Spotlight on Maury Dobbie, Engagement Administrator at the CSU Energy Institute
Women of the Energy Institute
Maury Dobbie is a great connector of people and projects. This is abundantly clear at the events she heads up like the 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium or the CH4 Connections: The Methane Emissions Conference , where Dobbie knows almost everyone in the room from those in industry to elected officials to those in environmental groups.
For these and many other reasons, the Energy Institute is excited to bring Dobbie on part-time as an Engagement Administrator and have her office situated in the Powerhouse Energy Campus.
“We are very excited to have Maury Dobbie join the Energy Institute team. Maury’s economic development background and extensive network in the Colorado cleantech space is already leading to new opportunities and interactions in a number of important areas,” said Jeff Muhs, Associate Director of the CSU Energy Institute.
In her new role, she will use her rich experience in energy, economic development, business, economics and engagement to help events and projects succeed by bringing more external engagement opportunities to the playing field. Dobbie will also continue on as the Executive Director of the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, where she helps form energy-related projects and bring funding opportunities to a consortium of Colorado based research institutions. Since 2008, the Collaboratory has created the successful energy research partnerships between Colorado School of Mines, CU Boulder, CSU and NREL.
“If others succeed, we succeed,” explained Dobbie. “I am excited about working somewhere that makes an impact on the world. I can wake up and get excited about that every day,” she added.
Dobbie was born in Germany but grew up working on her family’s cattle ranch in Wyoming then subsequently on their 15,000 acre ranch in southeast Montana. It was there that she learned the importance of natural resources first hand working the ranch with her two brothers, and there that she took note of how her father got involved in influencing regulations and policies to conserve land, air and water. From these early experiences, Dobbie gained an appreciation of hard work and the value of systems thinking, and at 19 became an entrepreneur when she opened her first business — an auto shop.
“I have always put my mind and efforts on a goal then worked hard to accomplish it,” said Dobbie with a laugh thinking back on the five other businesses she went on to start and operate. She says she learned the value of surrounding herself with subject-matter experts while staying in her “wheelhouse of operating the organizations.”
Dobbie is quick to point out that she often learned lessons the hard way in business, but that those experiences taught her the value of education, and ultimately led her to pursue a college degree in business administration.
“I have learned more from my mistakes and missteps than from anything else — many can be brutal but important life lessons.” She is a lifelong learner and is currently finishing her MBA at CSU.
Dobbie was the President/CEO of an economic development corporation in northern Colorado, where she went on trade missions and helped bring companies such as Vestas (the Denmark-based company) to Colorado. Following the economic development work, in 2011 she was appointed Assistant Director for the Center for the New Energy Economy under the leadership of former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter as the Center built a highly respected reputation in advancing clean energy policy with states.
Today Dobbie is excited about working in the field of energy because she believes it is critical for success in any economy.
“As an example in developing countries, you can’t do homework at night or study if you don’t have light to see by,” she explained.
Dobbie is also pleased to be able to contribute to the greater good and offer guidance to women entering the field in her role as board member for the Colorado Chapter of C3E.
One thing that people may not know about her is that she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic taekwondo team in the mid-80s and learned to fly small airplanes.
Please join us in welcoming Maury!
