Ms. Sheila Oparaocha

Dr. Sheila Oparaocha, holds a master’s degree in Gender and Development Planning and has over has twenty one years of experience working at the intersectionality of gender equality, women empowerment and energy access. The 2021 recipient of the Carnot Prize, Sheila is a renowned leader in the gender and sustainable energy sector, as the Executive Director of the ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, since 1999. She initiated, developed, and led numerous projects and programs on the institutionalizing of gender transformative approaches in government policies and energy access programs. Sheila has led national as well as high-level international policy advocacy work, research and evidence development, women’s entrepreneurship development, network building and knowledge management, specifically on the social and economic empowerment of women in the energy sector in developing countries. Sheila is a strong project manager who is primarily responsible for the quality control and delivery of ENERGIA’s multi-partner/donor project portfolio, who provides technical support and leadership to her team together with ample experience in annual planning, budgeting, monitoring & evaluation and donor relationship management. Sheila is the co-chair of the Technical Advisory Group for the Sustainable Development Goal 7 convened by UNDESA; and member of the Steering Committee of the Health and Energy Platform for Action and the High Level Coalition on Energy and Health that operates under the auspices of WHO.
Sheila is the Executive Director of the ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy. ENERGIA is an International Network of like-minded organisations and professionals that was established in 1996 to create an institutional base for galvanising action aimed at integrating gender into the energy access agenda of developing countries. Currently, ENERGIA has a programme of work with 31 partner organizations in 18 countries in Africa and Asia. Sheila has over has twenty one years of experience working at the intersectionality of gender equality, women empowerment and energy access, specifically in the areas of women entrepreneurship development, gender mainstreaming in energy programmes, international policy advocacy, research and evidence development, network building and knowledge management.