On this Women’s Equality Day and every day, we celebrate the value and diversity of all women driving the success of Sempra and the communities we serve. Among this group of women, we’re highlighting some of our leaders across the Sempra family of companies who are shaping the company’s mission to build North America’s premier energy infrastructure company.
Maryam BrownMaryam Brown is the president of SoCalGas, the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility. As president, Brown develops and executes SoCalGas’ strategic vision with a focus on SoCalGas’ aspiration to achieve carbon neutral operations in its delivery of energy by 2045.
Brown was instrumental in unveiling SoCalGas’ [H2] Innovation Experience, demonstrating the potential for clean, renewable hydrogen to be used to power communities and businesses. Additionally, Brown is helping advance the proposed Angeles Link project, which could be the nation’s largest green hydrogen pipeline system and make the Los Angeles basin a clean fuels hub here in the U.S.
Under Brown’s leadership, SoCalGas exceeded California Public Utilities Commission’s diverse spending goal with suppliers for the 30th consecutive year in 2022.
Brown started her career as an engineer in the petroleum refining sector and has 25 years of experience in the energy industry across engineering, legal, policy and regulatory roles. She joined SoCalGas in 2019 from Sempra, where she was vice president, federal government affairs. Before joining Sempra, Brown served as chief energy counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and subsequently as senior energy and environment counsel for two U.S. House speakers.
Tania Ortiz MenaTania Ortiz Mena is paving the way for the next generation of women in energy. Ortiz Mena is the group president, clean power and energy networks at Sempra Infrastructure. She leads the company’s activities related to clean power generation, natural gas transportation and distribution, and fuel storage facilities in North America.
Ortiz Mena proudly champions women in the energy sector and is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture at Sempra Infrastructure. She recently participated in the U.S.-Mexico Forum 2023 along with other energy leaders and think-tanks to share ideas on advancing North America’s energy transition. Ortiz Mena was also recognized as one of the “Leading Women with the Best Reputation” on issues of environmental, social and governance in 2022 by Merco.
Most recently, Ortiz Mena was IEnova’s chief executive officer from September 2018 to September 2021, and a member of the Board of Directors since January 2019. She began her career at IEnova in 2000, holding different positions, including vice president of external affairs and development, and chief development officer.
Caroline WinnBeing the only female in her graduating engineering class, Caroline Winn knew then that she wanted to pave the road for change. Fast forward to her current role as the chief executive officer for SDG&E, Winn has spent much of her career advocating for programs that expose more girls to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and assuring them that they can be leaders in these fields.
Under Winn’s leadership, SDG&E has received the ReliabilityOne® Awards for Outstanding Reliability Performance among utilities on the west coast for 17 consecutive years. With Winn’s tenacity for innovation, SDG&E was the first utility in the country to develop a dedicated Fire Science & Climate Adaptation department. SDG&E has created models with the help of artificial intelligence for its weather stations, which improves the accuracy of forecasts and monitors wildfire threats. SDG&E also exceeded California Public Utilities Commission’s diverse spending goal with suppliers for the 18th consecutive year in 2022.
Previously, she served as the chief operating officer of SDG&E, overseeing operations of the utility’s natural gas and electric infrastructure assets and customer services. In that role, Winn is widely recognized for advancing SDG&E’s national reputation in sustainability, technology and innovation, including the company’s significant safety and wildfire mitigation efforts.
Since joining the company in 1986 as an associate engineer, Winn has held several leadership positions within SDG&E and SoCalGas. In 2022, Winn was named to the California Power 50 list, recognizing women with senior-level roles from top companies who are making an impact in their companies and communities.
Women play critical roles in the success of our companies, economies and societies. Their perspectives, lived experiences and traits bring important value and deserve our support. According to the United Nations, women worldwide make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. At Sempra, we understand the urgency of this problem and are committed to uplifting women and celebrating their contributions.
Sempra and our family of companies continue to invest in and recognize the importance of gender equality and representation. As part of the Paradigm for Parity coalition, Sempra has worked to advance women into leadership positions and worked toward gender pay parity.
Since our inception, we have been committed to working with community leaders and organizations that align with our values of do the right thing, champion people and shape the future.
In the last year alone, Sempra supported 3 million women and girls across the communities we serve in collaboration with nonprofit partners working in our priority areas of climate action, economic prosperity and energy access. Sempra’s investment of over $1.4 million is helping to build the next generation of women climate leaders and advocates, while advancing educational attainment, professional growth and development, and employment opportunities for women and girls.
In addition to our internal commitment to gender equality and diversity, Sempra and its family of companies work with external partners, including Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and Women in Blue — San Diego Police Foundation. HOPE is a nonprofit organization, supported by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), that equips Latina communities with leadership and advocacy education and training in order to advance political and economic parity for Latinas and all women.
In partnership with the San Diego Police Foundation, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) helped launch Women in Blue: Leadership Knows No Gender, a new educational series about safety that spotlights women leaders in the San Diego Police Department. Through this initiative, the San Diego Police Foundation is breaking the stigma around women in leadership positions within the police force.
In Texas, Sempra supports the Governor’s Commission for Women, which focuses on advancing women’s economic opportunities, especially for women-owned businesses. With the goal of making Texas a leading state for women-owned businesses, the commission is working to mitigate the barriers many women face when it comes to accessing high-quality entrepreneurship opportunities and achieving prosperity.
Similarly in San Diego, SDG&E supports The Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) Program which works with refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs to provide micro-grants and business development training. Eighty percent of program participants are women who are hoping to start or maintain a business that targets a societal problem or community need. Both programs help uplift women and communities at-large.
As Sempra works toward its aim of having net-zero emissions by 2050, the company is proud to support organizations addressing climate change. Sempra and SDG&E work with Wildcoast on two projects, the Ocean Conservation Leadership Project for Tribal Youth and The Mangrove Conservations and Restoration in the Mexican Pacific. The Ocean Conservation Leadership Project for Tribal Youth is an internship program that builds climate literacy and coastal and marine stewardship through conservation and nature-based education. Seventy percent of those taking part in this internship are women, all of whom are from tribes or areas in San Diego with limited access to recreational open space or parkland.
Simultaneously, Sempra is working with Wildcoast on mangrove conservation and restoration, working with two local groups of women to plant a total of 43,500 mangrove seedlings in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico. These mangroves are intended to aid communities most susceptible to the negative impacts of climate change in carbon filtration, wildlife habitat, erosion control, food security and much more.
With the help of local women activists and students, the company’s support of Wildcoast is helping positively transform communities along the Southern California Pacific Coast while helping drive positive change for women, communities of color and the environment.
As we look beyond Women’s History Month, our vision of delivering energy with purpose paves the way for us to continue to work to advance positive outcomes for women across the Sempra family of companies and within the communities we serve.