For the seventh year, a Houston-based company that's working to make the energy industry more equitable has named the finalists for its annual award.

ALLY Energy's GRIT Awards and Best Energy Workplaces, which will take place on October 26, has announced the finalists for the 2023 awards program.

“Every year, we are astounded at how many impressive, committed people are demonstrating leadership and grit in their work to advance the energy transition and build more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces,” ALLY Energy CEO Katie Mehnert says in a news release. “This year is no exception. This is the time to celebrate so many crucial achievements that may otherwise go overlooked in the energy sector and in broader society.”

The finalists are leaders, teams, and companies from around the world and across industry verticals — oil and gas, power and utilities, wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, climate tech startups, and academia. EnergyCapitalHTX, as well as its sister site InnovationMap, is a media partner for the event.

This year, ALLY has named three Lifetime Achievement Award honorees who have distinguished careers championing change in energy and climate in the private or public sector in the areas of technology, policy, and workforce: John Berger, CEO of Sunnova Energy; Rhonda Morris, vice president and chief human resources officer of Chevron; and Amy Chronis, vice chair, US energy and chemicals leader, and Houston managing partner at Deloitte.

This year's finalists for the award categories are as follows, according to ALLY Energy.

The Professional Award

• Alex Loureiro, Scientific Director at EnerGeo Alliance
• Allie Thurmond, Asset Manager at Equinor
• Catherine Fuller, Senior Learning Strategy Leader at Baker Hughes
• Crystal McNack, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor at Enbridge Inc.
• Dani Milling, Gulf of Mexico Environmental Engineer & Mexico HSE Coordinator at Chevron
• Diego Barreto, CFO Americas Region at Baker Hughes
• Gayle Bowness, Technical Director Studies at Wood
• Katie Zimmerman, Decarbonization Director, Americas at Wood
• Kim Sabate-Strazde, Interim DEI Programs Manager at Baker Hughes
• Krithika Kannan, IT HSE & Security Manager at Occidental
• Lynn Buckley, Head of Supplier Development at Baker Hughes
• Mark Klapatch-Mathias, Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls
• Megan Suggs, Project Manager at BASF
• Natalie Valentine, Director - Business Performance at Worley
• Prajakta Kulkarni, Pricing Agreement Management Digital Platform Lead at Baker Hughes
• Priscilla Enwere, Senior Well Engineer at Rano-Accrete Petroleum Development Company
• Samantha Howard, Senior Organizational Development Specialist at Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline
• Syed Fahim, Global ESG Lead at SLB
• Tane Bates, Regional Operations Manager at Certarus LTD
• Ujunwa Ojemeni, Senior Policy Advisor - Energy Transition & Technical Assistance Delivery at E3G - Third Generation Environmentalism
• Yogashri Pradhan, Reservoir Engineer at Coterra

The Executive Award

• Andy Drummond, Executive Vice President Exploration and Development at Woodside Energy
• Cara Hair, SVP of Corporate Services, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Helmerich & Payne
• Claire Aitchison, Executive Operations Leader at Baker Hughes
• Emma Lewis, Senior Vice President USGC Chemicals & Products at Shell
• Jeremy Campbell-Wray, Strategic Accounts and Enterprise Growth Market Executive at Baker Hughes
• Kathy Eberwein, Chief Executive Officer at The Global Edge Group
• Kim Holder, Senior Executive of Digital Technology at Baker Hughes
• Leveda Charles, Director of PMO & Business Enablement at Baker Hughes
• Maggie Seeliger, SVP & Global Head of Strategy, Energy & Resources at Sodexo
• Max Chan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Officer at Enbridge
• Megan Beauregard, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary, and Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Enel North America, Inc.
• Nikki Martin, President at EnerGeo Alliance
• Pamela Skaufel, Vice President of Procurement at ExxonMobil
• Sarah Delille, Vice President of US Country Management at Equinor
• Shiva McMahon, Executive Vice President International Operations at Woodside Energy
• Soma Somasundaram, Chief Executive Officer at ChampionX
• Toby Begnaud, Chief Commercial Officer & SVP of Oilfield Services and Equipment at Baker Hughes
• Trevor Mihalik, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Sempra
• Whitney Eaton, EVP, People & Sustainability at TGS Energy

The JEDI Award

• Alex Fleming, Senior Manager at Deloitte
• Doug Peck, Head of Reserves at Woodside Energy
• Jason Limerick, Sustainability Strategy Lead at Woodside Energy
• Melina Acevedo, Associate & Partnerships Lead at DE Shaw Renewable Investments
• Shengke Zhi, Director for Growth and Development at Wood

The Entrepreneur Award

• Charli Matthews, CEO at Empowering Women in Industry
• Mandeep Patel, Founder at ElecTrip
• Mike Francis, Co-Founder and CEO at NanoTech
• Nick Valenzia, Founder at Leafr

The ESG & Climate Champion Award

• Andrea Hepp, Deal Lead at Shell
• Brittney Marshall, Senior Advisor, Climate Strategy and Policy at Woodside Energy
• Freya Burton, Chief Sustainability Officer at LanzaTech
• Gabriel Rolland, Vice President, Corporate QHSE at TGS Energy
• Lisa Larroque Alexander, SVP, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer at Sempra
• Misty Rowe, Global CCUS Account Manager at Halliburton
• Sandhya Ganapathy, Chief Executive Officer at EDP Renewables North America

Gritty Girl Award

• Deepasha Baral, Student at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies

Best Affinity Group, Employee Resource Group Award, sponsored by ChampionX

• Baker Hughes, Asian Pacific American Forum (APAF)
• Baker Hughes, Generation STEM
• Baker Hughes, D&I Group Celle
• Baker Hughes, Parenting Tribe
• Baker Hughes, Pride@Work
• Baker Hughes, Multicultural ERG
• ChampionX, PLAN
• ChampionX, PRIDE
• ChampionX, RISE Gender Equity ERG
• ChampionX, SEED
• Ovintiv, Leveraging Inclusion, Networking and Knowledge (LINK)
• Sempra, Growing Responsibilities and Opportunities for Women
• Shell, WAVE - Women Adding Value Everywhere
• Shell, DE&I Council
• TPI Composites, LEAP for Women
• Women's Energy Network Houston, Women's Energy Network Houston
• Wood, Launch
• Wood Mackenzie, Pride Working Group-Americas
• Woodside Energy, EmBRace - Employees Beyond Race
• Woodside Energy, Spark
• Woodside Energy, VIBE LGBTIQ+ Employee Resource Group
• Worley, PRIDE@Worley

Best Energy Team Award, sponsored by Ovintiv

• Advisian Material Handling
• Baker Hughes, Sustainability Team
• ChampionX, Asset Integrity Team
• ChampionX, Brunei Supply Chain
• EIC Rose Rock/Rose Rock Bridge
• Halliburton Labs
• NOV Marketing
• Sempra Infrastructure
• Syzygy Plasmonics, Rigel Manufacturing & Launch Team
• TGS New Energy Solutions
  

Best Energy Workplaces Award

• Aera Energy LLC
• Baker Hughes
• ChampionX
• Consolidated Asset Management Services
• EDP Renewables North America
• Enel
• The Global Edge Group
• Shell
• Solar Energy Industries Association - SEIA
• Southwestern Energy
• Sunnova Energy International, Inc (6-time finalist)
• TGS Energy
• Wood
• Woodside Energy