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Walsh Honored as National Clean Cities Coordinator of the Year
Under her charge, the coalition has displaced more than 5 million gasoline gallon equivalents of petroleum through the use of alternative fuels and vehicles, hybrids, and fuel blends. DOE applauds Walsh for her dedication to educating the public and local leaders about the benefits of alternative fuels. In the past two years, she organized a total of eight E85 and biodiesel workshops throughout Indiana and hosted several breakfast briefings with Indiana lawmakers, business leaders, and government officials to promote alternative fuel awareness. In addition, Kellie works closely with Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and Sen. Richard Lugar's offices to help coordinate petroleum reduction efforts throughout the region. "I have been very impressed with Kellie Walsh's work as Executive Director of CICCA and am delighted that DOE has selected her as the 2006 National Coordinator of the Year," said Lt. Governor Becky Skillman , who also oversees the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development. "Kellie has served an integral role in Indiana 's efforts to become a leader in making biofuels available to all Hoosiers." Thanks in part to Walsh's efforts, Indiana now has 40 public E85 fueling sites with commitments for 19 more in the near future. In addition, more than a dozen processing plants are in development, which will produce bulk quantities of ethanol and biodiesel in the region. "Kellie has that can-do, heartland spirit and dedicated work ethic," says Dennis Smith, manager of DOE's National Clean Cities initiative. "Whether she's approaching high-level local leaders or professional race car drivers, her dedication takes her where she needs to go and convinces people to join her. It's this unfettered spirit that makes her so effective." Walsh's work has garnered other honors. In 2005, she received DOE's 2005 Midwest Region Coordinator Award. More recently, she was presented with the State of Indiana 's Paul Dana Leadership in Biofuels Award and the Clean Cities 2006 Coordinator Choice Award.
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently named Kellie Walsh the 2006 National Coordinator of the Year. Walsh has been executive director of the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance (CICCA) in Mooresville since 2001.