Published October 11, 2023
By Christine Reed
UW’s Executive Director of the School of Energy Resources (SER) Holly Krutka was honored by the Wyoming Business Report as a 2023 Woman of Influence.
Created in 2013, the Wyoming Business Report has been recognizing influential women working within the state that exemplify leadership, creativity, ethical business practices, innovative thinking, unquestionable character, and more, in order to acknowledge and celebrate their contributions to Wyoming communities. This year, the Wyoming Business Report received a record number of nominees with 89 nominations over 18 categories.
Krutka was recognized as the 2023 honoree in the category of Energy, Mining and Utilities,
receiving multiple nominations from UW faculty, staff, community members, and industry
partners around the state.
Taking the helm of SER at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, Krutka has built an impressive team and national reputation for energy research at UW and has opened up new pathways for energy-driven economic development for Wyoming.
She has made a tremendous impact on the energy sector in Wyoming. Under her leadership, she has significantly grown direct external funding for energy related research at UW, enhanced and expanded the research portfolio to include new technologies while continuing to serve legacy industries, and has also increased outreach and enrollment in academic programs.
According her nominators, she embodies the qualities of a true leader and has cultivated a work culture in which her team can thrive and achieve success.
“Dr. Krutka takes her mission to serve the state of Wyoming and its residents seriously and has rallied her team around that mission,” says a nominator. “Additionally, as a public facing woman with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and leading a successful STEM organization, she demonstrates why women should be at the podium, on the bench, and in the boardroom.”
Krutka came to the university after serving as the vice president for coal generation
and emissions technologies at Peabody. She spent much of her career focusing on technology
and policy pathways to advance carbon capture as well as identifying nontraditional
coal-consumption opportunities. Before joining Peabody, she worked as a senior research
and development analyst for Tri-State Generation and Transmission, as executive editor
of Cornerstone, The Official Journal of the World Coal Industry, employed by the Chinese state-owned energy company Shenhua Group; and as a research
scientist and senior research engineer with ADA Environmental Solutions, where she
was tasked with launching a carbon capture research program.
Krutka holds three patents, has served in leadership positions in the National Coal Council and the Carbon Utilization Research Council, has participated in the Carbon Capture Coalition and as a judge on the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. She is also a proud graduate of the Leadership Wyoming Class of 2022.
Photo: Laurie Farkas, senior community affairs manager for Black Hills Energy Corp. presents Dr, Holly Krutka with the award for most influential women in the category of Energy, Mining and Utilities
