2026 Clean Energy Hall of Fame Winners

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes an individual who has retired or announced their retirement during the year of the event who has at least 20 years of experience advancing clean energy, is seen as a leader in their community, and who has had a significant positive impact on the State of California and frontline communities.

Liane Randolph  
Former Chair, California Air Resources Board 
Oakland, California

Liane Randolph has devoted her career to public service, and along the way, became one of California’s most transformative climate leaders. Her visionary policymaking and unwavering commitment to protecting communities helped shape many of California’s most consequential climate, air quality, and energy policies, leaving an impactful legacy that will guide California for decades.

Since 2003, Liane has stepped into some of California’s most critical leadership roles. Liane served as chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, as deputy secretary and general counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency, and then as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission. Liane’s public service culminated as chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a role in which she applied her extensive knowledge, leadership experience, and commitment to community to make an enduring impact.  

At CARB, Liane pushed California forward on landmark climate action. She guided the adoption of the 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan, the blueprint for reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. She led the implementation of an executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom to mandate that 100% of new passenger vehicle sales be zero-emission by 2035. Liane advanced environmental justice by prioritizing California’s most pollution-burdened neighborhoods through CARB’s Community Protection Program, Community Air Grants, and Community Engagement Model. She also played a crucial role in extending the state’s Cap-and-Invest Program through 2045, generating revenue for California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support electric vehicles, wildfire risk reduction, clean water infrastructure, and the high-speed rail transition.

Liane has combined thoughtful leadership and a collaborative approach to public service that has inspired her colleagues and a new generation of environmental leaders dedicated to achieving a brighter future for all Californians. After retiring from public service, Liane co-founded Compass Advisors, where she is a partner, to continue working on policy. 

Youth Game-Changer Award 

The Youth Game-Changer award recognizes an individual who is 18 years of age or younger, or a leader of an organization focused on working with youth who is helping to advance California toward a clean energy future by combating climate change through innovative methods and inspiring the new generation of energy experts, entrepreneurs, and leaders to change the game.

Frida Vergara
Intern, SanDiego350
Student, University of California, San Diego
Chula Vista, California 

At just 17 years old, Frida Vergara has emerged as a powerful advocate for climate justice in California’s South Bay San Diego region. Growing up in both Tijuana and Chula Vista, she experienced firsthand the economic and environmental disparities impacting border communities. To improve the trajectory of these areas, she is leading local youth to fight for a clean energy future.  

She decided to intern for Youth4Climate through SanDiego350, a program that enables teachers and youth to collaborate on community outreach and education on climate change. As a South Bay Intern, Frida partnered with teachers at three Title I high schools to create the South Bay Clean Energy Curriculum, a two-year academic initiative designed to provide engaging, community-relevant clean energy and climate education. The initiative reached more than 2,000 South Bay students, teaching them about the benefits of clean energy and exposing them to careers in energy.  

Frida also helped mobilize youth to prevent the buildout of a proposed biodiesel fuel transfer station that would have increased diesel truck traffic and air pollution. She supported students to advance school electrification initiatives and hold school districts accountable to meet their climate commitments. Frida co-wrote and helped pass a resolution at Chula Vista Elementary School District, where she attended, to phase out fossil fuels and have all district facilities and fleets transition to 100% clean energy by 2035.  

Leveraging her local experience and embracing her voice, Frida has even gone to Sacramento to demand stronger climate legislation, including clean energy expansion. She is a force, helping transform the outcomes for California’s frontline communities. 

Tribal Champion Award

The Tribal Champion award recognizes an individual who is a tribal member, tribal employee, or a person that works for a tribe who has advanced a clean energy future by combating climate change through innovative projects, long term service, dedication to implementing technology, or has served in a key coordinating role that has led to more equitable outcomes and/or transformational change for tribes or tribal communities in California.

Chairman Stephen Cope
Tribal Chairman, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians
San Pasqual, California 

Guided by the belief that environmental stewardship is deeply rooted in Tribal culture, Chairman Stephen Cope of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians has championed innovative clean energy projects. In the process, he has influenced and inspired other tribes and the community to advance California’s clean energy future.  

Chairman Cope has devoted 16 years to serving on the San Pasqual Tribal Council, with eight of those as its chair. During this time, he led the deployment of a solar microgrid to ensure critical Tribal government facilities can withstand and recover from power outages so that all tribal members have continuous access to the services and resources they need. He also advanced the Tribe’s Energy and Resiliency Plan to ensure energy independence, improve resilience, achieve zero-net energy consumption, reduce energy costs, and minimize the Tribe's carbon footprint.    

Chairman Cope has been vital to transitioning the Tribe to clean transportation. Electric vehicle (EV) chargers were installed at the Tribal headquarters, but they were not widely or frequently used until he bought an EV and began charging it there. Other Tribal members and residents in the surrounding area noticed and followed his lead. The EV chargers are now one of the most popular features at the Tribal facilities, motivating the Tribe to pursue new partners and funds to expand EV charging across tribal property.

With Chairman Cope at the helm, the San Pasqual Tribe has become a leader for climate resilience and energy independence. True to his role as a good steward, he has helped other Tribes pursue clean energy solutions to strengthen their sustainability. 

Clean Energy Champions Awards

Clean Energy Champion awards recognizes individuals who are combating climate change and contributing to California’s clean energy future through their bold moves, leadership, and innovative ideas, while helping benefit communities in California through more equitable outcomes.

Kecia Washington
Head of Community Investment, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Los Angeles, California

Kecia Washington has devoted more than 30 years to advancing clean energy programs that expand economic opportunity and strengthen the local community. Throughout her career serving the Los Angeles region, she has championed initiatives that expand clean energy innovation while ensuring underserved residents share in its benefits.

At the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest water and power utility, she launched the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics N’ Sustainability Program in partnership with Los Angeles Technical Trade Institute, California State University Northridge, and the Los Angeles Unified School District to introduce young women to careers in the utility sector. The goal was to increase women entering STEM careers by providing targeted training, mentorship, and real-world exposure to utilities. As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's associate director for energy, Kecia was part of a group that helped launch the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, which has supported over 340 companies raise over $1 billion and create more than 2,500 clean energy jobs.  

She has also built nonprofit partnerships to prepare foster youth for careers in energy and water. As co-chair of the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone's (SLATE-Z) Economic Activities Workgroup, serving nearly 200,000 residents, Kecia helped advance economic opportunity in one of the nation’s highest-poverty urban areas. SLATE-Z supported jobs and workforce development in resiliency hub pilots and emission reduction initiatives.

Because of her unwavering commitment to bridging innovation and equity, Kecia has ensured that clean energy benefits reach the communities needing them most. Her work continues opening doors and building pathways for generations of Los Angelenos.

Ken Ahmann
Tribal Utility Authority Director, Colusa Indian Community
Chief Operating Officer, Colusa Indian Energy 
Colusa, California

For over two decades, Ken Ahmann has helped transform energy from a persistent vulnerability into a source of sovereignty, resilience, and prosperity for Tribal communities. Ken’s career is grounded in a clear conviction: Tribal communities should have the power to determine their own energy and economic futures. As Chief Operating Officer of Colusa Indian Energy (CIE), a wholly Tribally owned energy development company, he partners with Tribes that are working toward that exact goal.  

Ken has spent most of his professional career working in Indian Country, beginning with the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Rancheria. At the time, frequent utility outages threatened the Tribe’s homes, government services, water infrastructure, agricultural operations, and casino resort. Ken helped develop a solution that became the nation’s first Tribally owned modern microgrid and he subsequently created and led the Colusa Indian Community’s Tribal Utility Authority. Revenue generated by the Tribe’s energy investments has been directed toward education, healthcare, housing, elder care, and other community priorities. The system has also created jobs and career pathways in energy for Tribal members.  

Today, through long term partnership and technical innovation, and an unwavering commitment to Tribal sovereignty, Ken and his team are working with more than 100 Tribes across the country on energy solutions designed to meet each Tribe’s goals. This proven model advances Tribal Energy Sovereignty by delivering end-to-end energy solutions that empower Tribal Nations.

Ratan Milevoj 
Vice President, Innovation, Marketing, Communications
Assistant Chief Strategy Officer 
Valley Children’s Healthcare 
Madera, California

Ratan Milevoj is helping redefine how healthcare organizations contribute to the clean energy transition through her bold leadership and compassion. Her work is rooted in the mission of Valley Children’s Healthcare and the 1.3 million Central California children the pediatric network serves. Ratan championed an ambitious energy strategy to help ensure uninterrupted patient care during power outages, while supporting healthier communities across the region. 
 
Her work demonstrates the actions hospitals can take to improve their services while reducing their environmental footprint. As vice president of innovation, marketing & communications and assistant chief strategy officer, Ratan led the strategy to develop Valley Children's groundbreaking $35 million microgrid project — one of the country’s first microgrids for a pediatric hospital. The microgrid was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a national model for healthcare energy resilience.  
 
Madera County, where the hospital is sited, is vulnerable to regional unexpected power disruptions and planned public safety power shutoffs, especially during extreme weather events, making reliable access to electricity essential for uninterrupted patient care. The project is also expected to cut the hospital’s carbon emissions by 50 percent, helping improve air quality in the San Joaquin Valley, a region already burdened by some of California's most significant environmental and socioeconomic challenges. 
 
Ratan is an energy champion for vulnerable communities, sharing Valley Children’s experience to inspire healthcare leaders to strengthen their communities and critical infrastructure. She has helped turn the hospital’s resiliency strategy and microgrid project into a platform for advancing energy resilience and sustainability across the country.