WiNUP Scholarships

WiNUP Scholarships

The Women's International Network of Utility Professionals (WiNUP) believes in doing all it can to help students and professionals with their educational pursuits in support of careers in the utility industry and related fields.

WiNUP currently has three scholarships available annually to women pursuing advanced degrees (beyond a bachelor's degree), which will lead to careers in the utility industry or allied fields. Relevant fields of study must relate to a career in a utility related profession such as engineering, business administration, accounting, environmental sciences, communication, information technologies, etc.

The Julia Kiene Scholarship ($2,000)
Ms. Kiene’s career serves as an inspiration to women who pursue careers in the industry. During her long, diversified career, she taught home economics, served as Home Editor of Capper's Farmer and retired from the Westinghouse Corporation. Ms. Kiene was a president of the organization and served on the Board of Directors for WiNUP’s parent organization, The Electrical Women's Round Table, Inc., for many years.

The Lyle Mamer Scholarship ($1,000)
This scholarship honors Ms. Mamer, a long-time associate professor at the University of Tennessee College of Home Economics who dedicated her life to contributing to advancements in the electrical industry. Lyle Mamer, whose family endowed the scholarship in her name was an active member of WiNUP (EWRT).

The Louisan Mamer Scholarship ($500)
Ms. Mamer was an electric industry pioneer who worked for many years with the Rural Electrification Administration educating rural Americans about the uses of electricity. She was the first woman to be awarded the Clyde T. Ellis Award in recognition of her service and accomplishments on behalf of electrical cooperatives. Ms. Mamer joined WiNUP (EWRT) in 1948 and remained a member until her death in 2006. Her generous $20,000 contribution to WiNUP enables the organization to fund the annual scholarship in her name. 

Program Rules and Deadlines

The applicant must be accepted to a regionally or nationally accredited university.

Both WiNUP Members and non-members are eligible to apply for the scholarships.

Applicants must submit an online application before May 1 of each year to be eligible. Winners will be notified by June 30 of each year.

Applications for 2025 are now closed. Please visit the website again in early Spring 2026 for a link to submit an application for the 2026 Fall school year.

WiNUP Member Continuing Education Grant

Any member interested in applying for the grant MUST complete the Member Continuing Education Grant application form. The application form is found in the Member Section on the website. The application deadline is August 15. The applicant will be notified by September 15 and announced at conference. Applications received after August 15 will be considered for the following year’s grant.

The grants are designed for degree or non-degree study. Non-degree study would include professional development programs and workshops that have associated participation costs such as public speaking, PMP, graphic design, accounting/excel courses.

WINUP 2025 Scholarship Recipients

All scholarships honor WiNUP members who made significant contributions to the electric industry and the organization.

Julia Kiene served as home editor of Capper's Farmer and worked as a home economist at the Westinghouse Corporation. Julia also served on the board of directors of The Electrical Women's Round Table, Inc. (EWRT), as WiNUP was formerly known.

Lyle Mamer was a long-time associate professor at the University of Tennessee College of Home Economics. She was an active member of several professional organizations, including EWRT.

Long time EWRT/WiNUP member Louisan Mamer worked at the Rural Electrification Administration for many years, traveling throughout the country to educate rural Americans about how to use electricity when power first came to remote areas.

Sierra Chadwick—Lyle Mamer Scholarship Recipient

Sierra is currently pursuing a Masters in Forest Service/Masters in Environmental Science from Yale University. Through her work as a research assistant at the Sedio Plant Chemical Ecology and Evolution Lab, she has identified, collected and processed Forest Global Earth Observatory Network plot leaf tissue in El Yunque National Forest for mass spectrometry analysis of secondary metabolites. She currently works as an environmental consultant on a solar installation project. This experience has encouraged her goal to pursue environmental science as a practical and applied field intersecting with the utility and forestry industries. She hopes that her research will result in more efficient, more intelligent, and more ecologically sound industry practices.

Jailene Estrada Olivas—Louis Mamer Scholarship Recipient

Jailene currently serves as a Global Ammunition Control Point Technician for Hill Air Force Base. She has applied her computer science knowledge to improve the Pentagon’s sensitive movement data tracker. This involved leveraging skills acquired from ongoing computer science studies, showcasing her ability to integrate software engineering principles into real-world logistics and data management. Upon completion of her master’s degree in Business Administration from the American Public University, she aspires to leverage her enhanced leadership, project management expertise and technical foundation to make a significant contribution to the utility industry, specifically within the crucial domain of cybersecurity. Her combined practical experience in logistics and supply chain management along with her B.S. in Computer Science, provides a well-rounded perspective on the intricate workings of critical infrastructure. Her goal is to work alongside industry leaders to mitigate cyber threats and ensure the reliable delivery of essential services to communities.