USAID Diplomat Gina Cady, Recently Awarded 2024 C3E International Award, Advances in Clean Energy
In 2005, Cady graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy. But her journey to becoming a leading figure in global clean energy wasn’t a straight path. She initially enrolled as a premed major before switching to Landscape Architecture. Eventually, she found her place in Landscape Ecology, a major no longer offered at UMD, Cady was drawn in by a desire to protect the natural world, “My entire life has been shaped by being in the natural environment,” said Cady.
Her studies took her abroad to Belize where she studied mangrove trees and literally became a self proclaimed, “tree hugger” to measure the diameter of the trees. After graduation and without a job lined up, Cady decided to travel to Costa Rica with her savings. There, and later in Colorado, she found volunteer opportunities and small renewable energy projects that fueled her passion.
That early work eventually led her to positions with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy’s Wind and Water Office. But she was hungry for a broader impact.
Today, Gina Cady is a U.S. Diplomat for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Foreign Service. Her work has taken her across East Africa, Mexico, and Peru where she played a key role in minimizing the impact of extreme weather by improving energy infrastructure and resilience. Most recently, she leads Power Africa’s Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA), a public-private partnership to electrify and connect health facilities across Africa.
“[USAID] is really important for me because I've really tried to live my life as somebody who contributes some good to the proverbial “bucket”, even if it's in a small way, rather than taking away from it,” said Cady.
In recognition for her work with USAID and HETA, Cady received the 2024 Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) International Award, an honor that recognizes women making significant contributions to the clean energy field. She hopes women continue to be recognized in STEM fields.
For Cady, environmental work is more than a career. It’s a calling. “If we're not looking out for our home, Mother Earth, then what will we give to the next generation?” she said. Her life’s mission is clear: lead with empathy, act with purpose, and help the world adapt, one renewable project at a time.
