Hazel O'Leary: Leading the Way for Women

Hazel R. O’Leary was the first female and African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Energy. With a background in the energy utility industry, O’Leary’s public service career centered around renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies.

Learning against the odds

Born in 1937, O’Leary grew up during public school segregation in the south. To ensure she received a quality education, her parents sent her to live with family in New Jersey where she attended a high school for the arts.

In 1959, during the height of the civil rights movement, O’Leary graduated with honors from Fisk University, a historically black college in Nashville. With a passion for education, she earned a law degree from Rutgers University seven years later.

Climbing the career ladder

O’Leary’s career began as a prosecutor with the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office before transitioning into public service. In the 1970s, O’Leary was appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under President Jimmy Carter. She led the department’s Economic Regulatory Administration, an agency tasked with enforcing price controls on various types of energy.

After her experience at the DOE, O’Leary served in a leadership role at Northern States Power Company, an energy utility holding company based in Minnesota. In this role, she focused on environmental issues and public affairs. She later became president of the company’s gas distribution subsidiary.

A focus on innovation

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the post of Secretary of Energy. She played a major role in the Clinton administration’s innovation-focused energy policy. During her tenure, she assisted in the commercialization of energy-efficient appliances and increased funding to support research in renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies.

Following a successful public service career, O’Leary returned to higher education as president of her undergraduate alma mater, Fisk University, from 2004 to 2013.