Profile of a Patriot

Each month, Senator Lugar profiles a student, professional, scholar, or member of the business community who has demonstrated leadership and initiative in taking concrete action to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. In addition to the profile posted here, individuals will receive a certificate designating them Lugar Energy Patriots, and a letter of congratulations.

Kellie Walsh
Executive Director
Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance

Kellie Walsh knows the value of hard work. In college, she spent long hours hunched over a first-generation IBM PC in a windowless cubicle to finish data-entry projects for Citizens Gas & Coke Utility in Indianapolis. In a tough job market, the work paid off: she earned a guaranteed job and a free education. The company liked their plucky part-timer so much that they gave her a full-time job and funded her last two years of college.

Twenty years later, that can-do spirit is still paying off. As Executive Director of the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance (CICCA) in Mooresville, Indiana, Kellie’s tireless advocacy of alternative fuels is transforming Indiana’s transportation sector.

CICCA, one of over 80 coalitions in the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, works to reduce oil consumption by showing fleet owners and operators how they can benefit their country, their environment and their bottom lines by switching from gasoline to alternative fuels. "The best thing about the Clean Cities program," says Kellie, "is that there is a place for each alternative fuel in America’s energy arsenal, from natural gas to biodiesel. Anything that cuts foreign oil dependence is a help."

"Kellie doesn’t say, or even think 'no' to a challenge," says Wendy Defoe, supervisor of the Clean Cities program for the Department of Energy. "She has a talent for seeing a path through obstacles to resolution, and she truly believes every problem has a solution."

Stakeholders, defined as people or groups interested in reducing dependence on foreign oil, can be individuals, businesses, schools, or municipal government offices. Kellie assesses their fleets (usually delivery trucks, busses, or passenger cars) and shows them how best to kick their addictions to oil. She has replaced more than five million gallons of gasoline with renewable or clean fuels, held eight E-85 and biodiesel workshops to explain the fuels to local businesses and hosted numerous breakfast briefings with Indiana lawmakers. And that is just in the past two years! Most recently, she donned an E-85 ball cap and braved the driving rain to pass out biofuels information as cars whizzed through the State Fair’s annual drive-in breakfast.

Her accomplishments have gained notice beyond the state’s borders, too. In the past year, she has won three major awards: The Clean Cities Coordinator Peer Choice Award, given by her fellow coordinators; the National Clean Cities Coordinator of the Year, given by the Department of Energy; and the Paul Dana Leadership in Biofuels Award, awarded by the State of Indiana in memory of Indy 500 racecar driver, Paul Dana. She has also served as an expert advisor to the governor’s Strategic Energy Plan and has been invited to pitch alternative fuel use at a conference in Trinidad.

When Kellie took over stewardship of CICCA in October of 2001, few people had heard of alternative fuels, let alone the Clean Cities program. CICCA had few members and had raised only $13,000. Kellie went to work researching federal and private funding, wrote grants and pursued corporate sponsorships. Under her leadership, the number of stakeholders crept up every year. By 2004, more than 50 new stakeholders had joined CICCA, and under Kellie’s guidance they had secured over $800,000 in funding for alternative fuel projects and had put on three conferences. Those numbers were better than almost all the other Clean Cities, but they did not satisfy Kellie – she thought the group could do better in future years.

It did. In 2005, CICCA secured over $1,000,000 in federal and state funds to assist stakeholders in implementing alternative fuel projects. Five conferences, 15 E-85 pump openings, 20 fleet conversions, and 25 new stakeholders later, CICCA is the most successful privately-run Clean Cities coalition in the country.

One of Kellie’s favorite tasks is showing stakeholders how to make implementation of alternative fuels and technologies a reality. "Companies want to reduce dependence on oil," says Kellie, "but they don’t know how to make it happen. The best part of the job is taking their hands and leading them through the process of figuring out which technologies will work, and then implementing the project. You can just see the relief on their faces when the project is complete. The fleet’s customers feel good about doing business with companies that are working to improve the environment and lessen our nation’s foreign oil dependence. In the long run, the fleets save money on operational expenses too. It’s a win-win."

In that spirit, Kellie has made it part of her mission to encourage community-wide involvement in the program, "Everyone needs to do what they can in any small way to lessen our dependence on foreign oil," she comments. She advises everyone "to look in the mirror and ask, 'what can I do to make it better?' If you are sitting in a drive thru line at the bank, shut your car off. You’ll be saving fuel and not putting harmful emissions into the environment. When you buy gas, go to a station you know blends 10% ethanol into fuel. Talk to your kids’ school about using biodiesel in the bus fleet. In the overall picture, with all of us doing something, it’s going to make a difference."

Senator Lugar agrees. That is why we congratulate Kellie on being our first Lugar Energy Patriot.