Boundless Energy: Oriti Committed to Inclusion [Women to Watch]

Abstract

When Dr. Giovanna Oriti was asked to serve as general chair of the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) for 2021, she initially declined. "I'm a perfectionist, and I knew this role could be really stressful for me," she recalls. Realizing she would be the first woman to hold this leadership role, however, Oriti changed her mind. "I saw I had a unique opportunity to bring more women into the conference and encourage them to get involved," she explains. Now she holds the distinction of not only being the first woman elected general chair for this conference-one of the largest in its field-but also the first female to hold this leadership position for either of its sponsors, the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS).