Executive Director Anna Siefken Wins Andy Award

Anna J. Siefken, executive director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, won a 2018 Carnegie Mellon Andy Award in the Innovative and Creative Contributions category. The Andy Awards are the Oscars of Carnegie Mellon.

The university-wide recognition program, now in its 24th year, honors staff for their exceptional performance in five categories: Commitment to Excellence; Commitment to Students; Spirit; Innovative and Creative Contributions; and Teamwork and Collaboration.

The Innovative and Creative Contributions award honors staff members who have developed new approaches, methods and processes to improve their organization’s effectiveness. This award also honors those who have demonstrated imagination and creativity in solving problems or fostering change that has benefited the university community.

Forty-one individuals and 11 teams were nominated this year, and winners were selected by a committee of their peers. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Wednesday, Oct. 3 in McConomy Auditorium, CMU President Farnam Jahanian presented this year’s recipients and praised the important, everyday contributions staff make to the success of the university.

Siefken took on the executive director role on Aug. 1 after serving as the Institute’s associate director for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, deepening engagements and developing an innovative partnership strategy for the Scott Institute that promotes energy-related collaboration with industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, foundations and other universities. 

In 2017, Siefken reached out to and explored partnerships with more than 40 new corporate and industrial partners including BNY Mellon and Chevron Appalachia. She increased engagement with the City of Pittsburgh’s Office of City Planning, the Office of Mobility and Infrastructure and the Office of Transportation Planning. In addition to bringing new events like the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s work on “Finding PA’s Solar Future” to campus, Siefken spearheaded CMU Energy Week 2018, the largest non-university-sponsored event on campus that draws approximately 1,000 attendees to campus each year.

Working closely with 20 CMU startups and spin-offs, Siefken connected them with larger companies to explore investment opportunities. One of these connections resulted in SR Max, the slip resistant footwear leader, investing more than $250,000 into the CMU spin-off SolePower.

Siefken acts as a mentor both to these companies and to Scott Institute staff, demonstrating that her heart is in the work.