InPowered Women Podcast

Episode Summary:
In this episode of the InPowered Women Podcast, Dana Clare Redden, founder of Solar Stewards, and Sharon discuss solar energy's profound impact, particularly in marginalized communities. Dana recounts founding Solar Stewards in 2016 to align corporate renewable goals with local projects, touching on topics like Renewable Energy Credits, involvement in the Georgia Solar Energy Association, and legislative victories such as House Bill 57. They delve into the current solar energy landscape in Georgia, addressing challenges like rising power rates and the importance of accessibility, especially for marginalized groups. Dana underscores the economic benefits and career opportunities in the clean energy transition, while emphasizing the significance of diversity, inclusion, and mentorship in the industry. Despite obstacles, they express optimism about the future of renewable energy and highlight the role of entrepreneurship. The conversation concludes with Dana sharing her interests outside of work and encouraging listeners to connect with Solar Stewards for further information and resources.
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon's journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women's networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women Podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.
 
Dana Clare Redden
Dana Clare Redden is a visionary leader in renewable energy, known for her commitment to sustainability and social equity. Founder of Solar Stewards, she bridges corporate goals with underserved communities, notably in Georgia. Her journey began with a realization of the need for solar projects in overlooked areas, leading to the establishment of Solar Stewards in 2016. Dana advocates for inclusive policies like House Bill 57 and fosters industry growth through initiatives like the Georgia Solar Energy Association. A strong proponent of diversity and mentorship, Dana's leadership inspires positive change in the renewable energy sector, driving towards a brighter, more equitable future.
 
Insights from this episode:
Dana discusses the implications of policy impact on solar accessibility, specifically of a 12% power rate increase approved by Georgia Power, juxtaposing it against incentives for solar energy, which highlights the increasing accessibility of solar power despite rising rates.
Conversation surrounding the disproportionate impact of rising energy costs on marginalized communities, particularly in Atlanta, where high energy burdens exacerbate existing income inequality, emphasizing the urgency to address these disparities.
Dana advocates for empowering communities through technology by leveraging technology to not only lower energy bills but also create economic opportunities within communities, suggesting that the clean energy transition could spark new career paths and alleviate financial burdens.
The influence of macroeconomic factors like inflation and supply chain issues on energy costs, stressing the importance of shielding vulnerable communities from the adverse effects of such trends is recognized by Dana and Sharon.
Dana highlights entrepreneurship as a driving force behind the clean energy transition, emphasizing its role in job creation, economic growth, and community development, particularly for historically excluded groups.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of women's leadership and mentorship in the renewable energy sector, advocating for collaborative spaces where women can support and empower each other.
Discussion surrounding the significance of mentorship in navigating challenges within the industry, emphasizing the importance of experienced professionals supporting and guiding newcomers.
Despite challenges, Sharon and Dana, express a collective optimism about the future of renewable energy, highlighting the progress made through collaboration and collective action, while encouraging listeners to engage in the clean energy movement.
 
Quotes from the show:
“Well, you know, me from those days starting out at in Georgia doing distributed generation solar and just taking a look around the market, it became obvious that some of the projects in the communities that I know that we care so much about those historically excluded communities, those low and moderate income communities, you know, really needed additional help in getting some of these projects done.” – Dana Clare Redden, InPowered Women, Episode #4
"And then to go into Georgia specifically, you know, Georgia Power is required to go through this rate study every three years called the Integrated Resources Plan IRP." – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #4
"There's an adage, it's expensive to be poor… When we can use technology to lower their bill, give them that control over their power, but also include more economic opportunities." – Dana Clare Redden, InPowered Women, Episode #4
"You know, I don't want to be doing this until I die. I'd like to retire. And so, you know, I am looking forward to this next generation to kind of pass the torch to." – Dana Clare Redden, InPowered Women, Episode #4
“There's no reason for women that are entering this field or workforce in general to re-invent these wheels." – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #4
 
Resources Mentioned:
Georgia Solar Energy Association
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
Lee Peterson
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
Justice 40 Initiative
 
Sharon Lee
Email: sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net
LinkedIn: Sharon Lee
 
Dana Clare Redden
LinkedIn: Dana Clare Redden
LinkedIn: Solar Stewards
Website: Solar Stewards
Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Spotify, PodBean, and Listen Notes.
This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.
Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Schantz Home Improvement: www.SchantzHomeImprovement.com for all of your exterior home improvement needs.

Episode Summary:
In this episode of the InPowered Women Podcast, sponsored by Superior Water Services, host Sharon Lee speaks with Stephanie Choury from Buckman Digital Water. Stephanie shares her journey from history major to enterprise account manager, breaking barriers in water treatment. We explore her involvement with Women of Water, discuss Cheryl Sandberg's "Lean In", and reflect on pivotal moments of resilience.
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon's journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women's networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women Podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.
 
Stephanie Choury
Stephanie Choury is a leader in industrial water treatment, known for innovation and empowering women in male-dominated fields. With 15+ years in water treatment, she advances digital solutions and diversity. Initially a history student, Stephanie transitioned to water treatment, driven by her passion for technology and chemical engineering. Currently an Enterprise Account Manager at Buckman Digital Water, she drives digital innovations, enhancing efficiency and performance. Stephanie actively supports women in water treatment through mentorship and advocacy, promoting diversity and inclusion. Outside work, she enjoys family time and socializing. Stephanie's dedication to excellence and empowering women has made her a trailblazer in the industry.
 
Insights from this episode:
This podcast episode highlights unstoppable female leaders and expresses gratitude to the sponsor, Superior Water Services.
Discussion of Stephanie’s role as an enterprise account manager at Buckman Digital Water, focusing on digital 4.0 initiatives to enhance water treatment efficiency.
Discussion surrounding the benefits of Buckman's digital solutions for water treatment efficiency.
Stephanie's involvement in the Women of Water committee and the aim to support women in leadership roles in the water treatment industry, is highlighted.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of mentorship, both from men and women, in career development.
 
Quotes from the show:
“...Dedicated to protecting their customers equipment against scale correct and biological fouling, ensuring optimal performance and longevity and sponsors like Superior Water Services that allow us to continue bringing you empowering stories of women in leadership positions and fostering a community of support and mentorship.” – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“And that's where the acumen software platform can ingest as well as store data that these water treatment sites use daily but more efficiently with the data being in one location and not only showcasing data points but also gaining a team of experts who help triage their alarms, looking at notifications and summarizing where their sites can focus on their next site service. With this, we allow water treaters, the capability to customize all of this data in one report as well as one platform.” – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“This is a very inclusive group and our goals are to support women in their knowledge and skill set, encourage women to pursue leadership roles within the Association of Water Technologies, placing their knowledge in their employment, pursue their leadership there, creating a sense of belonging to the association as well as the industry itself.” – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“We can only continue to grow if we include each other and help to find and shape the next chapters.” – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“Women are collaborative by nature.” – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“Some of the things that stood out was performance bias, skill sets being viewed differently between a man and a woman and really feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable, understanding that it's OK to own our achievements, allowing ourselves to not doubt our abilities, but also showcase that there are going to be some of those performance biases. But understanding it and recognizing it bringing to the table, a lot of the things that we offer to our organizations.” – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“There's lean in circles that you can implement within your own professional organization as well as you can take it as far as your own personal group, how you and I are talking showcasing some of those pieces into our women of water committees and or bringing it to my company talking about how do we continue these conversations?” – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
“We stood up and defined ourselves together, empowering each other and making a stance." – Stephanie Choury, InPowered Women, Episode #3
 
Resources Mentioned:
Buckman Digital Water
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Women of Water
 
Sharon Lee
Email: sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.netLinkedIn: Sharon Lee
 
Stephanie Choury
LinkedIn: Stephanie ChouryLinkedIn: Buckman Digital Water Website: Buckman Digital Water
 
Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Spotify, PodBean, and Listen Notes.
This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

Episode Summary:
In this episode of the InPowered Women podcast, host Sharon Lee interviews Annie Lu, CEO of H2Ok Innovations, a company revolutionizing industrial liquid management. Annie shares her journey growing up in a manufacturing family and co-founding H2Ok Innovations with her brother, driven by a passion for improving the industry. They discuss the company's focus on data-driven decision-making, utilizing IoT technology for real-time insights and efficiency gains. Annie emphasizes the importance of being prepared and building a solid infrastructure to support growth, highlighting the significance of working on the company, not just in it. She also addresses the unique challenges she faces as a female leader in male-dominated industries and underscores the value of authenticity and diversity in entrepreneurship. Annie delves into the power of mentorship and her commitment to supporting other women founders, advocating for collaborative partnerships to drive sustainability. Additionally, she shares her passion for Formula One (Motorsports) and pageants, highlighting the lessons learned in teamwork, authenticity, and branding. Sharon praises H2Ok Innovations' culture of empathy and problem-solving, predicting continued success in driving innovation and sustainability within the manufacturing sector.
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon's journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women's networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women’s podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.
 
Annie Lu
Annie Lu, CEO of H20k Innovations, is a visionary entrepreneur and advocate for authenticity, navigating the male-dominated realm of venture capital with determination and empathy. Rising above bias, she champions diversity and empowers others to embrace their uniqueness. Through her leadership at H20k Innovations, Annie fosters a culture of creativity and empowerment. Beyond her business ventures, Annie is a dedicated mentor and philanthropist, supporting aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women and girls. Her passion for sustainability drives her collaborative efforts to address environmental challenges.
 
Insights from this episode:
Introduction of the podcast by Sharon Lee, focusing on sharing insights and stories from female business leaders.
Introduction of Annie Lu, CEO and co-founder of H2Ok Innovations.
Discussion about Annie's background in manufacturing and her passion for improving the industry.
Explanation of why H2O K Innovations focuses on industrial liquids and fluids, highlighting the lack of data and decision-making based on real-time information.
Explanation of Internet of Things (IoT) and its role in H2Ok's system, involving sensors, data processing, and machine learning for optimization.
Discussion on how H2Ok's solution helps save resources, improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance quality in manufacturing processes.
Overview of how H2Ok's technology addresses challenges in the manufacturing industry and contributes to sustainability goals.
Discussion on security measures implemented by H2Ok to protect data and ensure the reliability of their solutions.
Strategies for scaling and managing the business, including building infrastructure, empowering the team, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
Discussion of navigating male-dominated industries
Emphasis on embracing authenticity and empathy, especially the importance of caring about people's real problems and unique perspectives in problem-solving.
Discussion surrounding the power of mentorship: Annie acknowledges the crucial role of mentors in her journey as a founder and actively engages in mentorship herself: supporting college women, elementary school students, and other women founders, aiming to pay it forward.
Discussion surrounding the role of businesses in addressing environmental challenges and the misconception that sustainability doesn't make business sense.
Quotes from the show:
“And so this is why we are really excited to be in this space because not only are we helping our partners through technology, be able to help them meet their sustainability goals and their same target, so making social impact as well as driving efficiency, ultimately improving the bottom line, improving the top line… And for us really, our focus is sustainability and you know, business sense never is mutually exclusive.” – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“I think that is a reason why this has resonated with major manufacturers, dominating the industrial space… is this relentless hunger of uncovering real problems and developing solutions to actually solve problems. And so that's, you know, really that, that hunger, that empathy of how do you actually uncover those problems is something we approach every single conversation with no matter if we're talking to an executive of, you know, a fortune 200 company to a, you know, site operator on the shop floor. We come in in every single conversation with respect with empathy and with an open mind of really uncovering true problems that exist in this space.” – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“It's really important to take a step back and be building like you're working in the company, but you're also working on the company. And I think that aspect of working on the company is really important to make sure that you're able to properly, grow and have the structures to be able to grow. I think that's something that we have focused on the H20k innovations and we'll continue to do so, it's creating the proper infrastructure and process to do that.”  – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“We have this aspect of authenticity and creativity and empowerment in our team that yes, we are different and we come in with an immense amount of, again, empathy and humility in every single conversation we have with any person..."  – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
"What makes us different is an asset in what allows us to continue innovating and being at the forefront of this industry."  – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“Embrace who you are and like, you know, what makes you different because again, that's an asset, what you bring to the table and so I, I think that there's no shortage of challenges that come with it, but also an immense amount of opportunity as well.” – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“You have this mindset of continuous improvement and never complacency." – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #2
“I think an issue, a reason that there's been unfortunately not as much movement in this space, in sustainability globally as we hope to is because when we think of sustainability, we oftentimes think of governments, right, like I will rely on governmental leaders to be able to do this. But really the public sector and the private sector go hand in hand in terms of the ability to make impact… I think that it's a mistake that sustainability is oftentimes thought of something that doesn't make business sense and I think it doesn't have to come up that way.” – Annie Lu, InPowered Women, Episode #2
 
Resources Mentioned:
H20k Innovations
Strong Girls
The Girl Campaign
Greentown Labs
100 Plus Accelerator
Sharon Lee
Email: sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net
LinkedIn: Sharon Lee
Annie LuEmail: annie@h2okinnovations.com
LinkedIn: H20k Innovations
Website: H20k Innovations
Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Spotify, PodBean, and Listen Notes.
This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

Episode Summary:Get ready to dive into the vibrant world of unstoppable female leaders with the InPowered Women's podcast! Hosted by Sharon Lee, principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, this debut episode kicks off with infectious energy and enthusiasm. Sharon shares her own journey through the wild and wonderful realms of sales and marketing, donning various hats from advertising to solar energy systems sales. But her ultimate leap into entrepreneurship with her own marketing consulting firm sets the stage for this thrilling podcast adventure. As Sharon reveals her passion for helping businesses tell their stories effectively, she invites listeners to join her in celebrating the incredible women leading the charge in male-dominated industries. From manufacturing facilities to technology companies, each story is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the power of community. With a sprinkle of fun and a dash of inspiration, the InPowered Women's podcast promises to be a joyous ride through the triumphs and transformations of fearless female trailblazers. 
 
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon's journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women's networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women’s podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.
 
Insights from this episode:
Introduction to host, Sharon, and the Inpowered Women’s podcast
Discussion of Sharon’s entrepreneurial journey beginning with diverse roles in sales and marketing, spanning industries such as advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy systems sales, culminating in the founding of her own marketing consulting firm.
Emphasis the purpose and goal of the podcast: to help businesses effectively tell their stories. It delves into the journeys of remarkable women leaders, particularly in male-dominated industries, highlighting their climb to success and the challenges they overcome.
Sharon concludes with a call to action by encouraging listeners to embrace their ambitions fearlessly, inviting them to join the journey of empowerment and inspiration.
 
Quotes from the show:
“I decided to take a leap and start my own marketing consulting firm… You see there are countless marketers out there. What would set me apart? And then I realized something crucial, anyone willing to invest in my services would likely already have a website, social media presence, maybe even a dedicated marketing team. But here's the thing, having a presence in the marketplace doesn't necessarily mean you're telling your story effectively. That's where I come in. My role is to help with the sizzle the extras to help you bring your story to life. So, launching this podcast is an extension of that idea.I want to hear about the incredible companies that women are leading.” – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #1
“​​As we embark on this podcasting journey together, you'll get to know not only the amazing women we feature but also the person behind the microphone. Me, I'm excited to learn right alongside you to be inspired by these remarkable stories and to foster a community of empowered women who support and uplift each other.” – Sharon Lee, InPowered Women, Episode #1
 
Sharon Lee
Email: sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net
LinkedIn: Sharon Lee
 
Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Spotify, PodBean, and Listen Notes.
This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.