
The Green Light
Karen Conover helped found WRISE — and in doing so, shaped a generation of women leaders and the clean energy industry itself.
Today, WRISE has 3,000+ members and 47 chapters advancing diversity across renewables. But Karen’s influence goes further: at 29, she launched Global Energy Concepts, a wind power pioneer later acquired by DNV, helping scale wind in the U.S. and abroad.
Two decades later, she’s still mentoring through Repowering Schools — and reflecting on what’s changed and what hasn’t.
In this episode, to mark WRISE’s 20th anniversary, we discuss:
- What it takes to build a company from scratch
- Global lessons U.S. renewables still need to learn
- Why WRISE’s company-wide memberships were a turning point
- Karen’s advice for emerging leaders
If you’re a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier candidates, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you’re looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients’ latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs.



