When an employee came to Kit Hagen, Senior Vice President of Growth and Business Development for Nationwide Energy Partners (NEP), with an idea for a podcast celebrating women in energy during Women’s History Month, Hagen did not hesitate to say yes.    Nell Jacobson, Social Media Coordinator for the non-traditional submetering company, was new to the energy industry with only six months under her belt. She was amazed to discover how vast the industry was, how far and wide its net was thrown, and how few young women were represented, especially in leadership positions.    “I came from the fitness industry, where I witnessed the strength of female leadership represented both figuratively, and of course, quite literally. As much as I loved my new industry, I didn’t see myself reflected in a lot of places, it was intimidating and isolating. But I knew from my introductory research on energy that there were truly amazing women, women who are currently making serious waves in this industry. I wanted to talk to them, tell their stories, and get more young women excited to work in this dynamic industry,” said Jacobson.    Jacobson joined forces with energy communications veteran Bethany Ruhe, and together they recorded a five-part podcast series, Powerful Women, which launches today. The episodes focus on:   Nicole Kelner - Kelner works at the intersection of art, climate and technology. Her thought-provoking watercolors have stimulated conversations from banning gas ovens to where to go for your climate-friendly dates. Her new book, A Brighter Future, literally illustrates the impacts of climate change and potential solutions.    Brenda Chew - Chew is the Director of Product Management at Virtual Peaker. Her journey towards leading our clean energy future has given her many valuable insights that are sure to inspire future energy leaders. Her recent experience with industry events has also left her with a lot to say.  Sadie Bronk - As CEO and Founder of Energy Bees, Bronk has spent her career working to form the passions and minds of tomorrow’s energy leaders. She has taught us that it is truly never too early to start thinking about changing the world.    Sharina Perry - When Perry’s nephew was going through cancer treatment, this serial entrepreneur used her creativity to help with a treatment to shrink his tumor. The result was a commercial plant-based polymer that is radically changing sustainable manufacturing.   Teresa Ringenbachand Leah Sailhamer - Powerful Women closes with two of Nationwide Energy Partners own, Vice President of Business Development Teresa Ringenbach and Director of Government Affairs, Leah Sailhamer. Working day to day with regulators, politicians and utility commissioners comes with its own unique challenges, and their lessons-learned are a great end to a phenomenal series of conversations.   A new episode will drop on the their YouTube and Buzzsprout every Monday in March, and are available on Spotify,    Hagen is excited to see the final result. “Our industry is better because of people like Nell,” he said. “Her enthusiasm is contagious, and I can see a whole new generation of young women becoming interested in working in energy.”  Episodes are recorded and produced by JRM Video.