Erin Russell-Story, an NETL project manager who has dedicated much of her career to advancing the use of alternative fuel vehicles, received the Stephen R. Connors Visionary Award at the 20th annual AltWheels Fleet Day, the largest meeting of corporate and municipal fleet managers on the East Coast.

The award was presented by AltWheels, a nonprofit organization that focuses on building sustainable transportation alternatives, to an individual who exhibits leadership in helping to make changes in the environmental sector that positively impact the world.

Russell-Story is assigned to the Technology Integration team in the NETL Energy Efficiency & Manufacturing directorate. The award was established in 2017 to recognize the late Stephen R. Connors, an AltWheels co-founder who passed away in 2016.

“I am genuinely humbled by this award and will continue to work toward cleaner transportation solutions. It’s something that we all have to work on together. Never doubt that expanding the use of alternative fuels is of vital importance. Reducing emissions and carbon in the transportation sector is the best path forward to a sustainable future,” Russell-Story said.

In addition to her project management duties, Russell-Story serves as the Northeast Regional Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program. She has more than 26 years of experience in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and started her career as the Clean Cities Coordinator of the Northeast Ohio Clean Cities Coalition in 1997.

She went on to take the helm of the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, before joining NETL in 2009. In 2003, Russell-Story was honored with the Clean Cities Coordinator of the Year award and was inducted into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame in 2011.

Russell-Story received her recent award at the 2023 AltWheels Fleet Day held Oct. 2 in Norwood, Massachusetts. The event provided corporate and municipal fleet managers with valuable insights on the latest in fleet transportation technologies, alternative fuels, energy efficiency tools and fleet management practices that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operations costs.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.