Kathy Judkins Elected as AABE Florida Chapter President
SECO Energy Senior Consultant for Civic, Charitable and Government Affairs was recently elected President of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) Florida Chapter. As a 13-year veteran in the energy industry, Kathy’s experience and community commitment serving on a variety of boards in the local area make her eminently qualified to lead the Florida AABE Chapter.
Kathy has been an AABE member for ten years, playing key roles in achieving the AABE mission while furthering SECO Energy’s outreach in the communities the cooperative serves.
For the last five years, Kathy has spearheaded SECO Energy’s role in supporting the Ocala Youth Energy Academy, where local energy experts team up to provide high school students a real-life glimpse into the many careers in the electric utility industry. The two-day event showcases activities that range from learning how electricity travels from the generation plant to homes and what it takes to restore power during an outage to a hands-on live demonstrations and other projects. The students learn about high-skill, high-wage careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). AABE’s upcoming 2019 Ocala event is scheduled for early June.
The Florida AABE Chapter is a premier business organization for energy professionals who are committed to supporting the AABE mission and purposes:
To serve as a resource for policy discussion of the economic, social and political impact of environmental and energy policies on African Americans and other minorities.
To ensure involvement of African Americans in governmental energy policymaking by recommending capable sensitive and informed personnel to appropriate officials.
To encourage both the public and private sectors to be responsive to the problems, goals and aspirations of African Americans in energy-related fields.
To encourage African American students to pursue careers in energy-related fields and to provide scholarships and other financial aid for such students.
The chapter membership represents a variety of energy providers including SECO Energy, NextEra Energy, Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Jacksonville Electric Authority, Orlando Utilities Commission, Florida Municipal Electric Association and Gainesville Regional Utilities. Additionally, the Florida Chapter includes a number of entrepreneurs, municipalities, energy services providers, and business partners from Accurate Placement, Net Communications, Florida City Gas, City of Tallahassee, Siemens Energy Inc. and others.
