Dr. 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 programs on the institutionalizing of gender transformative approaches in the energy sector in developing countries, specifically in the areas of women entrepreneurship development, gender mainstreaming in energy access projects and (sub) national energy policies, international policy advocacy, research and evidence development, network building and knowledge management.

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 and 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 a 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.