s Holyoke hydro facility in Massachusetts.

How has your career changed over the past 10 years?

Hilsinger said that the company she works with has stayed the same and her job titles have stayed the same. However, the growth of opportunities in the Americas has changed the business and so her job. “Ten years ago, I hired a core team for Mavel in the Americas. They all had more experience than me and taught me so much. The growth in recent years of the industry in the USA has resulted in significant growth in Mavel’s operations here. We are hiring. Many of our new employees are young and new to hydro. I am still learning but now I have the opportunity also to mentor/teach a new generation entering the industry,” Hilsinger said.

Church Ciocci has taken on a new role, after stepping down from her position at NHA in 2019. Now her part-time role as executive director of the Hydropower Foundation allows her to enjoy a slower pace but still work alongside many of her colleagues in industry. “And I have new issues that I focus on now. The most important is workforce development,” Church Ciocci said. “I no longer work on legislation and am enjoying focusing on the workforce issues of tomorrow. I realize how critically and urgently important it is to prepare the next hydropower professional. Reaching out to the universities has been a challenge but an interesting and important one.   Starting up WC2, a program that is dedicated to creating hydropower clubs at universities and colleges around the country, has been exciting and the students very inspiring. I love it!”

Linke’s past 10 years have probably been the most varied of the three. “I failed retirement, again, moved across the country, put down roots and have become an artist’s agent for my sculptor husband as well as a consultant,” she said.

What did winning a Women with Hydro Vision award mean to you?

“When I won the Women with Hydro Vision award, I was honored and humbled at the recognition,” Linke said. “My success was a result of building and leading teams of extraordinary individuals who were committed to making a difference in our hydropower community.”

Hilsinger said she “probably underestimated the importance of the award” when she received it 10 years ago. But, “As I learn about the new awardees each year, being included in this group of incredibly accomplished women takes on more and more meaning,” she said.

“It was a great honor to receive this award,” Church Ciocci said. “I have watched as you selected the classes since, and it has been a joy to see each and every one over the years. The women have been inspiring and have accomplished much. It is humbling to be part of such a select group and to be recognized. As women, is often difficult, in an industry where men make up 70 percent, to be recognized as leaders. It is important and I am so pleased that you created the award and take the time to recognize women in the industry. We may be a small part of it, but we are mighty!”

What advice would you give to women working in the industry?

“Enjoy being a woman in this industry,” Hilsinger said. “There are some things that are more difficult as a woman and some things that are easier.  But, by and large, the hydroelectric power industry is a community of hardworking, dedicated, fun and straightforward individuals. I can not imagine a better group of people to work with. Man or woman.”

Linke said, “As I mentor women today, I advise them to advocate for themselves, look for those unexpected open doors and having courage to walk through them. And look for teams and organizations that foster collaboration and creativity.”

“The most important thing I have learned over the years is to speak up,” Church Ciocci said. “Don’t let others silence you when you have a great idea. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. That’s how you learn. Seek out a mentor – male or female. They can help you navigate the ins and outs of this wonderful industry. Enjoy your time in it. Remember, when you have a job that is your passion, you never really work!”