By Adrian Howe
This year marked the inaugural Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) Hayden G. Brown Award for Outstanding Leadership in Energy Security and Access, which honors the outstanding energy-policy work of the late Hayden G. Brown, whose life ended tragically in 2017 while he was serving overseas in support of ENR energy security and access objectives. The award extols officers who demonstrate a commitment to energy transformation and show passion and leadership in ensuring universal access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy. The award recognizes the high standards of performance of economic officers and Foreign Service Nationals in energy-related capacities across the globe, who, like Brown, define the best characteristics of diplomacy, of leadership and values, and of sustained extraordinary performance.
This year, the ENR selection committee chose from a strong field of nominees submitted by posts and bureaus around the world, all with impressive achievements illustrating energy diplomacy excellence.
In recognition of his exemplary promotion of the Department of State’s goals overseas, as well as his support for prosperity at home, ENR chose Ryan Guirlinger as the recipient of the Bureau’s inaugural award. An economic officer at Embassy Rabat, Guirlinger’s initiative and leadership in energy issues in Morocco leveraged various U.S. government capabilities and resources with clear benefits to U.S companies across a range of energy fields. He proactively took advantage of opportunities to help shape Moroccan energy options, opening a potentially vast market for U.S. solar and wind energy equipment and services providers, and his work was singled out as indispensable to a pending liquified natural gas project potentially worth $120 million for the firm and up to $400 million in exports for other U.S. companies.
ENR Assistant Secretary Francis R. Fannon presented the 2019 award to Guirlinger at a ceremony in the fifth-floor reception area in the Harry S. Truman Building, Oct. 11. Brown’s friends and family members also attended the ceremony in his honor.
Adrian Howe is a Foreign Affairs officer in the Bureau of Energy Resources.
