This week marks an exciting milestone in NEWIEE’s history. We’re thrilled to welcome Kate Johnson as our organization’s first Executive Director. A long-time leader in the energy and environmental sectors—and a former NEWIEE Board Member—Kate brings deep experience in member engagement, strategic growth, and mission-driven leadership. From her early career in journalism to senior roles at leading organizations like Advanced Energy United, she has built a reputation for fostering community, driving systems change, and empowering women+ to lead.
In this candid Q&A, Kate shares her journey, vision, and what’s ahead for NEWIEE’s next chapter.
Career Path & Background
1) Can you tell us a bit about your professional journey and what led you to the energy and environment sector and to NEWIEE?
My academic background in journalism and political science sparked a deep interest in how policy, business, and people intersect to drive meaningful change.
After my journalism career, I held roles with the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, where I discovered that energy and environmental issues sit at a dynamic intersection of these forces. The complexity and scale of the energy transition, which requires innovation across technology, finance, regulation, stakeholder engagement and more, is so interesting. I knew I wanted to make a career out of supporting organizations and communities solving our biggest energy and environmental challenges.
Over the last 10 years, I’ve held leadership roles at the Northeast Clean Energy Council (Now Alliance for Climate Transition), as well as provided strategy and services to NEWIEE, the Energy Storage Association, Solar Energy Business Alliance and the Clean Energy Business Network, and a few nonprofits and associations outside of the energy and environmental sectors. Most recently, I led member engagement as a managing director at Advanced Energy United.
2) You’ve held leadership roles in major national associations like Advanced Energy United. What lessons are you bringing with you?
There are so many tactical skills, relationships and knowledge I’ll bring to NEWIEE, but the most valuable lessons are in management and leadership. I love Brene Brown’s definition of leadership, which is that a leader is “anyone who holds themselves responsible or accountable for finding potential in people or processes.”
I am proud of how in the last four years at United, I grew and developed a best-in-class membership team, but also drove an organizational-wide culture around member engagement and relationship building with our members.
Leaders aren’t always the CEO of an organization, and creating an environment where all team members can grow their leadership skills and find professional growth is something I will bring to the NEWIEE community.
Advanced Energy United is a women-led organization and majority women workforce. We have several core values that I will bring with me, such as integrity, curiosity, and adaptability, but most important is the growth mindset. I have seen firsthand how results and impact happens when organizations feel comfortable to try new things and take risks, even if sometimes you fail, and to bounce back from failures, always with lessons and learnings for the next time. This mindset is key to achieving greater success.
3) What are your biggest strengths that you will bring to NEWIEE?
I lead with strategic thinking but also the ability to implement. I find value in building authentic relationships with those I work with and I am someone who turns ideas into action quickly. That combination has powered my ability to make an impact in the organizations I’ve been part of over the last 15 years. I have a keen understanding of how all corners of our industry are being challenged right now and tasked with solving really hard problems. I have seen it and lived it. Perhaps, most importantly, I genuinely believe in this mission because I’ve lived it as a woman growing her career in this industry.
Vision for NEWIEE
4) What excites you most about stepping into the role of NEWIEE’s first Executive Director?
The opportunity to amplify NEWIEE’s impact. NEWIEE has built something incredible as a volunteer-led organization. This is a robust and vibrant community where women+ help advance each other in their careers and are creating lasting change in their organizations and our region.
As the first ED, I get to take that foundation and scale it. We can deepen member and community engagement, expand our reach, and become the premier professional development organization for women+ in energy and environmental sectors. It’s about taking something already powerful and making it transformational.
5) NEWIEE has operated as a volunteer-led organization for 15 years. How do you see your role evolving that model?
This is a pivotal moment for our organization. The dedication of the NEWIEE Board of Directors, past and present, and our founders have played such key roles in NEWIEE’s evolution. I don’t see my role as replacing the volunteer leadership that makes NEWIEE what it is and so successful. I’ll amplify it and shift the operational and management roles that the Board has carried out to focus on other strengths this esteemed Board brings.
The strategic plan we developed together created a strong foundation, and I’m excited to now focus on turning that vision into action. I’ll lead the day-to-day operations, systems implementation, and program execution that will free our volunteers to focus on other areas: mentoring, thought leadership, and community building. It’s about creating capacity, and bringing in more of the NEWIEE community to engage in NEWIEE’s success.
6) What role do you think NEWIEE can play in building a more equitable energy and environmental workforce?
I think NEWIEE is already playing a key role in this. We are uniquely positioned to be the bridge between talent and opportunity. As we evolve and strengthen our ability to demonstrate, we’re not just about networking, but about career advancement, leadership development, and creating pathways for underrepresented voices to reach decision-making roles, and become leaders in their careers and organizations.
When NEWIEE members advance into leadership positions, they change hiring practices, reshape company cultures, and mentor the next generation. We’re building a multiplier effect that transforms the entire sector. This is one of the greatest opportunities for NEWIEE going forward.
7) How do you stay informed and inspired in such a fast-moving industry?
I’m naturally curious (former journalist here). I think it’s one of my core strengths. I read extensively, attend conferences, and most importantly, I love to talk to people, members and industry leaders about what they’re seeing in their line of work.
The energy sector is exciting because there’s always something new happening that inspires me to keep learning and staying curious. But I also find inspiration in individual success stories. I love scrolling LinkedIn to see what my network is up to and learning new angles and aspects of the sector. When I see a former colleague or NEWIEE member land a promotion or launch something new, it reminds me why this work matters and why this community is so powerful.
8) What advice would you give to young professionals entering this field?
Find your community early, and know that your voice matters from day one. The energy and environmental sectors can feel overwhelming, but organizations like NEWIEE exist to support your growth. Don’t wait until you feel “qualified enough” to engage. Show up, ask questions, and volunteer for projects that stretch your skills. And remember that your perspective as a woman+ brings value that the industry desperately needs.
Life Outside the Office
9) We’ve heard you’re a triathlete! How did you get into that?
I’ve been an athlete since seven years old, when I started competing on my local swim team. I took a break from competition in college but found my way into endurance sports after finishing graduate school here in Boston. I had a roommate who was running a half marathon and convinced me to run too. A half marathon turned into another, and then a full marathon and then many more. One day a friend of mine noted that all I needed was a bike to start triathlons and the bug was in my ear. A few years later when I was craving a new challenge, I decided to give triathlon a try. In my pre-kid days, I competed quite frequently, completing more than a dozen marathons and two full Ironman Triathlons.
There are a lot of parallels in training and racing, and leading in the energy and environment sector. Training for endurance races requires months or for some years of consistent effort toward a distant goal. The energy transition demands sustained commitment over decades. It’s helped me develop an endurance mindset, which applies in work as well by knowing that change happens through persistence and focus rather than quick fixes. I still race but the distances are shorter these days as balancing a training, career and family doesn’t quite fit with the time to train for an Ironman.
10) Any memorable races or training stories you can share?
One thing I love about racing is that every race is a story in itself, so there are truly so many I could share. My husband (who probably has equally as many spectating stories) gets credit for one of the most memorable. He proposed to me at the finish line of the Falmouth Road Race by staging several of our friends with signs along the course that when combined at the end read “Kate, will you marry me?” Embarrassingly, I was so focused on my race (it was the first large race I ran since the 2013 Boston Marathon so I was already running high on emotions) that I didn’t quite put all the pieces together until the end, but then it was pretty great.
11) As a working mom, how do you balance career, parenting, and training?
Time management and planning. Everything goes on the calendar whether it’s a workout or a work commitment and I adjust as needed but have to have it down from a starting point. I’ve also learned to give myself grace and adapt my goals as life unfolds. When planning out a training plan for my triathlon this summer, as an example, I didn’t foresee that our household would go through COVID, a stomach bug and a late summer cold. I had to scale back and focus on what was important – getting healthy. It wasn’t exactly the training plan I was hoping for, but in the end it was enough and I had a great race.
