This June, more than 500 climate and energy professionals from across California gathered in Los Angeles for the 17th Annual California Climate and Energy Collaborative (CCEC) Forum. Under the theme “Grounded in People, Guided by Possibility: Shaping our Future in a Changing California,” attendees spent two days trading ideas, building partnerships, and recharging their commitment to the work of building a more sustainable, equitable state.

But this year’s Forum carried something new: the inaugural CCECie Awards, created to formally recognize the people and organizations whose work has shaped California’s climate and energy landscape — sometimes for decades, often behind the scenes. Winners were honored across three categories: Hard-Won Emissions Reductions, Energy Innovation & Breakthrough, and the Lifetime Achievement Award, the evening’s most meaningful recognition.

A Forum Built on Relationships

Attendees didn’t come to Los Angeles just for the sessions — 82% said networking was their primary reason for attending, ahead of new learning opportunities and the speaker roster. That spirit of connection was on full display, from a standing-room breakout on human-centered communication to hallway conversations between counties, cities, RENs, COGs, CCAs, nonprofits, and private companies. As attendee Aileen Qin of Gateway Cities Council of Governments put it: “I’m able to connect with people from a variety of organizations with expertise that spans beyond just energy and sustainability, to really make the experience holistic and ensure that solutions are thoughtful.”

It’s fitting, then, that the Forum’s first-ever awards ceremony centered not on technology or policy alone, but on the people who have spent their careers building the relationships, coalitions, and institutions that make California’s climate progress possible.

Introducing the Lifetime Achievement Award

Six honorees received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, each representing a different piece of California’s climate and energy story — rural resilience, regional collaboration, institution-building, and decades of quiet, persistent advocacy.

Craig Perkins:  For over 40 years, Craig Perkins has helped shape California’s clean energy future — first as the architect of Santa Monica’s groundbreaking Sustainable City Plan in 1994, and now as President and Executive Director of The Energy Coalition. As a key builder of SoCalREN, Craig helped create a model that today serves 48 counties and more than 37 million Californians — empowering local and disadvantaged communities to lead their own clean energy transitions. Craig believes the clean energy future belongs to everyone — measured not just by carbon reduced, but by the health, equity, and opportunity returned to every California community.

Jody London: Over decades of public service, Jody London has worked to ensure that California’s clean energy future is built from the ground up — empowering local governments, schools, and communities to lead. She co-founded the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition in 2007, giving cities and counties a powerful voice in state energy policy. She helped win CPUC approval of Regional Energy Networks — which now serve approximately 94% of Californians. And through her work on the Oakland Unified School District Board, she championed green schoolyards and climate resilience in underserved neighborhoods. Jody’s defining contribution is institution-building: creating the structures, coalitions, and policies that let communities drive their own climate solutions.

Alejandra Tellez: As Sustainability Officer for the County of Ventura, Alejandra Tellez has built one of California’s most innovative regional clean energy collaborations — the Tri-County Regional Energy Network, uniting Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties to deliver energy efficiency, electrification, and workforce development tailored to local needs. What sets Alejandra apart is her commitment to equity — ensuring that residents and communities historically left out of the clean energy transition have access to resources, training, and opportunity. Her work proves that regional collaboration, done right, can be both scalable and deeply human.

Lujuana Medina: As Division Manager overseeing SoCalREN programs for the County of Los Angeles, Lujuana has helped redefine what Regional Energy Networks can achieve — delivering energy efficiency programs across one of California’s largest and most diverse territories, serving public agencies, businesses, agriculture, residents, and workforce development. Her hallmark is partnership: working alongside community-based organizations and local governments to turn vision into measurable impact.

Steve Frisch: For over 20 years, Steve Frisch and the Sierra Business Council have fought to ensure rural communities have a seat at the table in California’s clean energy future. As a founding member of SBC and the Rural Hard-to-Reach Working Group, Steve helped launch programs like Sierra Nevada Energy Watch and, most recently, the Northern Rural Energy Network — making sure that local governments and nonprofits in rural regions are heard in the regulatory proceedings that shape their lives. When rural communities need a champion in Sacramento, you’ll find Steve in the fight.

Lori Mitchell: For nearly a decade, Lori Mitchell has run San José Clean Energy, growing it into California’s largest single-jurisdiction Community Choice Aggregator and delivering 65% renewable energy to its 350,000+ customers — hitting the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard six years early. Beyond the megawatts, Lori built programs that keep the transition affordable, from the SJ Cares low-income rate saving 75,000 households millions each year to incentives behind thousands of EV chargers and heat pumps across San José. When California needs proof that a clean grid and an affordable one aren’t mutually exclusive, you’ll find Lori’s fingerprints on the blueprint.

Looking Ahead

Alongside the Lifetime Achievement honorees, CCEC also recognized Northern Rural Energy Network, San José Clean Energy, and Adrienne Etherton of the City of Brisbane for Hard-Won Emissions Reductions, and the City of San Diego, CleanPower SF, and CCRREN for Energy Innovation & Breakthrough — a reminder that California’s climate progress is driven at every level, from individual advocates to entire agencies.

As attendee Rodney Hupalo of Burbank Water and Power reflected: “An excellent two days of learning and networking. I came away with new ideas and new relationships which I plan on implementing into future programs.” That’s the throughline of this year’s Forum, and of the careers celebrated by the first CCECie Awards. California’s clean energy transition isn’t built by policy alone; it’s built by people who show up, year after year, and do the patient work of bringing others along with them.

CCEC will be back next year to celebrate more of these stories. In the meantime, catch up on this year’s Forum by watching the recap video, viewing our impact report, viewing the session presentations, or joining CCEC’s LinkedIn Peer-to-Peer Group.